RELATED STORIES • A Special Message for Affected Members Expecting ASCAP September or October Royalty Distributions • ASCAP Employees Announce Special Concert for Katrina Victims • Helping Musicians Affected by Katrina

New York, NY, September 19, 2005 — In a move to aid local customers affected by Hurricane Katrina, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) announced today that it is waiving the licensing fees owed by customers located in the affected Gulf Coast area. Restaurants, bars, retail outlets and educational institutions will not have to pay from September through December 2005, and local radio and television customers will be credited for the months of September and October 2005.

A complete list of eligible areas is available. Click Here.

"Many of ASCAP's licensing customers, the users of our members' music, were devastated by the affects of Hurricane Katrina," said ASCAP Senior Vice President of Licensing Vincent Candilora. "We want to do what we can to help get them on the road to recovery as soon as possible."

This contribution by ASCAP complements the special concert performances made by a long list of the society’s singer/songwriter members including Kelly Clarkson, Coldplay (PRS), Elvis Costello (PRS), Green Day, Emmylou Harris, Alicia Keys, Diana Krall (SOCAN), Lenny Kravitz, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Paul McCartney (PRS), Rob Thomas, U2 (PRS), Tom Waits, and Neil Young.

Additionally, the ASCAP Employees for Relief Fund has announced a special ASCAP employee benefit concert scheduled for September 21, 2005 at 2:00 pm at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College in Manhattan (10th Avenue between 58th and 59th Streets). For ticket availability and more details, please call the ASCAP Employees for Relief special concert hotline at 800-272-2795 or email info@ascap.com

About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the world’s largest performing-right organization, with over 220,000 composer, lyricist and music publisher members. ASCAP is committed to protecting the rights of its members by licensing and collecting royalties for the public performance of their copyrighted works, and then distributing these fees to the Society’s members based on performances. ASCAP’s repertory spans the entire spectrum of music - from pop to symphonic, rock to gospel, Latin to country to jazz, rhythm and blues, theater, film and television music. ASCAP’s Board of Directors is made up solely of writers and publishers, elected by the membership.