Here's how to register a song with ASCAP in 2023 | Performance Royalties

[@ascap]

Hi. ASCAP is now free to join as a writer and publisher. Just saying.

[@musicbyazuma]

Been a member since 2014

[@whippitupsensei]

The producer community needed this

[@musicbyazuma]

100% - can't make music your career if you don't know how you're getting paid!

[@ChampagneFilmmakerTV]

I love the video and thank you, question? Why were you rushing to teach this?

[@musicbyazuma]

Many tutorials I saw on KZbin took 10-20 minutes to go through the entire process. I wanted to make something easy for someone to follow for the first time!

[@ChampagneFilmmakerTV]

@@musicbyazuma i appreciate the reply, I guess i learn slowly lol

[@nyronwaite]

Super quick & helpful! Thanks!

[@musicbyazuma]

Glad it helped!

[@iamryan_inBits]

Awesome video, exactly what I was looking for - thanks!

[@musicbyazuma]

Glad to help man!

[@redpillcomedy8568]

Did it Recently Change, I Thought ASCAP and BMI were Free a While Back?

[@musicbyazuma]

BMI used to be free, now ASCAP is free and BMI is paid.

[@damiantaylor896]

Amazing, thanks a million for making this!

[@musicbyazuma]

Glad you liked it!

[@IamQrock]

Super cool! I'm with BMI so it's actually kind of cool getting an insight to the ASCAP side and it's more different than I thought lol Kinda upset at how much cheaper it is to become a publisher on ASCAP vs BMI lol Great vid! I subscribed. Can't wait for the next one man

[@musicbyazuma]

I totally agree! Def benefits and drawbacks to both. Thanks!

[@IamQrock]

@@musicbyazuma Absolutely!

[@mshahrukh666]

​@@musicbyazuma *I want to license my music composition as a songwriter, so which PRO's do you recommend?*

[@cadelegat]

This sas helpful and cleared up some confusion for me. Thank you

[@musicbyazuma]

I'm so glad!

[@TRACEY1JENKINS]

everything sounds good, do you submit an actual song of what your registering?

[@musicbyazuma]

Nope! Just need the metadata for the song and you're good to go!

[@Msfresh07]

Hey man love your video! Is there a way to register a work without having a song writer? For example the work I want to register is just an instrumental beat for now.

[@musicbyazuma]

As a producer, technically you're included as a songwriter!

[@W1llyummy]

Wow extremely fast but helpful. So I'm leaving love here.

[@musicbyazuma]

Thanks for coming

[@jimmyjagessar749]

Thanks for the info. I wrote and produced my songs but I have a studio person singing my songs, how do I register that on Ascap? Appreciate the help brother

[@musicbyazuma]

Depends on your agreement with them! But most likely if they participated in the writing they should receive some sort of publishing on the back-end.

[@mcdjaye]

So when you said that for the songs you have music library you leave it blank do i do the same if my music on all platforms

[@musicbyazuma]

For tracks in a library, the sync agent or library should be doing the registration for you.

[@emmayates5007]

also do I need BMI 2? or is just azcap fine

[@musicbyazuma]

You can only affiliate with one PRO as a writer.

[@fitfulfire2588]

Do you have one for registering a song as a producer/beat maker?

[@musicbyazuma]

I would 100%. As a beatmaker, producer, or any collaborator in the process - you are owed publishing

[@KxngFasa]

So When You Get To The Part “Is This A Concert Work? If Not, Skip”. What Do We Enter ?

[@musicbyazuma]

Best to just skip if you're not playing shows

[@KxngFasa]

@@musicbyazuma Thanks!

[@SirKarni]

Good video! i have unreleased songs that are intended for sync licensing, do i leave the release date/isrc blank or am i unable to register unreleased music? im with ASCAP btw!

[@musicbyazuma]

Yessir! You can always submit an edit once the song has been submittied.

[@RobertWester-n1z]

How do we go through the process of signing up for ASCAP?

[@musicbyazuma]

Apply directly on their website

[@emmayates5007]

if I post my music thru distrokid, but I post manually thru KZbin do I have to register that 2wice?

[@musicbyazuma]

Nope

[@CathryneParks]

Question. Any advice for an ASCAP member composer who was hired and wrote orchestration (for symphony performance) to accompany music which is currently registered with BMI?

[@musicbyazuma]

Depends on your contract but you should be entitled to some sort of publishing on the backend. I would contact them and ask!

[@AmbushBeats]

After getting the “accepted” title, does that mean that I should expect my money from the songs to be added into my bank account whenever the payouts are?

[@musicbyazuma]

Yep you'll start seeing monthly statements

[@AmbushBeats]

@@musicbyazuma it’s been since January just about and I haven’t seen anything yet

[@officialyoungpope]

What is considered a publisher ? If I have no label and only have distribution on distrokid is that the publisher ?

[@musicbyazuma]

You can be your own publisher. Just need to sign as a publishing entity with your PRO. Basically there are two halves to performance royalties: writer's share and publisher's share - in order to collect both, you'll need to register as both a writer and publisher

[@Dj-Donmar]

I Would like to know Whats PRO Release Letter and How do i get One So that i can Create The Ascap Account

[@musicbyazuma]

?

[@Dj-Donmar]

@@musicbyazuma never mind I got the account open I have to use my business account

[@IsaacGarcia-uh6hh]

so I want to register a song and is feat another artist, do I add them to the writing percent, or do all that on distrokid?

[@musicbyazuma]

You can do it with Splits on the registration page 👍

[@Neilelliott1]

How do you register cover songs to get ASCAP to pay KZbin royalties?

[@musicbyazuma]

Technically you cannot collect your performance royalties for cover songs as the original song was written by someone else. You can, however, collect the mechanicals and master recording royalties generated from "your version" of that song.

[@SaiMugga]

@@musicbyazumayou can with songtrust if I’m not mistaken

[@benschmidt1353]

Hi, I have a song with 2 producers and me the artist. They both live in different countries I believe and I am from the US. I have ascap. If they have different PRO’s can I add them as writers and publishers for splits on my ASCAP?

[@musicbyazuma]

Yes you can, just make sure their information is complete

[@PARADISEtherapper]

If you leased a beat off of youtube, do you need to add the producer, that u leased from as a writer? And if so how do you get the correct information from producers to add to publishing?

[@musicbyazuma]

Really depends on the licensing agreement on Beatstars or wherever you downloaded the track. Make sure to look into the contract to see if there is any language regarding splits/publishing shares

[@Gotee71]

Do you just put only yourself as writer and publisher if you've hired a co-songwriter and paid them an extra fee to have complete use of the song for royalties-no split, but they still want a co-writers credit?

[@musicbyazuma]

100%. That would be a work-for-hire situation. You'd be the sole writer/publisher.

[@ctm130]

what if the writer/composer is the publisher as i am should i put my name in as the publisher? And what if the writer/composer is the recording artist as I am but i'm using a band name as well but do not have a band or collaborators yett should i put my name or the band name as the recording artist

[@musicbyazuma]

You should have two separate accounts. One writer and one publisher. Each band member should have their own account as well.

[@Sendthehit]

💡

[@musicbyazuma]

Woot!

[@benschmidt1353]

I followed your video for registering a song in my writer account. Do I need to log in to my publishing account as well and register the song there too if I am the publisher as well? I am not sure because also in the writer account my writer name was found when registering the song but my publisher name wasn't and it says "Interest Party Status Unidentified Non-Authoritative" and not sure if it will collect royalties for publishing

[@musicbyazuma]

Just need to register it in one place. The registration will appear on your other accounts. Unidentified Non-Authoritative means the information wasn't filled out correctly - I would contact ASCAP support to see if they can link the correct song for you.

[@RioPapachristosMusic]

Is it possible to register a song that has already been published?

[@musicbyazuma]

100%. Just make sure to include the recording information below

[@RioPapachristosMusic]

@@musicbyazuma Thank you🙏🏻

[@hashon963]

[@viloria_]

Hi there, is it possible to register an entire album? Or do you always have to register song by song?

[@MelgamingProductions]

Song by song I would say since it would be different splits per song and different publishing splits if you get what im trying to say it just makes more sense

[@musicbyazuma]

Song by song due to each song having different splits, and the possibility of you reuploading songs in other albums/compilations in the future.

[@musicbyazuma]

This 100%. Each song needs to have it's own entry.

[@RachyKatly]

Seems like ascap is now free and bmi is $75 ?

[@musicbyazuma]

I believe it's due to BMI getting acquired and ASCAP pivoting to grab more market share.

[@MarcusTHESOUNDPAINTERMiles]

DO YOU DOWNLOAD THE SONG?

[@musicbyazuma]

Nope!

[@bigmacthewolf4040]

If I already added my song as a writer- how do I add myself as publisher to the same song?

[@musicbyazuma]

It would be on the same entry.

[@only1vergobeatzz]

Hi,I'm currently signing up on ascap but I'm stuck at the REQUIRED: IRS FORM area.I'm not a resident of the USA,I'm in Nigeria, so which form do I choose and download?

[@musicbyazuma]

You should register with the PRO in your country/nearby country. ASCAP is only available for US artists.

[@AustinCobbMusic]

Can I register original songs I intend to publish (e.g., to Spotify) in the future, but they are not yet released? will I still be able to report performances and collect on those songs?

[@musicbyazuma]

Yep, that is ideally what you want to do.

[@305KingDavid]

I have my own publishing account but if I’m working with a artist do I use there BMI PUBLISHING ? And wouldn’t that give my publishing checks to them???

[@musicbyazuma]

You should have two accounts (one writer and one publisher). The artist you're working with should have two accounts as well. When you are registering the song, make sure to add the respective accounts for each person.

[@305KingDavid]

I do have the Writers and Publishing accounts I registered and added my publishing to it. But how do I confirm the record with the artist that have record but didn’t publish

[@brixfabs]

As a brand new artist, I am stressed out...currently crying lol

[@musicbyazuma]

You got this! You only need to sign up with 3 organizations if you're based in the US!

[@Remanente07]

@@musicbyazuma which ones?

[@TheMajerFamily]

If I want to release music that is copyright free for people to use in their content like Neffex does, does ASCAP block those people from using my music?

[@musicbyazuma]

Nope, Content ID is usually done by another 3rd party like Identiffy or Adrev. ASCAP won't block those videos.

[@SaiMugga]

The part where it says agreement. Why is there a “N” next to it and what am I missing

[@musicbyazuma]

?

[@xochitlsfinest]

Does anyone know how to edit on ascap after hitting submit?

[@musicbyazuma]

You can edit via your entry on your Music tab

[@xochitlsfinest]

Thank you.

[@LemarDaKid1]

If it’s a featured song. How do I go about that?

[@musicbyazuma]

So long as you have an agreement with the other songwriters/producers, you should be entitled to a % of the royalties.

[@TenacityB222]

What the purpose of publisher as if I just signed up as a writer ? I’m barely initiating and getting to know what it is to register songs and there’s some terms that are simple but have deep meaning in this if you or someone can tell me

[@musicbyazuma]

You'll need to sign up as both a writer and publisher. They are two separate accounts that generate money when your songs are performed publicly.

[@TenacityB222]

@@musicbyazuma let’s say I made a writers can I still make the one as a writer or publisher or is that to late

[@emmayates5007]

back again

[@musicbyazuma]

nice

[@mymusicpublisher]

You gotta slow stuff like this down. The information is to important to rush over it.

[@musicbyazuma]

You can always rewatch the video

[@mymusicpublisher]

@@musicbyazuma👍🏿

[@ceciliathomas7349]

How do you take down a song

[@musicbyazuma]

Take down a song from your catalog or?

[@melaniesanchez3500]

Hum - way too fast - slow down for the old folks please!

[@Ca4eJosue]

bro your talking to fast slow down next time

[@musicbyazuma]

Noted

[@dab3256]

I'm more confused

[@musicbyazuma]

Which part is confusing for you?

[@brilliantlabproductions007]

sub

[@musicbyazuma]

Thanks!

[@gasparucciox9706]

you talk too fast man!! 😀

[@musicbyazuma]

0.5x speed my friend