The Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Ltd.(CASH) [1] is a copyright society in Hong Kong which aims to administer and enforce collectively the rights of composers and authors of musical works subsisting under the copyright law of Hong Kong SAR. Its motto is: "Protect Copyright - Let Creativity Flourish". The word "Author" here stands for "Lyricist" instead of the common understanding of an author. CASH has established the CASH Music Fund to promote a higher standard of local music composition and to encourage and develop songwriting talent by sponsoring a wide range of musical activities in Hong Kong.
CASH at present controls the copyright of musical works of over 1 million local Members and Members from more than 60 overseas affiliated Societies. All licence fees after deduction of its administrative costs (around 20% in 2000) will be distributed to local Members and overseas affiliated Societies.
The society also protects and administers the rights of its Members in more than 130 countries/territories throughout the world by means of reciprocal representation agreements with overseas Societies.[2]
To be eligible as a member of CASH, one must be either a writer (including composers and authors) or a music publisher:
Writer (including composers and authors)
Hong Kong Identity Card holder;
Original composer and / or lyricist; and
Meeting one of the following 2 conditions : (i) At least 1 work having been commercially published; or (ii) 3 counts of having been broadcast or made available or publicly performed by CASH licensees or in CASH licensed venues irrespective of the number of works involved.
Heir of a deceased composer and / or author is also eligible to apply for 'Successor' membership.
Publisher
A publishing company or organisation registered in Hong Kong with publishing as its main objective; and has copyright ownership or publishing right of at least five works (e.g. commercially released CD or sheet music) within the last two years.
| Member type | Number of members |
|---|---|
| Writer | 2601 |
| Publisher | 260 |
| Successor | 32 |
| Grand Total: | 2893 (as of 21 Sept, 2006) |