Membership Services

 COMPOSERS must be members of BMI prior to applying for membership in ACA.

ACA currently publishes over 11,000 titles, and sells, rents, and licenses its works for CD recordings, website streaming, choral, chamber and orchestra performances, textbook and article reprints, and many other uses.

ACA acts as the exclusive publisher for any or all works submitted by its composers, once membership has been established. Most importantly, the composer retains his or her copyright and can transfer works to other publishers at any time.

ACA Membership Regular Services, covered by annual dues:

(Examples of services currently available; Changes or additions may be made from time to time by the ACA Board of Governors)

ACA Regular Services listed below are included in the membership dues. Current members in good standing can expect to receive these benefits, which apply only to the member’s ACA-registered works:

i. Promotion of the member's ACA music catalog on the ACA website. Members are listed in the Composer Gallery on the ACA website (www.composers.com) and given a webpage with biography, list of ACA works, contact information, and login credentials to update and edit the page, with listings of new works subject to ACA approval.

ii. Registration of new works with BMI as they are completed and ready for performance, upon receipt of a New Work Registration form (now conveniently online) from the composer.

iii. Receiving and managing the members’ digital scores and parts masters, and performance materials for ACA-published works.  

iv. Receive and respond to information requests and sales orders for selling and renting scores that have been delivered to ACA in print or PDF (portable document format) files.

v. Printing, binding, and shipping of scores in professional-use formats at customers' requests, with ACA covers.

vi.         Members' requests for their own scores should be emailed to sales [at] composers [dot] com (sales [at] composers [dot] com )with complete instructions and contact or shipping information for the recipient, including phone and email info. Printing discounts for members may be 15%-50% lower than the catalog list price, based on production costs incurred by ACA.

vii. Posting mp3 sound files for ACA works on the ACA server or website for streaming and download. Members may also upload their own sound excerpts to their composition pages online, subject to file size limitations.

viii. Issue mechanical and other licenses to and collect fees from producers of recordings, dramatic productions, or film and video synchronizations of ACA-published music.

ix. Annual statement and payment to members for their share of sales, rentals, and other ACA-licensed uses of members' materials, per ACA agreement.

x. Preservation of legacy by collecting and filing references, biographies, and liner notes supplied by the member or estate to provide information for future programs, concerts, re-issue recordings, articles, and general research.

ACA Special Services may incur standard hourly rates. Contact ACA for availability, hourly rate, and price quote. ACA Special Services include the following:

i. Obtaining necessary permissions from authors, estates, and publishers to use texts, poetry, or quotations in musical works to be published by ACA. Current BMI policy requires proof of permission to set texts and translations that are not in the public domain. Therefore, a member setting text to music needs to obtain the broadest possible rights to the text before the music using such text can be registered, listed, or performed in public.

ii. Production management of concert presentations or recording sessions for the member’s ACA works. This can include promotion, contracting players and staff, and providing liability insurance and BMI performing rights licenses for concerts that feature ACA works.

iii. Digital scanning of scores and parts for ACA’s digital score collection; scanning or reformatting of oversized score masters for reprinting in current standard performance-sized formats;

iv. Conversion of files into PDF from computer program files.

v. Formatting scores submitted in PDF or Word files but not assembled.

vi. Engraving scores into Finale or similar software, or editing and repairing substandard engraver files or those that do not meet the guidelines listed in Composer’s Toolkit.

vii. Delivery of the member's physical printing masters and performance materials for ACA-published works to Special Collections in Performing Arts at the University of Maryland (contingent on the member's signing a deed of gift for these materials). Scores and related materials are managed and cared for according to accepted professional standards, using the best judgment of Library staff.

viii. Transfer of LP, cassette, open reel, DAT, DVD, or other older formats to CD audio or MP3 files.

ix. Transfer of CD tracks to MP3 or other compressed formats, or editing into excerpts for website presentation.

x. Creating and shipping CD copies or providing secure digital downloads or scores and audio files to customers at the member’s request.

xi. Excerpting sections of DVD or other video formats or uploading video for online web promotion.

xii. Storage of digital files uploaded to ACA-provided ftp server in excess of 1 gigabyte per member; Storage of physical scores and recordings of non-ACA published works.

xiii. Registration of copyright with the Library of Congress on behalf of copyright owners or their heirs. Ownership of copyright remains with the member or his/her heirs.

xiv. Fiscal sponsorship or grant proposal application assistance.

xv. Any other service not listed under ACA Regular or Special Services may be provided at the discretion of the Executive Director.