If you write songs, you are sitting on a royalty stream that many independent artists never fully claim. Public performance royalties are generated every time your composition is played in a public setting, from a coffee shop speaker to a radio broadcast to a Spotify playlist. Yet countless songwriters never register with a Performance Rights Organization (PRO), and as a result, they leave real money uncollected.

Understanding how PROs work is one of the most practical steps any songwriter can take toward building sustainable income from their music. The system can seem complicated at first, but once you grasp the basic flow of money and the key concepts involved, it becomes a powerful asset in your career.

This guide breaks down exactly how public performance royalties are collected, how they are divided between writers and publishers, and what you need to do to make sure every dollar generated by your songs finds its way back to you.

What Is a Performance Rights Organization (PRO)?

A Performance Rights Organization is an entity that licenses the public performance of musical compositions and collects royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishers. If music is played in public, PROs help ensure that the creators of that music get paid.

PROs are responsible for collecting and distributing performance royalties when music is played publicly. These organizations serve as a bridge between music creators and businesses that use music, ensuring that rights holders are compensated for the public use of their work.

Importantly, these royalties apply to the composition, meaning the songwriting, and not the sound recording, which is the master. This is a critical distinction. Your PRO does not pay you as a recording artist. It pays you as a songwriter or composer. These are two separate rights, and they generate separate streams of income.

Where Are Performance Royalties Generated?

Public performances include music played in radio broadcasts, television programs, streaming platforms, concerts and live events, bars, restaurants and retail spaces, and gyms, hotels and public venues.

Aside from royalty collection and distribution, PROs also provide invaluable services to both copyright holders and users. They provide a legal framework to license music for public performance, keep track of where and when songs are played, negotiate fees for public usage, and advocate for the rights of musicians and publishers at a legislative level.

ASCAP and BMI: A Brief History and Key Differences

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) are two of the most widely recognized performance rights organizations. ASCAP, founded in 1914, is the oldest, whereas BMI came to existence in 1939.

ASCAP used its monopoly over radio performance royalties to steadily increase what it charged as a royalty for its blanket licenses. After growing increasingly irritated by ASCAP's stranglehold on radio performance licenses, the National Association of Broadcasters decided in 1939 to start a competing performing rights organization: Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI). Representing radio stations throughout the country, NAB founded BMI in an attempt to open up the competitive landscape for performing rights licenses.

BMI attracted members by opening up membership to songwriters who had been shut out of ASCAP, particularly in the country and blues genres. The creation of BMI and the popularity of regional radio stations led to country and rhythm and blues suddenly becoming much more commercially successful in the 1940s.

Membership Costs and Catalog Size

Fees and catalog sizes are approximate and subject to change. Always verify directly with each organization.

There are three major PROs in the US: BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC, though SESAC is more specialized and invitation-only, so for most artists, the choice is between BMI and ASCAP.

When choosing a PRO, artists need to consider several factors. These include the organization's distribution schedule, the types of royalties they collect, their administrative fee, and their reputation. Artists should also consider whether the organization provides additional services or benefits that may be relevant to their career development.

'Your PRO affiliation could well be one of the most important and lucrative relationships in your songwriting career. Choose wisely.'

Songpreneurs
Music Industry Education Blog

How PROs Collect Royalties: Blanket Licenses and Streaming

PROs use two main channels to collect public performance royalties: the traditional blanket license model and the digital streaming royalty pool. Understanding both is essential to knowing how money flows from the listener back to the songwriter.

The Blanket License

Most businesses do not license songs one by one. They use blanket licenses instead. A blanket license gives a business permission to play any song in that PRO's catalog, as long as the use fits the license terms.

PROs make money to pay songwriter royalties and publishing royalties by collecting money from thousands of venues and outlets such as radio stations, streaming services, TV stations, department stores, bars, and live venues.

One PRO license does not cover every song. Each organization controls its own catalog, so the rights you need depend on what music you play and how you use it. This means a restaurant owner, for example, may need licenses from both ASCAP and BMI if they play music from both catalogs. As a songwriter, this reinforces why choosing your PRO carefully matters: your income depends on that organization's ability to collect on your behalf from the widest possible range of licensees.

Streaming Performance Royalties

AMRA is a digital collections society processing mechanical and public performance royalties generated by streaming services around the world. The existence of this newer organization highlights how the digital era has created new complexity in royalty collection. Traditional PROs have adapted their systems to capture streaming data, but the volume and variety of digital plays make accurate tracking an ongoing challenge.

PROs track music usage through digital reporting systems, broadcast logs, cue sheets, sampling and data analysis. For streaming specifically, platforms report play data directly to PROs, which then pool that income and distribute it according to usage. The sample survey method is still used for tracking radio performance by ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.

ASCAP and BMI retain about 12% of collected royalties for administrative expenses. The rest goes directly back to members. ASCAP and BMI distribute all the royalties they collect, minus the costs needed to run the association, to their respective composer and publisher members. This non-profit structure is a key advantage for independent songwriters compared to working with some other types of rights organizations.

Writer's Share vs. Publisher's Share: The 50/50 Split Explained

One of the most important concepts in music publishing is that every performance royalty is divided into two equal parts: the writer's share and the publisher's share. Many independent artists are unaware of this split, and some unknowingly forfeit half of their royalty income by failing to register a publishing entity.

Every composition has two sets of rights: the writer's share and the publisher's share. As the copyright holder and creator, you inherently own both. Performance royalties have always been split this way, with one half being sent to the songwriters directly as the writer share and the other half collected by a publisher as the publisher share.

A writer share is a portion of performance royalties that are paid directly to a songwriter, regardless of whether they have an outside publisher in place or not. This is the payment tied directly to the act of creation. The music publisher is responsible for licensing and collecting all income on behalf of the songwriter, except for the writer share of public performance income collected through ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. The writer share of public performance income is paid directly to the songwriter from those organizations.

What Happens If You Have No Publisher?

If you're an indie songwriter with no publishing deal, you own both halves. The full 100%. But ownership alone is not enough. You only collect both if you've signed up as both a songwriter and a publisher with the right groups. Skip the publisher step, and you leave half your money on the table.

Writer's share royalties are delivered to the writer directly by their Performing Rights Organization. If you don't have a publisher, your PRO will also collect your publisher share. However, this only works if you have registered a publishing entity with that PRO. The process is straightforward: you register yourself as a songwriter member and also create a personal publishing company name under the same organization.

How Splits Work With Co-Writers

If several writers contributed to a composition, each person's share is determined by a legally binding document called a split sheet agreement. This document spells out exactly what percentage each contributor owns, which then determines how the PRO distributes both the writer's share and the publisher's share.

The royalties paid for a performance are divided evenly between the writers and publishers. When registering music with ASCAP, all of the writer splits must add up to 50%, and all of the publisher splits must add up to 50%, for a total of 100%.

If there are five writers and one publisher, the writer share would usually be split five ways at 10% each, and the publisher would receive the full publisher share of 50%. This example makes clear why it is so important to document split agreements in writing before releasing or registering any collaborative work. Verbal agreements are difficult to enforce and can lead to royalty disputes down the line.

Global Royalty Collection and International PROs

The PRO ecosystem is not limited to the United States. Pretty much every country in the world has its own PRO, and they work together to collect royalties from each other's territories. This means that if your music is played in Germany, France, or Brazil, there are local organizations responsible for collecting those royalties on your behalf.

As for how international pay sources are typically collected and tracked, reciprocal agreements are often reached between collection societies in different territories. For instance, ASCAP in the U.S. might sign a contract stating they'll collect royalties on behalf of PRS members from the U.K. In exchange, PRS would do the same thing for ASCAP.

If you are affiliated with ASCAP in the U.S. and your music is used in Germany, the collection society in that territory, GEMA, will pay your writer share to ASCAP, who will pass that money onto you after subtracting any fees you've agreed to. These reciprocal systems are designed to make sure royalties follow the music wherever it goes, but they do depend on accurate song registration at the source.

Notable International PROs

• PRS for Music (UK): Collects royalties from music users and distributes them to its members, who are composers, songwriters, and music publishers.
• SOCAN (Canada): Provides international representation for Canadian artists, ensuring they receive royalties for their work both domestically and abroad.
• APRA AMCOS (Australia/New Zealand): Services the southern hemisphere, collecting and distributing royalties on behalf of its members.
• GEMA (Germany): One of the most established collection societies in Europe, responsible for licensing and distributing royalties across German-speaking territories.
• JASRAC (Japan): A notable performance rights organization based in Japan.

Action Steps: How to Start Collecting Your Performance Royalties

Knowing how the system works is only valuable if you take action. Many independent artists are generating public performances right now and receiving nothing because they have never registered. The steps below give you a clear path to ensuring your royalties find their way back to you.

PROs do not automatically know who owns a song. To receive performance royalties, you must register as a songwriter with a PRO, register your compositions, and ensure your metadata is accurate. Failure to do so can result in lost or unclaimed royalties.

While becoming a member with a local collection society is a crucial step in securing your rights as a songwriter, you shouldn't stop there, as they only collect a portion of the royalties you earn when your songs are used. A complete royalty collection strategy involves both PRO registration and a solid understanding of mechanical royalties, which are handled through separate channels.

Your Performance Royalty Checklist

• Choose your PRO: ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC (for U.S. artists) or your local equivalent internationally
• Register as a songwriter (writer) member with your chosen PRO
• Create and register a personal publishing entity under the same PRO to collect the publisher's share
• Register every song in your catalog with accurate title, co-writer, and percentage split information
• Use split sheet agreements for every collaborative songwriting session
• Verify that your music distributor is reporting streaming usage data properly to your PRO
• Check your PRO account on a quarterly basis and follow up on any unmatched or unclaimed royalties
• If releasing music internationally, research publishing administration services that register your songs globally

Where music distribution services will collect mechanical royalties, BMI or ASCAP will collect performance royalties. The purpose of a PRO is to ensure that any public performance of an artist's song is rightfully paid for, and this includes more than just live performances. Your music distributor and your PRO serve complementary but very different functions. You need both working together to capture the full picture of what your music earns.

Takeaways for Independent Songwriters

Performance royalties represent one of the most overlooked income streams in the independent music world. The infrastructure to collect them already exists. The system has been running for over a century. All that is required from you is registration, accurate documentation, and consistency in maintaining your catalog data.

Whether your music plays in a local restaurant, on a regional radio station, or on a global streaming platform, every spin has the potential to generate income for you as a songwriter. Your PRO affiliation could well be one of the most important and lucrative relationships in your songwriting career.

Understanding how your ownership is broken down and collected by societies around the world is crucial to a musician's career. Take the time to get registered, document your splits, and check your accounts regularly. The royalties your songs have already earned may be waiting for you right now.

Music Publishing Royalty Collection Independent Artists