If you\u2019ve ever looked into this before, you may have come across terms like PRO, ASCAP, or BMI. But what exactly do they mean, and why should you care? In this article, we\u2019ll answer a few basic questions about PROs (performing rights organizations) and give you a better understanding of what they do, how they work, and whether or not you may want to join one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s take a look!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PROs,<\/strong> or performing rights organizations,<\/strong> help collect public performance royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishers. This means that if you\u2019re a songwriter, you can get paid every time a song you wrote gets broadcasted or performed publicly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PROs facilitate this process by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n PROs collect just one type of royalty\u2014public performance royalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In very broad strokes, every original song has two types of music copyright:<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Composition rights generate two main types of royalties: public performance royalties and mechanical royalties. Master rights also generate different types of royalties, but we won\u2019t get into it in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Public performance royalties<\/strong> get generated and paid to songwriters and publishers any time their song (an original recording or cover) is broadcasted or performed in public. This includes things like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are the royalties collected by PROs. If you don\u2019t sign up with a PRO and register the songs you\u2019ve written, you\u2019d be missing out on all this revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, mechanical royalties<\/strong> get generated and paid to songwriters and publishers any time their song (an original recording or cover) is reproduced in a physical or digital format. This includes things like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interactive streams<\/strong>\u2014when someone chooses to stream a song on a digital streaming platform\u2014generate both performance and<\/em> mechanical royalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mechanical royalties aren\u2019t collected by PROs\u2014they\u2019re collected by mechanical rights societies and accessed by publishers or publishing administrators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may want to consider registering with a PRO if you’re involved in writing music that will be available to the public. Whether you write the song for yourself or for another artist, or whether you write 100% or 25% of it, you\u2019re entitled to receiving public performance royalties for it. If you co-write with other songwriters, you might consider maintaining a split sheet that states what percentage of the song is written by each writer and, therefore, how the royalties should be split.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may also want to look into PROs if you’re a music publisher who’s representing other songwriters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important to note that PROs pay royalties to songwriters and publishers at a 50\/50 split. If you don\u2019t have a publisher or a publishing administrator, you\u2019ll need to register with the PRO twice\u2014once as a songwriter and once as a publisher\u2014in order to collect both shares. If you don\u2019t do this, the PRO will keep the publisher\u2019s share and you\u2019ll miss out on 50% of the performance royalties you\u2019re owed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the US, there are three main PROs to consider: ASCAP,<\/a> BMI,<\/a> and SESAC.<\/a> If you live outside of the US, your country will likely have at least one PRO (for example, PRS in the UK, APRA in Australia, or SOCAN in Canada).<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a songwriter, you typically only need to sign up for membership with one PRO. As a publisher, you\u2019ll likely want to have membership with each of the PROs that represent the songwriters you work with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re in the US, choosing between the three major PROs comes down to preference. They each have slight differences in how they track, calculate, and pay royalties, so be sure to familiarize yourself with their processes and make a decision that makes the most sense for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Copyright and royalty types<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Public performance royalties vs. mechanical royalties<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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When should I join a PRO?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How do PROs pay artists?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What is SoundExchange?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n