 The Great Depression was already draining artist revenues from recordings and live performances.ASCAP, the pre-eminent royalty/licensing agency for more than two decades, required radio stations to subscribe to "blanket" licenses granting ASCAP a fixed percentage of each station's revenue, regardless of how much music the station played from ASCAP's repertoire.In 1939, ASCAP announced a substantial increase in the revenue share licensees would be required to pay.