Ascap

Acronym for American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. This is a membership association of composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of all genres of music. The organization works to protect the rights of its members by licensing and distributing royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their copyrighted works. ASCAP has represented many of the best known composers and performers since its creation in 1914 by many of the composers of Tin Pan Alley.