ASCAP and YouTube have struck a new multi-year licensing agreement that ASCAP says will translate to more money for ASACP members from YouTube playing their music.
The agreement is effective immediately and covers U.S. public performance rights and collaborating on data. ASCAP said the goal was a more fair and accurate accounting of the use of ASCAP-represented music on the website, which is why data collaboration is part of the deal.
ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews says the agreement "leverages YouTube’s data exchange and ASCAP’s vast database of musical works to address the industry challenge of identifying songwriter, composer and publisher works on YouTube."
YouTube suggested the company has been dedicated to fair pay for play. "As YouTube delivers more revenue to the music industry through a combination of subscription and advertising revenue, it’s great to see ASCAP take a progressive approach towards the long term financial success of its members," said Lyor Cohen, global head of music for YouTube.
ASCAP represents licensing of music to the internet, radio, TV, cable and businesses on behalf of over 620,000 members and more than 10 million works.
(Photo via Esther Vargas's Flickr. Image taken on April 27, 2017 and used per Creative Commons 2.0 license. The photo was cropped to fit 9x16 aspect ratio.)
