Royalty coverage
Does ASCAP collect US mechanical royalties?
Does not
Stated by ASCAP itself: mechanical royalties from streams, downloads and physical sales are NOT collected by performing rights organisations. ASCAP runs a page whose whole purpose is telling members to join The MLC separately.
What this stream is. The songwriting side of a US stream, paid under the statutory blanket licence administered by The MLC. Separate from the recording payment above, and paid to whoever registered the WORK.
Worth knowing about ASCAP
- ★ Joining a PRO does NOT get you your mechanicals. This is the single most common and most expensive misunderstanding in independent music.
- Joining as WRITER ONLY leaves the 50% publisher share of every performance uncollected. ASCAP waives its $50 publisher fee if you join as writer and publisher at the same time, so the cost of doing it right is zero if done at signup.
- "ASCAP handles my sync" is false. It collects only the downstream performance.
Read from ASCAP's own documentation on 2026-08-13. Check it yourself — and if it has changed, tell us.