ASCAP and Sony Music

ASCAP is the first of three performing rights organizations that we will see on the tour today. PROs, as they are commonly known, collect royalties for copyrighted songs that are performed live, or featured in recordings heard over radio, on television, or in movies. These organizations ensure that songwriters and publishing companies are compensated for the work they create or control.

Run by and for those who write and publish music, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers is the global leader in performance royalties, advocacy, and service. ASCAP was formed in 1914 and maintains a membership of nearly 700,000 songwriters, composers, and publishers. 

ASCAP maintains an open membership policy, which allows anyone to apply. They represent many music and media genres including orchestral, country, jazz, Latin, pop/rock, rhythm & blues, musical theater, film, and television. ASCAP’s registry includes 11.5 million published works and has 500 billion performances processed annually. ASCAP first rented offices in the office complex attached to RCA Victor Studio A in 1965. Then, in 1968, they began leasing property from Owen Bradley and Chet Atkins—in a building previously located at this site. The current offices you see today were designed by architect Tom Bulla, who sought to give the building a modern feel—modeled after ASCAP’s original offices located in New York City. Music Row may have been first known as a hub for music recording, but ASCAP’s decision to relocate to Nashville reflects our desire to protect the legal rights of those who write and publish music as well.

For the second part of this stop continue on to the building next door. Sony Music is located at 8 Music Square West. Hit pause and press play when you are ready to begin. 

The current Sony/ATV building was first occupied by Tree International Publishing, one of Nashville’s most important historic publishing companies. Tree Publishing started in downtown Nashville in 1951 when Jack Stapp teamed up with Lou Cowan. They hired Buddy Killen in 1953 as a demo singer and staff song plugger, and the company moved to this building in 1954. Tree’s first hit was “Yonder Comes a Sucker” by Jim Reeves, but they would rocket to fame after “Heartbreak Hotel” was recorded by Elvis Presley at the nearby RCA Victor Studio that was located at 1525 McGavock Street. Tree continued to have success with songs such as “I Fall to Pieces,” “King of the Road,” “Crazy,” and “Green, Green Grass of Home.” CBS Records purchased Tree Publishing in 1989 from Buddy Killen, by then the sole owner of Tree, for 40 million dollars. 

For the next stop, continue down Music Square West, away from Owen Bradley Park. The next stop is just next door: Tree Publishing and Former Fire Hall No. 7.