ASCAP says 2025 was its biggest year ever, announcing record revenue of $1.945 billion and $1.759 billion in royalty distributions to its songwriter, composer, and publisher members — the highest totals in the organization’s history.
The performance rights organization (PRO) credited growth across streaming, radio, general licensing, and international collections, with foreign revenue climbing to $474 million. Domestic licensed performances generated $1.471 billion, reinforcing how diversified performance income has become as music consumption continues to fragment across platforms.
ASCAP says it returned roughly 90 cents of every dollar collected to creators and maintained a 10% overhead rate, positioning itself as a creator-focused alternative in a landscape where many music companies are increasingly backed by outside investors.
Why This Matters For Independent Songwriters
Increased royalty collections benefit all songwriters, composers, and performers. It's a show of force in an industry that many claim is moving away from sustainable revenue for artists, even if broken down per-artist, live performance income, streaming radio, background music licensing, and international usage still only represents an incremental source of revenue. And it shows just how much the only remaining non-profit PRO left in the United States is also growing, ever committed to advocating for its user base.
Foreign distributions in particular grew more than 10%, underscoring how global audiences — and reciprocal agreements between PROs — continue to drive new revenue streams for creators outside traditional markets.
ASCAP also welcomed more than 80,000 new members in 2025, pushing total membership past 1.1 million — another sign that more independent creators are prioritizing publishing administration and rights management as core parts of their careers.
Advocacy, AI And New Tools
Beyond financial results, ASCAP highlighted its advocacy work around generative AI, arguing that unauthorized use of copyrighted music for AI training is not fair use.
The organization also launched new creator-focused tools, including “ASCAP Connections,” a mobile app feature designed to help members find collaborators and industry contacts.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a membership association of more than 1.1 million songwriters, composers and music publishers, and represents some of the world’s most talented music creators. Founded and governed by songwriters, composers and publishers, it returns nearly 90 cents of every dollar collected to its members as royalties and has the lowest overhead rate of any U.S. PRO.
