What Acoustical Society of America does

The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is an international nonprofit scientific society founded in 1929 and headquartered in Melville, New York, with a publications office in Hyannis, Massachusetts. It serves approximately 7,500 members worldwide, including physical and life scientists, engineers, architects, psychologists, musicians, and speech communication specialists active in the field of acoustics. The Society is governed by an Executive Council led by a President, President-Elect, Vice President, Vice President-Elect, Treasurer, and Executive Director, supported by 14 technical committees spanning specialties such as Architectural Acoustics, Underwater Acoustics, Biomedical Acoustics, and Musical Acoustics.

ASA's core product portfolio centers on the generation, peer review, and dissemination of acoustics knowledge. Its flagship is the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA), published continuously since 1929 and supplemented by JASA Express Letters (gold open-access since 2021), Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA), and Acoustics Today magazine. ASA Press Books are published in partnership with Springer Nature, while ASA Standards develops consensus-driven industry standards and maintains the Acoustical Terminology Database. The Society convenes two major scientific meetings annually in the U.S. and Canada (typically 850-1,100 presentations each), runs the ASA School for graduate students, publishes the Across Acoustics Podcast, and operates outreach programs such as Explore Sound and free Classroom Acoustics booklets.

ASA's revenue model rests on four primary streams: individual membership dues from ~7,500 members, institutional journal subscriptions distributed globally through AIP Publishing LLC under a formal publishing agreement, meeting registration and corporate sponsorship revenue, and standards sales. Distribution combines direct online membership enrollment, direct meeting registration, and the AIP Publishing channel for institutional subscribers. The Society is independent and member-run with no parent company, private equity, or venture capital ownership.

Name

Acoustical Society of America

Legal name

Acoustical Society of America

Website

https://acousticalsociety.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1929

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Acoustical Society of America, founded in 1929 and headquartered in Melville, NY, is an international nonprofit scientific society serving approximately 7,500 members worldwide. It publishes the flagship Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, develops consensus industry standards, and convenes two major annual acoustics meetings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Scientific Society and Acoustics Publishing

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Standards Development & Publishing (SDOs, Technical Standards) (MPAJACAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

International Standards Development & Standardization Bodies (BPADANAA)

Keywords

• Scientific publications
• Acoustics standards
• Professional society membership
• Scientific conferences
• Acoustics research journals

Headquarters

HQ city

Melville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from approximately 7,500 members worldwide. Any person active in acoustics with an academic degree in acoustics or a closely related field, or equivalent professional experience, is eligible for membership.
2. Publication Subscriptions: Institutional subscriptions to the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and related publications managed through AIP Publishing LLC. The Journal has been published since 1929.
3. Meeting Registration and Sponsorship: Revenue from two annual meetings (typically 850-1100 presentations each), exhibition fees, and corporate sponsorships. Special sponsorship brochures are available for major meetings.
4. ASA School Registration: The ASA School 2026 charges a $50 USD registration fee for participants, with accommodation and meals provided by ASA.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Acoustical Society of America is an international nonprofit scientific society that publishes peer-reviewed acoustics journals (JASA, JASA Express Letters, POMA, Acoustics Today), organizes two major annual scientific meetings and educational programs (ASA School), develops consensus-based industry standards (ASA Standards), and provides professional recognition through awards and membership services to a global community of approximately 7,500 acousticians.

Product overview

The Acoustical Society of America operates a multi-product portfolio centered on the generation, dissemination, and promotion of acoustics knowledge. Its core offerings include four peer-reviewed/academic publications: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA), and Acoustics Today magazine. These publications span from traditional subscription-based journals to open-access models. Additional offerings include ASA Press Books (published via Springer), ASA Standards (consensus-based industry standards), Classroom Acoustics Booklets (free educational resources), ASA School (professional development program), and the Across Acoustics Podcast. The organization also holds two major meetings annually (typically 850-1100 presentations) plus regional/educational events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA) The leading peer-reviewed journal for theoretical and experimental research in acoustics, serving physical scientists, life scientists, engineers, psychologists, physiologists, architects, musicians, and speech communication specialists. Institutional subscriptions are managed by AIP Publishing LLC.
• JASA Express Letters An online-only gold open-access journal devoted to rapid and open dissemination of important new research results and technical discussion in all fields of acoustics, serving the same broad acoustics research community as JASA.
• Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA) An editor-reviewed, open-access, online journal published by ASA where articles originate as papers presented at semiannual ASA meetings or co-sponsored meetings, made available through AIP Publishing.
• Acoustics Today An open-access science and technology magazine covering the broad range of the acoustics discipline, with articles written for students through scholars, serving the ASA membership and broader public.
• ASA Press Books Books on acoustics-related topics published under the ASA Press imprint through partnership with Springer Nature, sold to researchers, students, and practitioners in acoustics.
• ASA Standards Consensus-driven industry standards and best practices developed by ASA working with stakeholders from companies, government, organizations, research institutes, and consumers, sold through the ASA Standards store.
• ASA School A two-day educational course for graduate students and early-career acousticians featuring presentations, demonstrations, professional development, and informal poster sessions on acoustics topics, with a $50 USD registration fee covering hotel and meals.
• ASA Semiannual Scientific Meetings Two major annual scientific meetings held at various U.S. and Canada locations, each featuring 850-1,100 invited and contributed papers and poster presentations across all acoustics specialties, with paid registration and exhibition/sponsorship opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Since 1929, JASA has been the leading source of theoretical and experimental research results in acoustics
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• European Acoustical Association (EAA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 June 2027Joint meeting Acoustics '27 Brussels scheduled for 21-25 June 2027. This is a major international collaboration bringing together ASA, EAA, and ABAV for a joint acoustics conference celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States.
• ABAV (Brazilian Association of Acoustics)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 June 2027Co-sponsor of Acoustics '27 Brussels meeting alongside ASA and EAA, scheduled for 21-25 June 2027.
• Acoustical Society of JapancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Joint meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii from 1-5 December 2025 (189th Meeting). ASA and Acoustical Society of Japan collaborate on this international scientific meeting.
• AIP Publishing LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASA publications are published and distributed through AIP Publishing LLC under a formal agreement. Orders for Journal of the Acoustical Society of America subscriptions are handled by AIP Publishing at PO Box 7411522, Chicago, IL 60674-1522.
• Springer NatureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerASA Press Books are published in partnership with Springer Nature as part of their society partner program.
• Gordon Research ConferencesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsored meeting: In Vivo Ultrasound Imaging Gordon Research Conference, 16-21 August 2026, Waterville Valley, NH.
• International Phonetic AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsored meeting: International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, 9-13 August 2027, Victoria, Canada.
• Institute of Acoustics (UK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASA nominates candidates for the A.B. Wood Medal and Prize of the Institute of Acoustics (UK) in alternate years. Award is for distinguished contributions in application of acoustics with preference to sea-related work.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Institute of Acoustics (IOA): The UK's professional body for acoustics, with comparable mission of advancing acoustics practice, holding conferences, publishing, and awarding medals (including the A.B. Wood Medal that ASA co-nominates candidates for in alternate years).
• European Acoustical Association (EAA): The pan-European federation of acoustical societies, currently ASA's co-host for Acoustics '27 Brussels and a partner on multiple joint meetings. Operates the Forum Acusticum conference series as a direct alternative to ASA meetings.
• Acoustical Society of Japan: Japan's national scientific society for acoustics, co-hosting the 189th ASA Meeting in Honolulu (December 2025). Comparable structure with peer-reviewed journals, technical committees, and member-driven standards.
• Audio Engineering Society (AES): The global professional society for audio engineering, overlapping with ASA on musical acoustics, signal processing, and room acoustics. Publishes the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society and holds international conventions with comparable member-driven governance.
• Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE): USA-based professional society focused specifically on noise control engineering, overlapping heavily with ASA's Noise technical committee. Publishes Noise Control Engineering Journal and co-sponsors conferences, addressing a narrower subset of ASA's scope.
• International Commission for Acoustics (ICA): The international scientific commission under the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) that organizes the International Congress on Acoustics every three years. A direct global counterpart and co-stakeholder in international acoustics convening.

Regional players

• International Phonetic Association (IPA): Scientific society for phonetics with co-sponsorship of the International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (Victoria, Canada 2027). Overlaps with ASA's Speech Communication technical committee but is international and not directly competitive.

Others

• American Institute of Physics (AIP): Federation of physical science societies that distributes ASA publications through its publishing arm (AIP Publishing). Operates Publishing Partner program analogous to ASA's journal publishing model and is a critical infrastructure partner rather than a direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• American Physical Society (APS): One of the largest US-based physics professional societies with comparable member-driven governance, peer-reviewed journals (Physical Review family), international meetings, and awards programs. Broader in scope than ASA but shares the professional scientific society model ASA operates.
• IEEE Signal Processing Society: Major IEEE society publishing in signal processing, with overlapping scope on audio/speech/acoustic signal processing. Captures adjacent research communities that ASA's credentialed membership model may exclude, representing a competitive substitute for some acoustics researchers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/acousticsorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Acoustical Society of America