ComplaintsforAmerican Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers

• Initial Complaint

  01/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We received a notice for our ASCAP Account #********* stating we owe a balance of more than 90 days past due and it is going to be reported to collections. We have requested since June 29, 2023 to cancel our account on multiple occasions via email, and phone calls. This exceeds the 30 day termination requirement in Section 1 - ************** Of License of the contact as our ********************** contract was scheduled for renewal on 8/1/2023. We have not received any confirmation of the cancellation. Our last communication to cancel was with True ******* -Licensing Accounts Receivables Manager on November 10, 2023. In December we submitted two follow up requests after receiving a letter our account would be turned over to collections, and have not received any response to our repeated cancelation requests. All communication was sent to the directed email ******************************* including our initial cancelation requests.

  Business response

  01/04/2024

  This is ASCAP's response to the complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau by ***********************, the owner of a winery called ******************, located in ********, ****.  
  
  **************** asserts in his complaint that ASCAP has refused to confirm cancellation of his ASCAP license authorizing public performances of ASCAP's members' music at ******************.  He says that "We have requested since June 29, 2023 to cancel our account on multiple occasions via email, and phone calls."  ASCAP, however, has no record of any communication from **************** concerning cancellation or termination of his ASCAP license prior to his email dated December 18, 2023.  ****************************** complaint also indicates that he understands that the ASCAP license agreement for ****************** requires written notice of termination at least 30 days prior to the expiration of its initial term or any renewal term.  
  
  As the expiration date for the most recent renewal term for his ASCAP license was July 31, 2023, if **************** will provide ASCAP with a copy of his email dated June 23, 2023, requesting cancellation or termination of his ASCAP license (or his ********************** account), ********************** will confirm termination of the license as of July 31, 2023 and no additional license fees are owed for periods after that date.  Otherwise, ASCAP will treat ****************************** December 18, 2023 email as notice of termination of his ASCAP license, effective July 31, ****, with the result that he still owes license fees for the current renewal term of his license, totaling $300.00.   

• Initial Complaint

  05/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Since opening my ****************** I have been contacted numerous times by ASCAP in a threatening manner. They have claimed several times that I need their services. I do not need their services. I am not required to use their services. They represent many artists and their music interests. In order for me to NEED their services, they would have to prove 1. that I use the music they represent and 2. that I have not obtained permission for its use. They can do neither of these things and I do not owe them an explanation or a confirmation of such. I have explained nicely in an email that I do not require their services and will not be continuing to engage in conversation with them. I have been asked to be removed from their call list and email list. Yet they continue. So now I am filing a complaint against them in the hope they will remove me once and for all from their contact list.

  Business response

  05/04/2023

  This is ASCAPs response to the Complaint submitted to the Better Business Bureau by ************************** (the Customer) with regard to *********************** communications with her concerning the  ***************************************, a business located in *******, **************. 
  
  ASCAP -- the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers -- is a voluntary membership association of more than ******* composers, songwriters and music publishers.  ASCAP's members have authorized ASCAP to license public performances of literally millions of their copyrighted musical works as permitted by a federal statute, the **** Copyright Law.  Under that statute, Congress has granted certain rights to those who create and own copyrighted musical works, including the right to be compensated for public performances of such works.  The statute is not self-enforcing, however, and so organizations like ASCAP exist to ensure that their members and affiliates are properly compensated for the use of their music.  Performing rights licensing organizations perform this vital role by contacting the operators of businesses like the ********** ************ that typically employ music as part of their instructional activities to advise them of their obligations under the Copyright Law, and to offer licenses that authorize public performances of the organizations members and affiliates copyrighted music for a modest annual fee.  
   
  Turning to the Complaint, ASCAP licensing representatives began contacting the Customer for the purposes described above because it has been ASCAPs experience that virtually every dance school employs copyrighted music as a fundamental element of its instructional activities and recitals.  Undoubtedly, such music use included performances of at least some musical works written and owned by ASCAP members.  This is proven by the fact that today, over ****** dance schools and dance studios throughout ***************** hold ASCAP licenses and therefore may perform lawfully any of the millions of copyrighted musical works in the ASCAP repertory.  
  
  The Customer complains that ********************** has not proven that she employs ASCAP members music or that she has not obtained permission to do so.  But the law is clear that when ASCAP offers its licenses to music users, it need not first bear the burden of proving either use of ASCAP music or absence of permission to use the music.  And, just as ASCAP is free to offer its licenses, so, too, may music users decline ASCAPs offers.
  
  Although it was entirely appropriate that, in the past, ASCAP communicated with the Customer in writing and by telephone, ********************** representatives will no longer attempt to do so.  The Customer should be aware, however, that if she employs copyrighted music in the ASCAP repertory without permission obtained either by license from ********************** or directly from ASCAPs members, she will be at risk of violating the rights of the copyright owners and may be sued for copyright infringement.  Information as to whether specific musical works are in the ASCAP repertory is available from the ASCAP website, www.ascap.com/repertory.   Alternatively, the Customer can provide ********************** with a list of the musical works she employs (including song titles, the name of at least one songwriter or composer, and the performer if the work is recorded) and ASCAP will advise if any of the works are in the ASCAP repertory.  In addition, the Customer can also apply online for an ********************** license at ******************************/music-users.  
  
  

  Customer response

  05/04/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me so long as they cease all further communications. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **************************

• Initial Complaint

  12/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  After finding out ASCAP took my 4th quarter royalties, I have removed my attorney and I'm looking to hire a new legal counsel. I purchased a buyout of a ****% share in producer royalties for the composition "Love Me More" earlier this year and a 2.5% share in producer royalties for the composition "In My Feelings" in 2018. My previous in-house attorney stated ASCAP has gone above their rules and regulations after 4 years by waiting until the date of distribution to notify my company about any disputes or general questions. I was sent a priority email while my attorney was out of the country so I had to find a new legal counsel that I will be speaking with at the beginning of the year. If ASCAP had requested information in a professional period, they would not be in debt for the $47,000 sent to my company this quarter. I have let my attorney talk to them but had to remove my lawyer after finding out he relocated out of the country. ASCAP rules only cover disputes, and it's nowhere in writing that ASCAP has the right to hold royalties out of a single speculation after many years. Royalty shares are constantly sold or updated daily and it's understood that some registrations may cause a conflict, but that conflict should be brought to the attention of paid memberships as soon as possible, not on the day of payment because that is not in the agreement I paid for.

  Business response

  12/31/2022

  This is **********************s response to the complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau by ************************* on behalf of ********************** Publisher Member Yolonamia Publishing. 

  There is no basis for the complaint because ********************** has not takenthe complainants royalties.  Rather, for the reasons set forth below, ********************** is simply withholding her royalties pending receipt of documentation confirming that she is actually entitled to receive royalties for public performances of the song entitled Love Me More licensed by **********************.  First, however, it is important to provide some background.

  ********************** is a music performance rights licensing organization.  Its members songwriters,composers and music publishers grant ********************** the right to license public performances of their copyrighted musical compositions.  ********************** issues licenses to music users to perform any of the millions of musical compositions written and published by **********************s nearly ******* members.  In turn,**********************s licensees pay license fees that ********************** distributes as royalties to the members whose music is performed publicly by the licensees.  

  In order for ********************** to account properly to its members for public performances of their music, it is critical that ********************** receive from its members accurate information as to their works i.e., the title, the identity of the individuals and entities with interests in each work, and the identity of the performer if the work has been recorded.  Accurate information as to the members music is also important because ********************** maintains a current listing of works in the ********************** repertory for use by **********************s licensees and the general public.  The listing is accessible online via the ********************** website, and is updated continuously.  

  ********************** distributes royalties to its members on a regular basis, employing detailed  rules and procedures.  As part of the regular distribution process, ********************** staff randomly check on a quarterly basis works that earn substantial royalties to be certain ********************** has accurate information for the parties with interests in such works the credited songwriters and music publishers in order to ensure that the proper parties are receiving their royalties for public performances of such works.

  Turning to the complaint, as part of the random checking process described above that was conducted earlier this year, ********************** staff asked that the complainant provide documentation to support her claim to an interest in a song entitled Love Me More, recorded by popular songwriter/performer ******************  In addition to the substantial royalties earned for the song, ********************** staff noted that the complainants registration for the song did not indicate a corresponding writer interest in the song information ********************** needs to ensure that the work is properly listed in **********************s online repertory database.

  Although the complainant has described an agreement by which she claims to have purchased a buyout of a ****% share in producer royalties for the composition Love Me More earlier this year, she has yet to furnish ********************** with a single document to substantiate her claim to any share of royalties for Love Me More.  Accordingly,and for the reasons set forth above, ********************** is currently withholding any royalties attributable to performances of Love Me More to which the complainant would be entitled if she can document her claim to an interest in the song.  (********************** assumes that the reference to producer royalties is a typographical error, and the complainant meant to refer to performance royalties.  If,however, the complainant is actually concerned with producer royalties, then that is a matter she needs to address with those responsible for the production and distribution of recordings of the song, as ********************** has nothing to do with those activities or their resulting royalties.)

  The complainant also refers in her complaint to another song,In My Feelings.  According to **********************s records, the complainant has received all royalties for performances of that song to which she is entitled, at least as of now.

  Lastly, the complainant is incorrect in her assertion that ********************** can only seek documentation of a members claim to an interest in a particular work if that work is the subject of a dispute between the claimant and another ********************** member.  That certainly is one instance in which ********************** may request such documentation pursuant to **********************s membership rules and regulations.  But,for the reasons previously noted, ********************** also is certainly entitled to seek information and appropriate documentation to ensure the accuracy of its work records.

  To conclude, this matter may likely be resolved in the complainants favor as soon as she provides ********************** with documentation of her claim to an interest in the song entitled Love Me More.  In prior correspondence, the complainants attorney expressed a concern regarding confidential treatment of the agreement pertaining to Love Me More that the complainant refers to in her complaint.  To address that concern,********************** is prepared to agree that it will treat as confidential either the terms of that  agreement or any other documentation the complainant has that confirms her ****% interest in the song.  And, once the requested documentation is received and the complainants interest in Love Me More is confirmed, ********************** will update its records accordingly and pay to the complainant all royalties to which she might then be entitled.    

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩