we are askullcap. in 1914 a small but visionary group of american song write hers an idea. they believed they could protect their rights as music creators more effectively if they joined together rather than going it alone so thank god they formed askullcap. today more than 500 songwriters and writers and music publishers trust and depend on ascap to monitor performances and distribute royalties all on a not for basis, i'll repeat, that on a not-for-profit basis. i'm honored to appear before you today to speak on their behalf. we're here today because technology is changing in the world in wonderful ways. we're moving into a world where people no longer own the music they love. they stream it whenever and wherever they want. at the same time the federal regulations that govern how music is licensed and thousand how song writers like myself are compensated for our work do not reflect way people listen to music today. in fact, they are stuck in the distant past and it's threatening the very future of american music. ascap is governed by a consent degree created in 1941 and la