In our last post, we discussed the different types of music royalties and gave a general overview on how you, as a musician, can be compensated for your art. In this one, we will look more closely at the roles and responsibilities of a key player in the royalties pipeline: Performance Rights Organizations (PROs)

What is a Performance Rights Organization (PRO) and What Do They Do?

Here is a short overview of what PROs do:

1. Sell blanket public performance licenses to copyrighted pieces of music to venues, terrestrial radio, broadcasters, etc. Believe it or not, even sidewalk buskers must be covered by these licenses.
2. Track any public performances of a copyrighted piece of music and collect royalties generated by them. This is done via “cue sheets,” which are documents listing every time a piece of music is publicly performed. Believe it or not, even sidewalk buskers must provide these to PROs!
3. Enforce the proper use of a recorded piece of copyrighted music according to the license terms.
4. Distribute collected royalties to the copyright holder(s.)

An important thing to note for artists in the United States: with one exception, which we will address below, PROs do not collect mechanical royalties, which is income generated by the sale of reproducible copies of a copyrighted work—this includes everything from LPs and CDs to digital streams. PROs are solely concerned with income generated by public performances of a copyrighted work.

Which PRO is right for you?

Deciding which PRO to sign with might be one of the most important choices you make early in your career. As you cannot sign with more than one PRO at once, it’s important to be familiar with each one and what they offer. Here is a short overview of the four most popular PROs in the United States and what they can do for you:

• ASCAP: The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers was founded in 1914, and is thought to be the first organization of its kind in the United States. It represents over 700,000 songwriters, composers, and publishers, with a catalogue of over 11.5 million compositions. They operate on a “not for profit” basis, meaning that around 88 cents of every dollar collected is distributed back to members. Read more about their breakdown here. Anyone can register with ASCAP, however there is now a one-time $50 registration fee, after which the contract renews yearly with no additional payment required.

• BMI: Broadcast Music, Inc. is the main competitor to ASCAP. It was founded in 1939 and is currently the largest PRO in the country with a catalogue allegedly numbering over 15 million compositions covering all genres. They have an in-depth FAQ on their website covering all aspects of their business for authors and users (those who are looking to license songs from their catalogue.) Like ASCAP, BMI operates as a not-for-profit enterprise, is open for anyone to register, and pays out around 88 cents of every dollar collected. Unlike ASCAP, there is no fee to register with BMI.

• SESAC – Unlike BMI or ASCAP, SESAC operates as a for-profit organization, which means they keep part of the generated royalties. One must also be approved to join the organization—they do not accept unsolicited applications, so you would need to engage a publishing company or manager in order to apply. Their ranks are currently small compared to their competitors, numbering around 30,000 members. However, in 2015, SESAC acquired the Harry Fox Agency—an organization dedicated to collecting mechanical rights—therefore becoming the only PRO that can collect mechanical royalties in addition to performance royalties.

• AMRA – The newest PRO, AMRA was founded in 2014 and is focused on collecting royalties from streaming services and paying creators directly. As digital streaming is currently the most popular way to consume music, it will be interesting to see how this PRO grows in the years to come.

If this feels like a lot of information, it is! However, even being slightly familiar with PROs and what to expect from them can help you make an informed decision, which ultimately means more money in your pocket. 

In our next post, we will give an overview of the relationship between music publishing rights (e.g. how royalties generated by compositions are divided) and distribution platforms, which are the services responsible for getting your music into the ears of listeners around the world—and why it’s very important to secure both.