ASCAP ANNOUNCES 2005 GENERAL ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Meeting to be Webcast Live for the First Time. "Great Expectations" Pre-Meeting Seminar will Feature Top Songwriters and Composers

ASCAP will hold its General Annual Membership Meeting on Monday, April 4th at the Hammerstein Ballroom (311 West 34th Street, between 8th & 9th Avenues) in New York City.

The General Meeting will begin at 4:00 pm. Prior to the meeting, ASCAP members can attend a special pre-meeting seminar featuring top songwriters and composers, which will begin at 3:00 pm. Both meetings are open to all ASCAP members at no charge. However, members who wish to attend must RSVP at www.ascap.com/rsvp or by calling (800) 746-7977.

ASCAP is very committed to making the best use of the Internet and technology to improve our communication and services to members. Over the past five years, ASCAP's membership base in the U.S. has more than doubled and now totals over 200,000 composer, lyricist and publisher members. To provide an opportunity for all members around the world to be part of the annual meeting, ASCAP will, for the first-time, webcast the meeting live beginning at 3:00 pm EST and archive it on the ASCAP website to allow for future viewing. For further details, go to: http://www.ascap.com

During the meeting, ASCAP President Marilyn Bergman will report on the state of the music industry and current legislation impacting music creators. The meeting will also include reports by ASCAP CEO John LoFrumento and Executive Vice President of Membership Todd Brabec covering ASCAP operations and member accomplishments.

This year's pre-meeting seminar, entitled "Great Expectations," will feature top songwriters and composers exploring the topic of songwriting and composing and talking about how their ideas inspire and inform their creative work.

A networking reception, open to all attendees, will follow the meeting. During the reception, attendees will have the opportunity to meet with ASCAP staff and many of ASCAP's member benefits partners who will display their products and services trade-show style. Exhibitors will include Mediaguide, MusicPro Insurance, Nimbit Web Tools, Sibelius, and US Alliance.

Commencing this year, there will only be one General Annual Membership Meeting, which will alternate between New York and Los Angeles — cities in which ASCAP has the greatest concentration of members. This means that in 2006, the meeting will take place in Los Angeles and be webcast live. ASCAP is the only U.S. performing rights organization to hold annual membership meetings during which members can learn, ask questions and voice concerns.

As reported at last year's meeting, with the high cost of postage, ASCAP is relying more and more heavily on email as the most effective and cost-efficient way to reach our rapidly growing membership. Members who would like to receive an email invitation to this and other ASCAP events must sign up for ASCAP email at www.ascap.com/email. ASCAP sends out one email a month, our monthly email newsletter, ASCAP Inside Music. Our members' privacy is important and ASCAP will not share or sell email addresses with anyone.

Members can also visit our website for up-to-date information and details about the meeting.