I joined ASCAP back in 2001 and didn’t join as a publisher at the same time. I’m not exactly sure why. It could have been due to ignorance of the process (highly likely since I’m still somewhat ignorant today). Or could be that joining as both wasn’t a thing then.
If you join today you’re given the option to join as both for free, but if you didn’t do that (like me) it will cost you $50 to join as a publisher.
Of course, songwriters should be their own publisher since royalties from performance rights organizations like ASCAP split them 50/50 between the songwriter(s) and publisher(s).
So if you’re only signed up as a songwriter, go to ASCAP and sign up as a publisher. You’ll need to join separately (it’s not linked to your songwriting account).
When you pay your $50 you can opt to donate $5 to the ASCAP Foundation which is a publicly supported charity that serves music creators through grant programs and educational initiatives. The foundation has awarded over $160 million to date in grants, scholarships, fellowships, professional development awards and other funding to aspiring and established music makers from all genres. They also host events such as master classes and workshops to educate music creators on the industry and provide them with career advancement opportunities.
