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American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
Every time music is purchased, performed live, or played on radio, royalties are paid to the artists who perform and write that music. When Napster arrived though, that payment modality was challenged.
At the same time, ASCAP was being challenged by its two major competitors (BMI and SESAC) for dominance in the royalty marketplace, while record companies were scrambling to recoup losses that would occur from a change in the marketplace.
With 145,000 members and millions of dollars in royalties at stake, ASCAP decided it needed to evaluate how it would respond to Congress and to a public that was more than eager to download music for free. They turned to Passion Marketing for help.
Process
Our process began with a public brand audit - not only of ASCAP as an organization and music consumers, but also of ASCAP's constituency, the songwriters.
We involved musicians, songwriters, technologists, and public consumers ranging in age from college-age to adult in creating a video to help spark internal discussion and address the future direction for the organization.
Some key issues uncovered in this process included the following perceptions among the public:
- That songwriters and record labels are one and the same
- That songwriters are rich (less than one half of one percent actually make a living as full-time songwriters)
- That songwriting is not a career; authentic music is performed by the person(s) who wrote it
- That songwriters who do not perform their own music are "lesser"
- The anonymity of the songwriter
- That record companies are "ripping off" the consumer
- That people who create work (music, art, scientific discoveries etc.) deserve to be compensated
- That ASCAP is virtually unknown in public circles
Results
As a result of the brand audit, it was clear that the Napster issue had only been the catalyst for investigating many relevant long-term issues. Once discovered, ASCAP was able to address them.
In addition, ASCAP was empowered to move forward with short-term actions to protect their members from illegal downloads.
- They allowed record companies to continue to carry the public "stick" against Napster while working in the background with legislators and technologists to properly monetize this new channel of distribution.
- They realized that a longer-term approach for educating college students and the public-at-large about how creators of work (be that art, science, or business of any type) deserve to be compensated was needed.
- They undertook an ambitious public awareness campaign by developing public concert series and awards shows to highlight the work of the songwriter in music. ASCAP now has also developed a relationship with Heineken USA on a local concert series with new and emerging artists touring the United States.
Conclusions
In the end, we were able to help ASCAP understand that Napster was not the main issue.
Brand awareness - not of ASCAP, but of the songwriter - became of paramount importance through the process.
As a champion of the songwriter, ASCAP reinforced its image among current and potential members, maintaining its dominance in an ever more competitive royalty distribution marketplace.
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