Comparison

ASCAP vs Notes.fm

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ASCAP

This app helps ASCAP members manage their music catalog, register new works, and track royalty distributions. It also offers tools for finding collaborators, accessing educational resources, and discovering industry events.

Highlights
  • Manage music and metadata
  • Register new music
  • Scan catalog for data health
  • Check royalty distributions
  • Find collaborators
  • Access music industry education
  • Discover events
Features
Read full description

If you're an ASCAP songwriter, composer or music publisher, you've come to the right place. The ASCAP app connects you to your ASCAP account, with innovative tools to help you get the most out of your membership, and boost your music career. Think of it as a music manager in your pocket. With the ASCAP app you can: - Manage your music and metadata to make sure you’re set up to get paid for your creative work - Add to your ASCAP catalog with our step-by-step guided or quick registration options - Take a work registration quiz for guidance on how to register your new music - Scan your entire catalog with our data health check, and quickly add any missing metadata to help ASCAP get you paid - Check up on your latest ASCAP royalty distributions - Find new collaborators and mentors with the ASCAP Connections messaging platform - Educate yourself on how the money flows in the music industry, and learn how to sustain your music career, whether you’re an experienced creator or just starting out - Find workshops, competitions and networking events near you What is ASCAP? ASCAP is the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, a performing rights organization (PRO) representing over 1.1 million of the greatest songwriters, composers and music publishers in the world. We’re the only PRO in America operating on a not-for-profit basis, and the only one that puts creators first. We get you paid when your music is played ASCAP’s main job is to pay you royalties when your music is played publicly by the businesses we license. And we’re really good at what we do! In 2024, we achieved revenues of $1.835 billion, and distributed $1.696 billion to our songwriter, composer and publisher members. We put music creators first We pay our members all of the music licensing revenue we take in, minus our operating expenses (among the lowest in the industry). Our governing documents require us to pay music creators first – a claim that only ASCAP can make. We’re led by music creators like you ASCAP is the only PRO in the US founded and governed by songwriters, composers and music publishers. Every decision about how we operate is made by music creators like you – not broadcasters, corporations and investors, like our competitors. We innovate ASCAP offers the most advanced data processing systems of any PRO, to ensure that you get paid fairly and accurately. Our ASCAP Lab explores how new technologies and new business approaches can drive value for our members and the businesses that use their music.

About

Notes.fm

This app helps musicians track and collect all their music royalties in one place. It identifies missing registrations and unclaimed money across over 50 platforms, simplifying royalty collection for artists, songwriters, and managers.

Highlights
  • Collect all royalties in one place
  • Identify missing registrations and unclaimed shares
  • Estimate unclaimed royalties
  • Verify songwriter, performer, and producer credits
  • Track catalog health across 50+ platforms
  • Share credit and registration data
Features
Read full description

NOTES Notes is the easiest way to understand and collect all of your music royalties in one place. Every musician deserves all of their royalties. But more than $1 billion goes unclaimed every year, and 50+ platforms each require individual collection. Royalty registrations are fragmented and manual — Notes makes sure you aren't missing money. Collect all of your royalties for your entire catalog. Review your registrations across The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), Performing Rights Organizations (PROs), SoundExchange, and more, and see exactly where royalties are going unclaimed. WHAT NOTES DOES - All your songs in one place — import your existing catalog by artist, playlist, release, or song - Review your catalog for registration issues, including missing registrations, unclaimed shares, and unmatched recordings - See clear, data-backed estimates of unclaimed royalties, built on real stream counts and current mechanical rates - Verify songwriter, performer, and producer credits for the songs in your catalog - Look up the identifiers behind your songs — International Standard Recording Codes (ISRCs), International Standard Musical Work Codes (ISWCs), and Interested Party Information (IPI) numbers - Review recording and songwriting splits alongside the registrations they affect - Track catalog health across 50+ royalty platforms - Share song credits and registration data with your team using the native iOS share sheet WHO IT'S FOR - Musicians tracking their own royalties - Songwriters verifying registrations across PROs and the MLC - Managers reviewing catalog health for the musicians they administer - Labels and publishers monitoring registrations and splits - Anyone who wants to understand the credits behind a song BUILT FOR IPHONE AND IPAD Notes keeps you connected to your catalog wherever you are. Pull to refresh your review, pick up where you left off with a persistent session, and share anything straight from the app. If you lose connectivity, Notes lets you know and reloads automatically when you're back online. Start with a free account at notes.fm. MUSICIAN SUBSCRIPTION Upgrade to Musician in the app for your earnings on your Home Screen, Lock Screen and Control Center, plus notifications when royalties arrive, a statement is ready, or a payment reaches you. Musician is an auto-renewing subscription, billed monthly or yearly to your Apple Account, and renews unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://notes.fm/legal/terms Privacy Policy: https://notes.fm/legal/privacy

Screenshots

ASCAP4 screens
Notes.fm1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Notes.fm at 100% against ASCAP's 70%. Notes.fm also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). ASCAP's advantage is ratings volume (32 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notes.fm holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ASCAP has 32 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of ASCAP's written reviews are positive against 100% of Notes.fm's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ASCAP ships an update monthly, Notes.fm weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ASCAP versus Notes.fm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterASCAPNotes.fm
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (32 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings32 — better2
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB13 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperASCAPNotes Frequencies, Inc.

Customer experience

ASCAP

All ratings32 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral6.3%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative10.0%

Notes.fm

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

ASCAP

No in-app purchases

None

Notes.fm

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ASCAP free?
ASCAP is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notes.fm free?
Notes.fm is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ASCAP or Notes.fm?
Notes.fm is rated higher. ASCAP averages 4.6 out of 5 from 32 ratings, while Notes.fm averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do ASCAP or Notes.fm have ads?
Neither ASCAP nor Notes.fm shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ASCAP or Notes.fm?
ASCAP ships an update monthly, and Notes.fm weekly. Most recently, ASCAP was updated on October 8, 2026 and Notes.fm on October 20, 2026.

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