The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a United States performing rights organization (PRO), has named Jackson Wagener as Senior Vice President and Head of General Licensing. The appointment takes effect on January 1, 2027.
Wagener will report to Stephanie Ruyle, ASCAP’s Executive Vice President and Head of Licensing. He will lead the team that licenses the organization’s repertory of more than 20 million musical works to restaurants, bars, hotels, airlines, fitness studios, live music venues, and other establishments that use music.
“Jackson pairs deep legal expertise with a clear sense of what licensees want and music creators need in today’s world,” said Ruyle. “In a rapidly changing market, he is uniquely equipped to pioneer the kind of innovative licensing solutions that make it easier than ever for businesses to utilize music, while ensuring songwriters are fairly compensated for performances of their work.”
“As technology reshapes the music landscape, ASCAP keeps evolving and innovating to deliver more value for our business partners and our songwriter members,” said Wagener. “I am thrilled to join the incredibly talented General Licensing team at a time when their work matters more than ever to the music creators we represent.”
Career background#
A 12-year veteran of ASCAP, Wagener currently serves as Senior Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs, a role he has held since 2020. In that position, he is responsible for the strategic implementation and deployment of ASCAP’s nationwide copyright infringement litigation program across all forms of media, including general licensing, broadcast radio, television, and internet and emerging technologies.
That rate-setting and enforcement work has featured in ASCAP’s dealings with broadcasters, including a settlement with US radio broadcasters that raised the royalty rates paid by nearly 10,000 stations.
Wagener joined ASCAP as Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs, in January 2014, arriving from the New York office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Before that, he was a commercial litigation associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, also in New York. He is a graduate of Columbia Law School and holds an M.A. in Sociology and a B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University.
Licensing leadership and ASCAP metrics#
Wagener’s appointment follows other recent moves within ASCAP’s licensing leadership. It follows the promotion of Hayley Dukes to Senior Vice President of Licensing in January 2026, a role that also reports to Ruyle.
ASCAP operates as the only US PRO run on a not-for-profit basis and represents more than one million songwriters, composers, and music publishers. Key figures reported by ASCAP include:
- Record payout of $1.76 billion to songwriters and publishers in 2025
- Total revenue of $1.945 billion in 2025, up 6% year-on-year
- Membership above 1.1 million, with more than 80,000 new members in 2025
- Lowest overhead rate among US PROs at 10%, with no debt
ASCAP says it returns nearly 90 cents of every dollar it collects to its members as royalties. General licensing represents the brick-and-mortar side of ASCAP’s collections, covering hundreds of thousands of businesses across the US.
