Pros And Cons Of Performing Rights Organizations

2354 Words10 Pages

Mario Muralles
Professor Simson
MGMT 305
April 1st 2016 Performing Rights Organizations
A musician's life is hard enough already, and securing their money should always be a priority. Songtrust online provides a good analogy regarding just how important joining a PRO’s really is: “You’re indie. You’re authentic. You’re DIY. But you still want to get paid for your music. Who doesn’t? Admitting that is a crucial first step to a long career as a musician. And affiliating with a Performing Rights Organization, or “PRO,” is the second.”

Performing rights organizations are advantageous to songwriters, music writers, producers, and musicians because they offer some benefits compared to an independent songwriter or musician. The benefits which range from royalty checks to music promotion also invariably differ from one PRO to another. For this reason, most music producers and songwriters prefer operating with multiple PROs to maximise benefits and advantages that are accrued to the use of the PROs. The distribution includes a fee from local performances in the US and international performances. Information posted on the website of the PRO indicates that ASCAP has …show more content…

Others have suggested the engagement of PROs is a complicated process that ultimately robs musicians' enormous amounts of their incomes. One example of a PRO is the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). The organisation with a membership of over 500,000 composers, songwriters, musicians, and lyricists ensures that its member's rights are respected and payments made reasonably. To maximise potential and to be inclusive the PRO has branches in New York, Nashville, Puerto Rico, Miami, London, Atlanta and Los Angeles. Some other renowned PROs include Broadcast Music Inc (BMI), SESAC, and SOCAN (Baker