ASCAP. BMI. SESAC. GMR. AllTrack.

If you are new to the business side of music, it can feel like alphabet soup.

These are performing rights organizations (PROs), organizations that license the public performance of songs and collect performance royalties for songwriters, composers and music publishers.

If you write music, understanding what a PRO does is an important part of making sure you are collecting the royalties your songs generate.

What is a public performance?

A public performance happens when a copyrighted song is performed, played or transmitted publicly.

That can include music used on:

• radio and television
• streaming services
• live concerts
• bars and restaurants
• retail stores
• gyms and other businesses
• websites and apps

So yes, when someone streams your song on services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music or YouTube Music, the composition can generate performance royalties in addition to other royalty types.

The public-performance right is one of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights. Our guide to the six exclusive rights of a songwriter explains the larger copyright framework.

What does a PRO actually do?

Instead of every songwriter personally negotiating with every radio station, streaming service, television network, venue and restaurant, PROs help manage that process.

They generally do three main things.

1. License music users

PROs issue performance licenses to businesses and services that publicly use the music in their catalogs.

A blanket license gives a business permission to publicly perform the works represented by that PRO without negotiating song by song.

2. Track performances

PROs receive usage information and use different monitoring systems to determine where represented songs are being performed.

The exact tracking and payment methods vary by organization and by type of use.

3. Pay songwriters and publishers

After collecting license fees, PROs distribute performance royalties to the songwriters, composers and publishers they represent according to their own distribution rules.

That is why simply releasing a song through a distributor does not automatically replace the need for proper publishing and PRO registrations.

Who are the U.S. performing rights organizations?

The U.S. performing-rights market now includes several organizations.

• ASCAP — American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
• BMI — Broadcast Music, Inc.
• SESAC — SESAC Performing Rights
• GMR — Global Music Rights
• AllTrack — a U.S.-based PRO focused heavily on independent creators and publishers

They all perform broadly similar functions, but they represent different catalogs and have different membership models, services and distribution practices.

ASCAP and BMI are open to qualifying songwriters and publishers. SESAC and Global Music Rights operate more selectively, while AllTrack also accepts independent creators.

You generally do not join every PRO as a songwriter. Instead, you affiliate your performing rights with the organization that represents you.

What about international royalties?

Music does not stop generating royalties when it crosses a border.

PROs often work with foreign societies through reciprocal agreements, arrangements that allow organizations in different countries to represent and collect for one another’s catalogs.

There are also rights-management organizations operating internationally, including SoundReef and many country-specific collecting societies.

The exact path your royalties take can vary depending on your affiliations, publisher and territory.

A PRO handles the song, not the master recording

This distinction causes a lot of confusion.

Most commercially released music involves at least two copyrights:

• the composition, meaning the underlying music and lyrics
• the sound recording, meaning the specific recorded performance of that composition

Traditional PROs such as ASCAP, BMI and SESAC collect public-performance royalties tied to the composition.

They do not replace the distributor that collects money generated by the sound recording.

SoundExchange is different

SoundExchange is often mentioned alongside PROs because it also collects performance royalties, but it handles a different right.

In the United States, SoundExchange collects certain digital performance royalties generated by non-interactive services, meaning services where the listener does not choose every individual song.

That includes services such as Pandora Radio and SiriusXM.

SoundExchange pays featured recording artists and sound-recording copyright owners rather than collecting the songwriter’s normal composition-performance royalty.

If you are both the songwriter and recording artist, you may have money flowing through both systems for the same recording.

The MLC is different too

The Mechanical Licensing Collective, usually called The MLC, is not a traditional performing rights organization.

It administers certain U.S. mechanical royalties, royalties generated when musical compositions are reproduced through eligible interactive streams and downloads.

Services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music can generate both performance and mechanical royalties on the composition side.

Your PRO handles the performance side. The MLC, a publisher or a publishing administrator may handle the mechanical side, depending on your setup.

Make sure your songs are registered correctly

Joining a PRO is only the first step.

You also need to make sure the songs themselves are registered correctly.

That includes accurate information about:

• songwriters
• ownership percentages
• publishers
• song titles
• alternate titles when applicable

If the ownership information is wrong or incomplete, royalty payments can be delayed or misdirected.

This is also why songwriter splits should be settled before a release whenever possible.

Our music distribution checklist covers several other business and rights issues worth handling before release day.

Do not confuse distribution with publishing

Your distributor and your PRO are doing different jobs.

A distributor handles the delivery and monetization of the sound recording across services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music.

A PRO represents public-performance rights in the composition.

Depending on your situation, you may also need a publisher, publishing administrator, The MLC, SoundExchange or other royalty organizations.

There is no single account that automatically collects every type of music royalty.

Know where your money comes from

You do not need to memorize every acronym in the music business.

You do need to understand which rights you own and who is responsible for collecting each royalty stream.

For songwriters, a performing rights organization is one of the most important pieces of that system.

Register correctly. Keep your catalog information current. Then make sure the other parts of your royalty setup are covered too.

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Publishing, royalty and affiliation requirements can vary by rights owner, organization and territory. If you have questions about your specific rights or obligations, consult a qualified attorney.