Performance royalties are one of the least understood parts of music licensing, and one of the most important if your production ends up on broadcast television or a major streaming platform.
They’re also, historically, the thing producers discover they needed to know about right around the time a broadcaster asks for documentation they don’t have. Understanding how PROs work will keep you compliant, protect the composers whose music you’re using, and help you prepare deliverables that don’t get held up at the finish line.
What Is a Performing Rights Organization?
A Performing Rights Organization (PRO) is a membership organization that collects and distributes performance royalties on behalf of songwriters and music publishers.
When music is publicly performed, broadcast on television, played on radio, streamed, performed live, the rights-holders are owed performance royalties. PROs make this collection and distribution possible at scale.
The major PROs in the United States:
ASCAP, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
BMI, Broadcast Music, Inc.
SESAC, invitation-only
GMR, Global Music Rights, newer, invitation-only
Internationally: PRS (UK), SOCAN (Canada), APRA AMCOS (Australia), GEMA (Germany), and many others.
What Are Performance Royalties?
A performance royalty is generated whenever music is publicly performed. In media production, that includes:
Television broadcast.
Radio broadcast.
Streaming on platforms like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube.
Public screening of a film.
Music played in public venues, bars, restaurants, stadiums.
Performance royalties are entirely separate from the sync license you negotiate to use music in your production. The sync license grants the right to incorporate the music. Performance royalties are paid each time the finished production is broadcast or publicly screened.
Who Actually Pays?
Most producers are relieved to learn they’re largely off the hook for the payments themselves.
Broadcasters pay through blanket licenses with PROs. Networks negotiate ongoing blanket licenses that cover all music performed across their broadcasts. They pay the PRO; the PRO distributes to rights-holders.
Streaming platforms similarly negotiate licenses with PROs.
Producers are responsible for accurate cue sheets, the documentation that tells PROs what music appeared in a production, for how long, and who owns it. Without accurate cue sheets, PROs can’t pay composers and publishers correctly.
→ Music Cue Sheets: What They Are and Why They Matter
How PROs Distribute Royalties
When a PRO collects performance royalties from a broadcaster, it distributes funds based on cue sheet data and its own audience measurement systems. Distribution is split between:
The songwriter(s), the writer’s share.
The publisher(s), the publisher’s share.
For production music libraries, the library typically functions as the publisher and handles PRO registration for its catalog. When you license a track from a reputable library and your production goes to broadcast, the track should already be registered, meaning performance royalties will flow correctly when you file your cue sheets.
Production Music and PRO Registration
One of the advantages of working with a professional production library is that they handle PRO registration for their catalog. When you license a track from a reputable library, you can generally confirm:
The track is registered with the appropriate PROs.
Performance royalties will flow correctly when cue sheets are filed.
The sync license is entirely separate from, and doesn’t affect, the performance royalty stream.
This is distinct from using music with unclear provenance, where tracks may be unregistered and royalties go uncollected or disputed. VideoHelper can provide PRO registration information for any track at the time of licensing.
The “Back-End” Royalty Conversation
You may encounter “back-end royalties” in production music negotiations, the performance royalties that flow after a production airs, as opposed to the “front-end” sync fee paid at licensing.
Some libraries and composers negotiate a higher share of back-end performance royalties in exchange for lower front-end sync fees. This can work to a producer’s advantage when budget is tight, but it requires confidence in the library’s PRO registration and track record.
PROs and Advertising
Broadcast TV commercials generate performance royalties through the same blanket license system. The sync fee itself is typically the primary economic event in advertising music, with smaller performance royalty back-ends, but they exist, and they matter to the composers who wrote the music.
For digital advertising, PRO coverage of platforms continues to evolve. It’s an area worth tracking.
→ Music for Advertising: What Agencies Need to Know
Key Facts for Producers
You do not need to join a PRO as a producer. PROs represent composers and publishers.
You are responsible for filing accurate cue sheets.
Your sync license and performance royalties are separate, one doesn’t replace the other.
Production music libraries handle their own PRO registration.
When in doubt, ask your library whether a specific track is registered and with which PRO.
Related articles:→ Music Licensing Explained→ What Is Sync Licensing?→ Music Cue Sheets: What They Are and Why They Matter→ How to License Music for Video