How to Join a Performing Rights Organization (PRO)

If you are a singer, musician, or songwriter, you will eventually want to join a P.R.O, or Performing Rights Organization. Performing (performance) rights organizations collect license fees on behalf of its songwriters, composers and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed. To learn how to join a P.R.O that is right for you, just follow these steps below. It is so easy, a musician could do it!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer
• Internet
• Money
• Free time
• Copyrighted songs

1. 

   If you are a musician and you are confused by artist royalties, don't worry ... you are not alone. The tracking and payment of performance royalties is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the music business. The first thing to understand is that royalties are sub-divided into mechanical royalties and performance royalties. P.R.O's only deal with performance royalties. Mechanical royalties are totally separate and are handled by record labels for the sale of your songs or albums.

2. 

   A performance royalty is revenue earned by an artist from television, radio stations, and networks; new media, including the Internet and mobile technologies such as ringtones and ringbacks; satellite audio services like XM and Sirius; nightclubs, discos, hotels, bars, restaurants and other venues; digital jukeboxes; and live concerts.

3. 

   In the United States, there are three Performing Rights Organizations, ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. Only ASCAP and BMI are open for anyone to join. SESAC is a much smaller organization and they invite artists that they want to be affiliated with them. In other countries around the world, there exist other P.R.O's, but this article only covers the U.S.A.

4. 

   Nightclubs, discos, hotels, bars, restaurants and other venues where music is played are supposed to pay each P.R.O. for a blanket license to gain permission to play music legally. The P.R.O. tracks public performances of your music, and collects and distributes licensing revenues for those performances as royalties to you. BMI and ASCAP both pay your royalties four times a year (quarterly). ASCAP pays its members for U.S. performances approximately 6-7 months after the end of each three-month performance quarter, while BMI takes up to 8-9 months after the end of the quarter.

5. 

   To join ASCAP as a writer or publisher, it is free. To join BMI as a writer is also free, but to join as a publisher it costs $150 if you are an individual or $250 if you are a partnership, LLC, or a Corporation.

6. 

   Joining ASCAP or BMI is easy. Simply go to www.ASCAP.com or www.BMI.com and click "join." The form is available online and it only take 30 minutes to fill out. You just need a U.S. social security number and a valid email address.

Tips & Warnings

• Take your time and explore all Performing Rights Organizations before you commit to one. The contracts usually last a minimum of two years.
• If you live in Los Angeles, New York, or Nashville, it's easy to take a trip to visit their office and meet with a representative from each P.R.O.
• Even if you have a few songs being played on internet, radio, and other media, you will be surprised how little money it actually generates for you.
• In the music business, the very last person to get paid is always the musician.

Resources

• ASCAP
• BMI
• SESAC