Wayne Josel is senior vice president of business and legal affairs at the American Society for Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), the nation’s leading performing rights organization. ASCAP licenses public performance rights in musical works on behalf of nearly 700,000 songwriter and publisher members. In his role, Wayne has primary responsibility for negotiating and structuring license agreements with a broad spectrum of music users, including broadcast and cable television networks, cable television system operators, satellite television and radio system operators, digital service providers, concert promoters, and hospitality providers. Since joining ASCAP in late 2013, Wayne has assisted in closing deals representing over $1 billion in aggregate fees to ASCAP.
Prior to joining ASCAP, Wayne was counsel in the new media, entertainment, and technology practice group at Hughes, Hubbard & Reed. Wayne received his law degree from Fordham University, where he was an editor of the Fordham Law Review. He has a BA in political science from Union College and master’s degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Wayne lives in Larchmont, New York, with his wife, Leslie. His daughter, Madelyn, a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, lives and works in Washington, DC. His son, Eli, is a junior at the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College. In his spare time, Wayne is a drummer, although he is currently between gigs.