Confused about when to register your tracks with a PRO? You are not alone. Navigating this can be confusing. So let’s tackle this topic. First, if you are not sure what I mean by PRO, a PRO is a Performance Royalty Organization. They collect royalties on your behalf for performances of your music. These performances include those on Film, TV & Ads, Radio as well as Live performances. They DO NOT collect mechanical royalties, which come from selling a CD or digital download. Also, It is a common misconception that the Performance Royalty Organizations are publishers & signing with them means you have a publishing deal. This is simply not true. The reason you register your tracks is to make sure you get paid royalties for the performance of your song. But WHEN do you register your songs? YES: Licenses directly through Supervisors: If you are pitching your music directly to music supervisors and do NOT have a publisher and you or your song is not signed to an exclusive publisher, then register your music right away. NO: Exclusive Library Publishing Deals: If you sign your music to an exclusive publisher, they will register your track for you with your PRO and there is no need for you to do so. YES: Exclusive Or Non-Exclusive Deal for Master Sync Only: If you sign your music to a Licensing Agent that only takes a portion of the Master Sync and not the backend royalties then you would most likely register the track yourself. Check with the agency to make sure. Sometimes they may take care of that for you. YES: Non-Exclusive Deals: If you sign your music to a NON-exclusive publisher, they will register your track with a unique identifier added to your title, OR they will re-title the track and register it with the new name. This means that you can also register your track with your PRO under it’s original title. The reason for that is if you get your tracked licensed directly through a supervisor, then you want to make sure you get paid the royalties owed to you. You will also get paid the publishing side as well because YOU are the acting publisher in this case. YES: Playing Music Live IF... Both BMI and ASCAP will pay your for live performances of your songs! This is great news! You simply enter in the performance info and choose the songs performed. If your tracks fit into any of the yes categories above, you want to make sure you register them. If they fit into the NO categories, you can still choose to select them for a live performance since your Publisher registered them. YES: Digitally Released Music If you have released your music and it will be streaming or on mainstream Radio then register your tracks. PRO's collect some money from these services. I hope that clears up some of the confusion of when to register a track with your PRO. If not, please feel free to leave a question in the comments section. Thanks and have a great day! - Michelle
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AuthorMichelle Lockey is a multi-award winning singer-songwriter sharing the knowledge she has learned over the years writing for Film & TV. Like what you are reading? Please Sign up to receive a FREE Music Licensing checklist! 10 Steps to Sync Success
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