Writing Great Songs

A performance rights organization (PRO), also known as a performing rights society, can sometimes seem like a big mystery to songwriters.  But as a creator, you owe it to yourself to educate yourself on what these organizations do and how they can help you in your career. Ask yourself one question “Do you want to get paid when a song you have written gets played in public (even if it is played by you)?” if the answer is yes, then read on.

“Do you want to get paid when a song you have written gets played in public?”

PRO members receive royalties when their music is performed on the radio, on TV, in concert, in film, in bars, digitally, internationally, and much more.  The PRO collects the royalties from licence holders such as restaurants, bars, store, radio stations, YouTube, etc and then distributes those fees to its members based on how much play a song gets in the time period.  Sometimes this requires some effort from you, for example if you are playing an original set at a bar or club, you need to submit your setlist after the show.

Three steps to beginning to collect royalties:

1. Join a PRO: if you are not yet a member of one, and you write songs that are performed in public, get on it. there are some choices to be made here, so check out the options before signing up and then join.
2. Register your songs: In order to pay you for your songs that get played, you have to register each song with the PRO. This is very easy and there is an online form to use and you can even put in any splits you have on the song with other songwriters.
3. Submit your Set Lists. Any time you play a set in public, submit your list to your PRO so they can pay you for your performance. It may not be much, but hey $50 in your pocket is better than nothing.

Performing Rights Organizations:

• SOCAN – http://www.socan.ca/ “The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a not-for-profit organization that represents the Canadian performing rights of millions of Canadian and international music creators and publishers. SOCAN licenses more than 125,000 businesses and distributes royalties to its members and peer organizations around the world. SOCAN also distributes royalties to its members for the use of Canadian music around the world in collaboration with other performance rights organisations.” (source Wikipedia)

• BMI – http://www.bmi.com/  “Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed. In FY 2013, BMI collected more than $944 million in licensing fees and distributed $814 million in royalties.^[2] BMI songwriters create music in many genres, including mainstream pop and country, death metal and hip hop.”(source wikipedia)
• ASCAP – ascap.com  “The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP /ˈæskæp/) is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that protects its members’ musical copyrights by monitoring public performances of their music, whether via a broadcast or live performance, and compensating them accordingly.ASCAP collects licensing fees from users of music created by ASCAP members, then distributes them back to its members as royalties. In effect, the arrangement is the product of a compromise: when a song is played, the user does not have to pay the copyright holder directly, nor does the music creator have to bill a radio station for use of a song.” (source wikipedia)
• SESAC – sesac.com  “SESAC, originally the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, is the smallest of the three performance rights organizations in the United States. SESAC was founded in 1930,  making it the second-oldest performing rights organization (PRO) in the U.S. SESAC is also the fastest-growing PRO in the United States. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, SESAC deals with all aspects of the business, from creation to licensing and administration. The company also has offices in New York City, Los Angeles, London, Atlanta, and Miami.” (source wikipedia)