ASCAP and SACEM, two of the world’s largest collective management organisations, have formed a strategic alliance.
The two collection societies – the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and the Paris-based La Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musique – will leverage their investments in data infrastructure and executive talent/expertise by collaborating to benefit their music creator and publisher members.
“I am excited to strengthen the transatlantic partnership between ASCAP and SACEM and work closely with Cécile on innovative ways to protect and maximise the value of musical works on behalf of our songwriter, composer and publisher members,” said ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews. “France and the United States have a long history of recognising the best in one another, from the democratic ideals of liberty, solidarity and equality to celebrating the diverse musical traditions brought into our repertories from around the world.”
"This strategic alliance is a natural fit for our two not-for-profit collective management organisations and strengthens the solid relationship of trust between SACEM and ASCAP,” said SACEM CEO Cécile Rap-Veber. “At a time when the music ecosystem is undergoing profound transformation, Beth and I are convinced that our shared values and our commitments to innovation, data optimisation and our joint work on AI, will be essential levers for creating ever greater value for the works and the rights-holders we protect, in the most cost-efficient manner.”
Both ASCAP and SACEM delivered record-breaking financial results for their members in 2023.
“As member-governed organisations that operate on a not-for-profit basis, ASCAP and SACEM share a commitment to supporting creators and have already collaborated on innovative projects,” said a statement.
France and the United States have a long history of recognising the best in one another
Elizabeth Matthews
They prototyped new technology approaches to distributing ISWC/ISRC links to enable better work identification in the digital field in 2017 and entered into a digital licensing partnership in 2022, under which SACEM represents the ASCAP repertoire in negotiating with (and collecting from) major DSPs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The societies are also committed to protecting creators’ rights amid the rapid evolution in digital, while experimenting with the next generation of technology to innovate for their members through the ASCAP Lab and SACEM Lab.
This new strategic alliance is based on four pillars:
• Innovating to deliver more income to songwriters: “The alliance will enable the two societies to inject new value and efficiencies into their processes, and minimise their costs by sharing investments for scale across both organisations, with a common goal of delivering accurate services, more income and quicker distribution to their members.”
• Extending their digital partnership in more markets: “This collaboration will build upon a successful track record of delivering more efficient monetisation and faster distributions to ASCAP’s members from ex-US digital audio services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and, going forward, extending into Asia.”
• Launching joint AI task force to navigate the challenges and opportunities of AI for music creators: “In a complex digital landscape, business, technology and legal experts from ASCAP and SACEM will work together to educate members, advocate for increased transparency and fair compensation for creators, and explore business opportunities for using AI to enhance infrastructure and business efficiencies.”
• Bringing music creators together on the global stage: “ASCAP and SACEM are committed to providing their songwriters and composers with opportunities to collaborate and create together for the global music market. The two societies will launch a series of song camps, networking events and educational programs to help their members succeed on the global stage.”
To kick off the new partnership, Matthews and Rap-Veber co-hosted an evening reception on Monday, October 28 in Los Angeles ahead of The American French Film Festival. The reception celebrated the partnership between the two organisations and brought together ASCAP’s top women film composers and SACEM members.
Photo: Robin Lori Marshall
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