The American Composers Alliance is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization serving professional American composers of concert music. Founded in 1937 by Aaron Copland to protect the rights of its members and to promote the use and understanding of their music, it is the oldest national organization of its kind. ACA provides a wealth of valuable services to its distinguished composer members. ACA has historically had a diverse membership, and continues to promote the work of African-American and women composers.

The ACA catalog remains one of the most interesting, unique, and diverse collections of American music in the entire world. Our original and continuing mission is to publish and promote our composer members and to support performances of their works.

ACA composers’ works are performed around the world, including recently, by the Indianapolis Symphony, the University of Utah Orchestra, the Alabama Symphony, The Cleveland Institute of Music, The Winnipeg Orchestra, and the Arizona West Honor Choir, among many other chamber groups and solo performers.

Services provided to ACA members:

• Registering your works with BMI, the performing rights society that tracks performances and pays royalties to composers and publishers, so that royalties on performances, recordings, and broadcasts are collected and distributed.

• Registering your works on www.composers.com, a website with our catalog as a searchable database. Members can upload information for their own works directly to the website, using a login and password for administrative access to their works list, bio, and contact information pages, making changes and additions quickly and easily.

• Negotiating the sales and rentals of scores to performers and orchestras, as well as collecting license fees for the recording and reprinting of members' works or excerpts.

• Depositing copies of members' works in the Performing Arts Library at the University of Maryland, one of the leading research centers for American music in the United States. This insures your works will be available in perpetuity, through ACA as well as through interlibrary loan. It is safe, secure, and long-term.

• Print-on-demand service and mailing of scores of members' works to performers, chamber ensembles, orchestras, libraries, and music stores around the world, using professional printing and binding services, under the imprint of American Composers Edition. We are also beginning to offer scans of older scores and PDF versions of typeset scores for perusal and performance.

• ACA Presents an Annual Festival of American Music, featuring the works of ACA composers, past and present, in collaboration with New York City's finest chamber ensembles and solo performers.

• Listing announcements, and promoting upcoming performances and newly released recordings by ACA members on our website.

• Answering telephone, mail, and email inquiries from the public, providing information on our composers and their music.

• Registering compositions with the U.S. Copyright Office in the name of the copyright holder.

• Custodial archiving and representation of composers' works up through the life of copyright.

• Scanning and digitizing paper scores for longterm availability, and transfer of LP and tape audio media to CD or MP3 formats.

Extra fees may apply for some of these services.

ACA currently publishes over 9,000 works, and sells, rents, and licenses works for CD recordings, website streaming, orchestra performances, and many other uses. ACA will act as publisher for any or all works submitted by a member of ACA; most importantly, the composer retains his or her copyright.

ACA is non-profit organization, 501(c)(3) public charity, which functions as a publisher, archivist, custodian, and concert presenter, with an illustrious history and catalog that includes music by Otto Luening, Vladimir Ussachevsky, Robert Helps, Dane Rudhyar, Karl and Vally Weigl, Halsey Stevens, Miriam Gideon, and many, many others.