You wrote the song. The band played it live. It was streamed on Spotify. A local radio station played it. A restaurant used it over its speakers. Did you get paid?
If your answer is “I’m not sure,” you’re not alone. Every year, countless songwriters miss out on royalties simply because they don’t understand how Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) work—or they never joined one. Fortunately, it’s much simpler than it sounds.
What Is a Performing Rights Organization (PRO)?
A Performing Rights Organization (PRO) helps songwriters and music publishers get paid when their songs are performed publicly. That includes performances on radio, television, streaming services, live venues, restaurants and bars, sports arenas, retail stores, gyms, hotels, and many other public places.
No songwriter could realistically track every public performance of every song they’ve written. PROs do that work for you. They license businesses that publicly perform music, collect licensing fees, and distribute performance royalties to the songwriters and publishers who earned them.
Simply put, they help make sure you get paid for your songwriting.
What PROs Don’t Collect
This is one of the biggest points of confusion in the music industry. A PRO pays royalties for the song itself—the composition. It does not pay royalties for the sound recording.
When you create music, there are two separate copyrights. The composition is the melody, lyrics, harmony, and musical idea. The master recording is the specific recorded performance of that composition.
PROs collect royalties for the composition. Royalties generated by the recording itself often come from your distributor and, in certain cases, organizations such as SoundExchange. Understanding this difference is one of the first major steps toward understanding the music business.
The Four U.S. Performing Rights Organizations
There are currently four major PROs in the United States. You join one of them as a songwriter.
| PRO | Open to all? | Structure | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASCAP | Yes | Member-owned, nonprofit | One-time writer fee (about $50); founded 1914 |
| BMI | Yes | For-profit (since 2024) | One of the largest PROs; long free for songwriters to join |
| SESAC | Invitation only | For-profit | Smaller, selective roster |
| GMR | Invitation only | For-profit | Founded by Irving Azoff; select roster of well-known writers |
For most independent musicians, the decision comes down to ASCAP or BMI, since both are open to new members.
How Performance Royalties Are Split
Performance royalties are generally divided into two equal shares: a 50% songwriter’s share and a 50% publisher’s share.
Many new songwriters only register as writers and never think about publishing. As a result, they sometimes leave money uncollected simply because they didn’t realize the publisher’s share existed. If you don’t have a traditional publishing deal, you may still be able to collect both portions by creating your own publishing entity or working with a publishing administrator. Understanding this early can make a meaningful difference over the life of your catalog.
How to Get Started
Step 1. Choose a Performing Rights Organization. For most independent musicians, that’s either ASCAP or BMI.
Step 2. Register as a songwriter.
Step 3. Register every original song you’ve written. This is one of the most overlooked steps. Simply joining a PRO doesn’t automatically register your music—each song needs to be entered into your catalog so performances can be matched to royalty payments.
Step 4. Keep your catalog current. Every time you release new music, register it promptly.
When Will You Get Paid?
Performance royalties aren’t paid immediately. Most PROs distribute royalties on a quarterly schedule, and payments often arrive several months after the music has actually been performed.
While it isn’t instant income, these royalties can accumulate over time. One song performed consistently for years can generate income long after it was written. That’s one of the reasons songwriters often refer to publishing royalties as “long-term income.”
One Common Mistake
One of the biggest mistakes new songwriters make is assuming that uploading music to Spotify or Apple Music automatically registers their songs for royalties. It doesn’t.
Music distribution and performance royalty collection are two separate systems. Your distributor delivers your recordings to streaming platforms. Your PRO helps collect royalties generated by the composition. Most serious independent artists need both.
The Bottom Line
If you’ve written original music, joining a Performing Rights Organization is one of the simplest—and most important—business decisions you can make. Performance royalties are money you’ve already earned. The only question is whether you’ve taken the steps necessary to collect them.