[via Reuters] Just yesterday, Patti Smith received a lifetime achievement award from the songwriting royalties groups ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers), a group that collects royalties on behalf of its member songwriters and copyright holders from public performances like radio, TV, in bars, restaurants, and concert halls. Songwriters especially benefit if others cover their songs.

During her acceptance speech in Hollywood, Smith talked about how ASCAP checks helped her out of some really hard times, especially after the death of her husband, punk rocker Fred “Sonic” Smith, who left her a widowed mother of two. Which goes to show that not every musician, even iconic ones, are rolling in the dough.

“I was actually down on my luck,” Smith said. “And what helped bail me out and helped me get back on my feet were the ASCAP checks that I got for ‘Because the Night.’”

In the case of “Because the Night”, versions by co-writer Bruce Springsteen and 10,000 Maniacs have kept the checks coming to Smith.

After releasing her seminal 1975 album Horses, Smith said she knew nothing about royalties.

“I just thought you did your record and that was it. And the first time I got these check, I said, ‘I already got paid for that song.’ So I’m grateful in good times, and I was very grateful in hard times.”

Congrats to Patti Smith. She certainly deserves it.

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