# ASCAP boycott

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The **ASCAP boycott** was a 1941 [boycott](/source/Boycott) of the [American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers](/source/American_Society_of_Composers,_Authors_and_Publishers) (ASCAP) by radio broadcasters, due to license fees. From another perspective, it was a boycott of radio broadcasters by ASCAP,[1] "concerned about the unlicensed radio broadcast of its members' material ..."[2]

## Causes of the boycott

Between 1931 and 1939, ASCAP increased royalty rates charged to broadcasters some 448%.[3]

In 1940, when ASCAP tried to triple its license fees, radio broadcasters prepared to resist their demands by enforcing a boycott of ASCAP,[4] and inaugurating a competing royalty agency, [Broadcast Music, Inc.](/source/Broadcast_Music,_Inc.) (BMI).[5] It is currently the largest performing rights organization in the United States and one of the largest in the world.

## Events of the boycott

During a ten-month period lasting from January 1 to October 29, 1941, no music licensed by ASCAP (1,250,000 songs) was broadcast on [NBC](/source/NBC) or [CBS](/source/CBS) radio stations. Instead, the stations played songs in the [public domain](/source/Public_domain), regional music, and styles (like [rhythm and blues](/source/Rhythm_and_blues) or country) that had been traditionally disdained by ASCAP, resulting in many classical compositions being recorded by the big bands.

## Resolution

When the differences between ASCAP and the broadcasters were resolved, ASCAP agreed to settle for a lower fee[specify] than they had initially demanded.[6]

## Beneficiaries of the boycott

"[Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair](/source/Jeanie_with_the_Light_Brown_Hair)", an 1854 [song](/source/Song), was a notorious beneficiary of the ASCAP boycott. According to *[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))* magazine, "So often had BMI's Jeannie [*sic*] With the Light Brown Hair been played that she was widely reported to have turned grey."[7] Another beneficiary was [Glenn Miller](/source/Glenn_Miller)'s "[Song of the Volga Boatmen](/source/Song_of_the_Volga_Boatmen)".[8]

## See also

- [List of boycotts](/source/List_of_boycotts)

## References

1. Pitt, Ivan L. (2015). [*Direct Licensing and the Music Industry: How Technology, Innovation and Competition Reshaped Copyright Licensing*](https://books.google.com/books?id=wv-4CgAAQBAJ&q=%22ASCAP+boycott%22&pg=PR6). Springer. p. vi. ISBN 9783319176536. Retrieved 2 November 2018.

1. Bayles, Martha (1996). [*Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music*](https://books.google.com/books?id=pmcaVNZNF-cC&q=%22ASCAP+boycott%22&pg=PA109). University of Chicago Press. p. 109. ISBN 9780226039596. Retrieved 1 November 2018.

1. [Larry Lessig](/source/Larry_Lessig).["Larry Lessig on laws that choke creativity](https://www.ted.com/talks/lawrence_lessig_laws_that_choke_creativity)" (minute 6:00), [TED](/source/TED_(conference)) Talk, 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2011.

1. Schneider, John (4 May 2015). ["This Boycott Changed American Music"](https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/this-boycott-changed-american-music). *RadioWorld*. Future plc. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20181102002556/https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/this-boycott-changed-american-music) 2 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 November 2018.

1. Maslon, Laurence (2018). [*Broadway to Main Street: How Show Tunes Enchanted America*](https://books.google.com/books?id=PhlnDwAAQBAJ&q=%22ASCAP+boycott%22&pg=PA63). Oxford University Press. p. 59. ISBN 9780199832545. Retrieved 1 November 2018.

1. Elijah Wald, *How The Beatles Destroyed Rock'n'Roll*, p. 131

1. ["No Letup"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080530112301/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,801239,00.html). *[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))*. 27 January 1941. Archived from [the original](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,801239,00.html) on May 30, 2008.

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