How to Register Your Songs With a PRO (and Why It Matters), From The Stem

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Quick summary

A performing rights organization (PRO) licenses the public performance of compositions and distributes performance royalties to affiliated songwriters and publishers. Songs that are not registered with a PRO generate royalties that the artist cannot collect. This article explains what PROs do, how to choose between ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR, why you must affiliate as both writer and publisher, the registration steps for individual works, and how PRO collection differs from mechanical royalties through The MLC and from SoundExchange. This is educational information, not legal or financial advice.

Key takeaways

A PRO collects performance royalties when your composition is played publicly, including on radio, streaming, television, in venues, and in businesses. Unregistered songs do not collect.
You must affiliate as a writer, and separately establish or affiliate a publishing entity, to collect both halves of performance royalties. An unrepresented publisher share is not automatically paid to the writer.
ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR are the four U.S. performing rights organizations. Writers can only join one. Choose carefully because transferring is possible but not trivial.
PRO performance royalties are separate from mechanical royalties. Mechanical royalties from streaming are collected through The MLC, which requires separate registration.
Common mistakes include unregistered works, mismatched co-writer splits on registration, and forgetting to register songs released before you affiliated.

Definitions

Performing rights organization (PRO): An organization that licenses the right to publicly perform musical compositions and collects and distributes performance royalties to affiliated songwriters and publishers. In the United States, the four PROs are ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR. ASCAP and BMI operate as non-profits with open membership for working songwriters.
Performance royalty: A royalty generated when a composition is publicly performed. Public performance includes terrestrial radio broadcast, streaming on services like Spotify and Apple Music, performance at a live venue with a PRO license, and use in television or film broadcast. Performance royalties are split into a writer's share and a publisher's share.
Writer's share and publisher's share: The two halves of a performance royalty. The writer's share goes to the songwriter or composer. The publisher's share goes to whoever owns or administers the publishing rights. An independent songwriter who establishes their own publishing entity can collect both shares. If no publisher is registered for a composition, the publisher's share may be held by the PRO or forfeited entirely depending on the organization's rules.
MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective): The organization designated under the Music Modernization Act to collect and distribute mechanical royalties from digital audio streaming and downloads in the United States. The MLC is separate from PROs and handles a different type of royalty. Registering with a PRO does not register your catalog with The MLC.

What a PRO is and what it does

A performing rights organization is the intermediary between the users of music and the creators of it. When a radio station broadcasts a song, a bar plays a playlist, a fitness app streams music during a workout, or a streaming service plays your track for a subscriber, a performance has occurred. The venue, broadcaster, or service pays a blanket license fee to one or more PROs. The PRO distributes those collected fees, minus administrative costs, to affiliated songwriters and publishers based on a combination of direct reporting and statistical sampling.

Without that system, individual songwriters would have no practical way to collect on the thousands of performances their compositions generate. The PRO infrastructure exists to solve that aggregation problem. As covered in what ASCAP and BMI actually do, the organizations differ in structure and payment calculation, but their core function is the same: license, collect, and distribute performance royalties on behalf of affiliated writers and publishers.

The four PROs operating in the United States are ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR. ASCAP and BMI are the largest and accept open membership from working songwriters. SESAC is selective and invitation-based. GMR is a newer organization that works primarily with a roster of high-profile writers. Most independent songwriters at the beginning of their careers are choosing between ASCAP and BMI.

Why you must affiliate as both writer and publisher

Performance royalties are divided into a writer's share and a publisher's share, as discussed in performance royalties vs mechanical royalties. These two halves flow through separate channels at the PRO level. The writer's share flows to the affiliated songwriter. The publisher's share flows to whoever is registered as the publisher of that composition.

If you are an independent songwriter who has not established a publishing entity, the publisher's share of your performance royalties may go uncollected. Different PROs handle this differently. At BMI, an unregistered publisher share is typically held for a period before being redistributed. At ASCAP, the mechanics are similar. In neither case does the organization automatically redirect the publisher's share to the writer simply because no publisher is registered.

The solution is straightforward: when you affiliate with a PRO as a writer, also establish a publishing entity under that same PRO. You can name this entity anything that is not already taken in the PRO's database. The publishing entity does not need to be a formal legal business at first, though formalizing it eventually is advisable. Affiliating both your writer identity and your publishing entity ensures that both halves of the performance royalty have somewhere to go.

An independent songwriter who affiliates as a writer and also registers a publishing entity will collect 100 percent of the performance royalty on their songs, split as 50 percent writer's share and 50 percent publisher's share, both flowing to them.

Choosing between ASCAP and BMI

The differences between ASCAP and BMI for most independent songwriters are modest. Both organizations collect from the same licensees, both pay on similar schedules (quarterly, with a reporting lag typically measured in months), and both have functional digital registration systems for works.

Some commonly cited differences: ASCAP charges a one-time affiliation fee for writers (currently $50 as of recent years) while BMI is free to join. ASCAP is a membership organization in which members vote on governance matters. BMI is a for-profit company. Both pay performance royalties at roughly comparable rates, though the calculation methods differ in specifics and the rates change over time.

The practical advice for most independent songwriters is to pick one and stay with it. Choosing based on which organization has historically paid better for your specific genre or release type is possible but requires research that may not be meaningful at the early stage of a career. If co-writers you collaborate with regularly are already affiliated with one organization, affiliating with the same one simplifies split registration.

You cannot be a writer member of more than one PRO simultaneously. Transferring between organizations requires resigning from the first, waiting out a notice period, and re-registering your catalog with the new one.

The registration steps

Affiliation is the first step and it is distinct from work registration. Affiliating creates your membership as a writer and, separately, establishes your publishing entity. Work registration is the subsequent step where you register each individual composition, specifying the title, co-writers and their shares, and your publishing entity.

After affiliating, log in to the PRO's online portal and navigate to the work registration section. For each song you want to register, enter the title, the writer or writers and their percentage shares (all writer shares must sum to 100 percent), and the publisher or publishers and their shares. If you have co-writers who are affiliated with the same PRO, the platform will typically allow you to look them up by name or identifier. If a co-writer is affiliated with a different PRO, you enter their information manually with their PRO affiliation noted.

Entering splits accurately is critical. A registered song where one co-writer's share is entered as 60 percent and the other's as 30 percent does not add to 100 percent. The PRO will flag this. More importantly, a split that does not match what was agreed between the writers creates problems at payout time that can take months to resolve. Confirm splits with all co-writers before submitting registration.

Include alternate titles and International Standard Work Codes (ISWCs) if you have them. ISWCs are globally unique identifiers for compositions and improve the accuracy of international royalty collection.

How this differs from mechanical royalties and SoundExchange

PRO registration covers performance royalties. Two other categories of royalties require separate registration and are commonly confused with PRO income.

Mechanical royalties from digital streaming and downloads are collected in the United States by The Mechanical Licensing Collective, as detailed in The MLC explained. The MLC administers compulsory mechanical licenses for on-demand streaming and issues royalties to publishers and self-published songwriters. Registering with ASCAP or BMI does not register your compositions with The MLC. Both registrations are needed.

SoundExchange is a third organization that collects digital performance royalties from non-interactive streaming services (satellite radio, internet radio, cable audio channels). As covered in what SoundExchange is, SoundExchange pays the sound recording copyright holder and the featured artist, not the songwriter. It is a recording rights organization, not a composition rights organization. If you record your own songs, you may be eligible to collect from SoundExchange as the sound recording rights holder. That collection is separate from and in addition to your PRO performance royalties as the songwriter.

Understanding which organization handles which royalty type, and registering with each separately, is the baseline administrative work of self-publishing an independent catalog.

Common registration mistakes

Several recurring errors cost independent songwriters royalties they are entitled to collect.

Unregistered catalog. The most common mistake is failing to register works at all. Songs that are distributed and generating streaming plays but are not registered with a PRO generate performance royalties that cannot be directed to the writer. Register every released work, not just the ones you expect to perform well.

Mismatched co-writer splits. Splits entered on registration that do not reflect the actual agreement between co-writers create disputes and delays. Confirm splits in writing with co-writers before registering. Even a simple email exchange creating a record of the agreed split is preferable to verbal agreement that one party later misremembers.

Forgetting pre-affiliation releases. Songs released before you affiliated with a PRO need to be registered retroactively. The window for collecting back royalties is limited, but register those works as soon as possible after affiliating.

Not registering live setlist versions or covers. If you perform covers live at venues with PRO licenses, the original songwriters collect performance royalties from those performances through the venue's blanket license. If you write original songs and perform them live in licensed venues, registering those works with your PRO allows you to collect when the venue reports performances.

This article is educational and intended to provide general information about the PRO registration process. It is not legal or financial advice. Writers with complex catalog situations, co-publishing arrangements, or questions about specific royalty calculations should consult a qualified music attorney or royalty administrator.

FTSMusic analysis is based on anonymized aggregate artist data, internal campaign observations, and publicly available industry documentation. Individual outcomes vary by catalog, genre, audience quality, and release strategy.

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Frequently asked

Do I need to join a PRO if I am just releasing music independently?

Yes, if you want to collect performance royalties. Performance royalties are generated whenever your compositions are broadcast on radio, streamed on licensed services, performed at a venue, or used in television or online video. PROs collect these royalties through blanket licenses issued to broadcasters, streaming services, and venue operators. Without PRO affiliation and registration of your specific works, those royalties accumulate in accounts you cannot access and may eventually go to unrelated parties. For an independent songwriter releasing music to streaming platforms, PRO affiliation and work registration are the baseline requirement for collecting performance income.

What is the difference between PRO royalties and mechanical royalties?

PRO royalties are performance royalties, collected when a composition is publicly performed or broadcast. Mechanical royalties are generated by the reproduction and distribution of a composition, including digital streaming. As covered in [performance royalties vs mechanical royalties](./performance-royalties-vs-mechanical-royalties.html), these are two distinct income streams collected by different organizations. PROs collect performance royalties. The MLC, as described in [the MLC explained](./mechanical-licensing-collective-explained.html), collects mechanical royalties from digital streaming. Registering your songs with ASCAP or BMI does not register them with The MLC. Both registrations are needed to collect both royalty types.

Can I register songs I released before I affiliated with a PRO?

Generally yes, but the window for collecting retroactive royalties varies by organization and may be limited. ASCAP and BMI allow members to register back catalog works after affiliation, but they do not typically pay retroactive royalties stretching back years before affiliation. The practical implication is that affiliating early in your release career, before your music accumulates meaningful airplay or streaming performance royalties, is strongly preferable to affiliating after those royalties have already been generated. Songs that were performed or broadcast while you were unaffiliated may have generated royalties that were distributed to other parties or held in undistributed funds.