PMApub / Academy lessons / Module 2

What is a PRO?

By PMApub Academy · Last reviewed 2026-10-13 · About 6 min read

What counts as a public performance

A public performance happens whenever a composition is played or transmitted for an audience outside a normal circle of family and friends. Common examples include a song on terrestrial radio, a track in a television broadcast, a stream on a digital service, background music in a restaurant or gym, and a band playing in a club.

Each of these users needs permission to play the song. PROs grant that permission through blanket licenses, which let the user play music from the PRO's whole repertoire for a fee, and then distribute collected fees to their members according to reported or estimated usage.

The main PROs in the United States

The best-known U.S. organizations are ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR. A songwriter generally affiliates with one PRO at a time for a given work, so you choose among them.

• ASCAP and BMI are the largest and are generally open to songwriters who apply, subject to their current membership terms.
• SESAC and GMR are smaller and more selective, and they often operate on an invitation or application-review basis.

Outside the U.S., many countries have their own societies, such as SOCAN in Canada and PRS in the United Kingdom. PROs have reciprocal agreements with societies abroad, so a performance in another country can result in money flowing back to you through your home PRO, although the timing can be slow.

What a PRO does and does not collect

PROs handle the public performance right in the composition. They do not collect your streaming revenue from your distributor, and they do not collect mechanical royalties, which in the U.S. are handled for digital services by The MLC. They also do not pay for the performance of recordings on digital radio, which is the job of SoundExchange.

This is the same two-copyright idea from the first module in action. Performance royalties belong to the songwriting side. A distributor pays you for the master. A PRO pays you for the song. You often need both to be set up correctly.

How to get started with a PRO

1. Compare your options. Review each PRO's current membership requirements, fees, payment schedules, and member tools, since all of these can change.
2. Apply as a writer. You will provide identity details and typically your legal name, so keep it consistent with your song credits.
3. Register your works. Joining is not enough. Each song must be registered with title, writers, shares, and, where available, recording details.
4. Add the publisher side. Writers can register themselves, but the publisher share needs a publishing entity or administrator, which is covered in the next lesson.
5. Keep records. Save confirmation emails and registration details in your catalog sheet.

An example with Maya

Maya joins a PRO as a songwriter and registers her new single as soon as it is scheduled. When the song gets airplay on a local college station, plays on streaming services, and is performed at a coffee shop she plays regularly, those uses can generate performance royalties for the composition. The PRO's distribution process allocates her share based on its own rules and usage data.

She does not need to track each use herself. What she does need is accurate registration, because a wrongly spelled name or missing writer share can prevent a match. Payments typically arrive in periodic statements, often some months after the usage, and amounts depend on factors outside her control. No registration can promise a particular income.

Questions to ask before you choose

• Does the PRO accept my catalog and career stage right now?
• How do they handle online and live performances?
• What tools do I get for registering works and checking statements?
• When and how are payments made, and are there minimums?
• How can I change affiliation later, and what notice is required?

The answers vary and are updated by the organizations over time. If you want to be certain about contract obligations or tax treatment, consult a qualified music attorney or accountant before making a final decision. The Music Monetization Plan template on PMApub can help you note your registrations and next steps in one place.

For labels, managers, and teams

For a label or management team, the PRO relationship is mainly a data-quality and delegation problem. Each writer on your roster affiliates with their own PRO, so one release can involve several organizations, and your job is to keep their records consistent.

Create a registration workflow. At signing, collect each writer's legal name, PRO, and member number if they have one. Before release, confirm the splits and register the work with every writer's PRO, using the same title and share data each time. Save confirmations, and review the PRO accounts at a set interval to check that the works appear correctly.

Use contracts to settle who does the registering. If a manager or label registers on an artist's behalf, the agreement should say so, and it should state whether the writer keeps control of their own account. Writers generally keep their royalty payments tied to their own accounts, so do not assume a manager can redirect them without authorization.

For royalty accounting, expect performance statements to arrive after the usage and to come from several organizations. Reconcile them against your catalog sheet and flag works that do not appear.

Check what you can audit and what you cannot. Your contractual rights over a label statement are set by your agreement, while a PRO's distribution rules are set by the PRO. Ask each organization about its dispute and correction process. For catalog hygiene, remove duplicate or misspelled works, and update registrations whenever ownership changes. Have an attorney review any agreement that touches writer payments.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Joining a PRO and assuming the songs are registered automatically.
• Registering works under stage names or inconsistent spellings.
• Forgetting to add the publisher side, which is covered in the next lesson.
• Treating a PRO as a replacement for a distributor, The MLC, or SoundExchange.
• Assuming every PRO is open to every songwriter. Some are selective.
• Expecting a specific income because a song is on streaming services or the radio.
• Failing to keep registration confirmations and statements.
• Ignoring the PRO's own rules about changing affiliation, including notice and timing.

Action checklist

1. Compare ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR using their current published terms.
2. Confirm which of them accepts your membership application.
3. Apply as a writer with your legal name.
4. Wait for approval and note your account details.
5. Register every song, with title, writers, shares, and recording details where requested.
6. Add or confirm the publisher share for each work.
7. Save the confirmation of each registration in your catalog sheet.
8. Check your PRO account after a few weeks to see that works appear correctly.
9. Read each statement and compare it with what you expected.
10. Review affiliation rules before you consider switching.

Key terms

• PRO (performing rights organization): An organization that licenses public performance of compositions and distributes the money to its writer and publisher members.
• Public performance: Playing or transmitting a work for an audience outside a normal circle of family and friends.
• Blanket license: A license that lets a user play any music in a PRO's repertoire for a fee.
• ASCAP: A U.S. PRO that represents songwriters, composers, and publishers.
• BMI: A U.S. PRO that represents songwriters, composers, and publishers.
• SESAC: A U.S. PRO that is more selective than ASCAP or BMI.
• GMR: Global Music Rights, a smaller and selective U.S. PRO.
• Writer share: The half of performance royalties paid to the songwriters of a composition.
• Publisher share: The half of performance royalties paid to the publisher or publishing entity.
• Reciprocal agreement: An arrangement under which societies in different countries collect for each other's members.
• Work registration: The submission of a song's title, writers, and shares to a PRO so usage can be matched.