Dear ASCAP member,

Happy New Year. I am so grateful to you and our beautifully diverse family of creators. Your incredible music continues to beam a powerful light in the darkness, and spread joy around the world.

Your music also gives us the gift of hope, which is so critical as we enter a third year of a global pandemic. So many of us are still experiencing the physical, emotional and financial trauma of yet another season of canceled gigs and rising infection rates. That is why all of us at ASCAP are more focused than ever on getting you paid fairly and consistently, and supporting your life as a music creator. We are dedicated to forging ahead with that work in 2022.

As we embrace the year ahead, I want to celebrate a few of our accomplishments in 2021.

In 2021, you succeeded like never before. You wrote and published the music with the most heart, soul and impact and, as a result, you achieved #1 songs across 37 separate Billboard Year-End charts. You also garnered the music industry’s highest honors, in every genre imaginable, winning Grammys, Oscars and Golden Globes, CMAs, Latin Grammys, daytime and primetime Emmys, World Soundtrack Awards, the Pulitzer Prize and the Gaudeamus Award. You were also named NEA Jazz Masters and Kennedy Center Honorees, and inducted into the Rock & Roll and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Congratulations to all of you who made a difference in our lives with your music this past year.

Our community grew to more than 850,000 music creators and we welcomed and fostered bonds with some of the world’s most talented songwriters and composers. To name just a few:  Olivia Rodrigo, Adam Levine, Dua Lipa, blackbear, Justin Bieber, Old Dominion, Steven Tyler, Lewis Capaldi, Camilo, Jhay Cortez, Marco Beltrami, Willow and Jayden Smith, Migos, Paul McCartney, John Debney, Summer Walker, Midland, Lil Uzi Vert, Jimi Hendrix, Louis Bell, Calvin Harris, Janelle Monáe, Travis Barker, Corey Crowder, Lyle Lovett, French Montana, G-Eazy, Led Zeppelin and Solange.

We proved over and over again that your music can be a force for good in the wider world. ASCAP’s Fight for Change initiative continued to provide resources to promote a more just, inclusive and engaged society. We celebrated the diversity of our community with campaigns for Black History Month, Pride Month, Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Hispanic Heritage Month. And in June, ASCAP matched its employees’ contributions to two national organizations on the frontlines of the fight against systemic racism - Color of Change and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

ASCAP expanded its Audio-Visual Premium payment plan to ensure that our composers have the ability to earn a viable living from top-streamed shows on major “over-the-top” streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Apple TV+, Disney+ and HBO Max. This is in addition to the continuation of premium eligibility for top-rated series on cable and broadcast.

We built upon the work we started in 2020 with our ASCAP Citizen initiative. Being engaged citizens is essential to a strong future for the entire American music community. That is why ASCAP signed a joint statement expressing our support for protecting voting access organized by the Civic Alliance, a nonpartisan group of businesses working together to build a future where everyone participates in shaping our country.

We continued to advocate for the rights of music creators and defend the value of your music in Washington. Dozens of ASCAP songwriters and composers took part in our virtual ASCAP “Stand with Songwriters” Advocacy Month meetings with key members of Congress. The meetings gave lawmakers a chance to hear directly from you about the policy issues that affect your livelihoods. Along with ASCAP Board members, participating members included Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo, Rhymefest, Siddhartha Khosla, Dennis DeYoung, Michael Abels, Gene Simmons, John Rich, Billy Steinberg, Matthew West and many others. Lawmakers also enjoyed performances from talents like Emily Bear, Joss Favela, ROE and Chris DeStefano. Thanks to all of you who used your voice for the good of our community.

More of you gave back to your community by sharing your wisdom and expertise through our virtual ASCAP Experience educational series. Thanks to you, we expanded the reach of this successful program. We hosted 22 sessions and offered two feedback opportunities, drawing nearly 17,000 registrants from 93 countries (a 54% increase compared to last year) and generating over 40K views of our 2021 original programming. I am grateful for all of you who participated.

Moving forward, let’s embrace the values that define us as music creators - collaboration, diversity, empathy, courage, gratitude and hope come to mind. Those very same qualities reflect who we are as an organization. Collectively, we can continue being a force for good in a world that needs our music more than ever - to feel connected, be inspired and imagine what is possible.

Thank you for being an ASCAP member. I wish you and your loved ones much health, peace of mind and great fortune in 2022.

Sincerely,

Paul Williams
ASCAP President & Chairman of the Board