How to Register With a PRO (ASCAP/BMI)

To register with a PRO (a Performing Rights Organization such as ASCAP or BMI), you sign up as both a songwriter and, if you own your compositions, a publisher, then add every song you’ve written to their catalogue so the PRO can collect performance royalties on your behalf. It’s a free-to-cheap, one-time-ish setup that pays you whenever your music is streamed, played on radio, performed live, or used in a venue. If you’ve written original music and released it, this is money you’re likely leaving on the table right now.

Violet Recording is reader-supported — we may earn a commission from links on this page, at no extra cost to you.

The short version: what a PRO does and why you need one

Before you register with a PRO, it helps to understand the one job these organizations exist to do: collect performance royalties. Every time a song is publicly performed — streamed on Spotify or Apple Music, played on terrestrial or internet radio, spun by a DJ, performed live at a venue, or piped through a coffee-shop speaker — the songwriter and publisher are owed a small payment. Nobody hands that money over automatically. A PRO tracks those performances, licenses the businesses that use music, collects the fees, and distributes the royalties to the writers and publishers registered in its system.

Here’s the catch that trips up most independent artists: if you’re not registered and your songs aren’t in the database, those royalties either sit uncollected or get pooled and paid to somebody else. The distributor that put your track on Spotify (DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby and the like) does not collect performance royalties for you — that’s a different revenue stream entirely. A PRO fills that gap.

Key takeaways

• What it is: Registering with a PRO lets you collect performance royalties for public plays of your songs.
• Who needs it: Anyone who has written original music that gets streamed, broadcast, or performed publicly.
• The big US options: ASCAP and BMI (both large, both reputable), plus SESAC and GMR (invite-only).
• Cost: BMI and ASCAP writer registration is free or a modest one-time fee — check each provider’s current pricing, as it changes.
• Not the same as: Your distributor, mechanical royalties, or a copyright registration — those are separate.

ASCAP vs BMI vs SESAC vs GMR: which PRO should you join?

In the United States you can only belong to one PRO at a time as a writer, so the choice matters — but honestly, for most independent artists it matters less than the internet makes it seem. The two giants, ASCAP and BMI, both collect the same types of royalties, license the same venues and platforms, and have similar reach. You will not earn dramatically more with one over the other for the same catalogue and the same plays.

ASCAP is a member-owned nonprofit. Writer membership typically carries a small one-time fee, and it’s open to anyone — no invitation needed. BMI is the other heavyweight and has historically made songwriter registration free, though it now also offers publisher registration for a fee; check its current pricing before you assume anything, because both organizations have adjusted their fee structures in recent years.

SESAC and GMR (Global Music Rights) are invitation-only. You generally cannot just sign up — they recruit established writers with meaningful catalogues. If you’re an independent artist reading a how-to guide, ASCAP or BMI is your realistic choice. Outside the US, you’ll join your national society instead: PRS in the UK, SOCAN in Canada, APRA AMCOS in Australia and New Zealand, GEMA in Germany, SACEM in France, and so on. You join the PRO in the country where you’re based, and it collects worldwide through reciprocal agreements with the others.

Practical advice: don’t agonize. Pick ASCAP or BMI, look at the current fee for each, consider whether you prefer a nonprofit member-owned structure (ASCAP) or the historically free-to-join route (BMI), and register. You can theoretically switch later, though there are notice windows, so treat it as a considered choice rather than a coin flip.

How to register with a PRO, step by step

The mechanics are more straightforward than the jargon suggests. Here’s the honest walkthrough for either ASCAP or BMI — the flow is nearly identical.

1. Decide if you’re a writer, a publisher, or both. You are always a songwriter. If you own the rights to your own songs and no third-party publisher administers them (which is the case for almost every independent artist), you’re also functioning as your own publisher. Registering both roles means you collect both the “writer’s share” and the “publisher’s share” of performance royalties — otherwise the publisher’s share may go uncollected. Set up the writer account first; you can add a publisher entity afterward.
2. Gather your details. You’ll need legal name, address, tax information (a Social Security number or EIN in the US), banking details for direct deposit, and — if you’re forming a publishing entity — a few candidate names, since your publisher name must be unique in the PRO’s system.
3. Complete the online application. Both ASCAP and BMI run their sign-up entirely online. Fill in your information, agree to the membership terms, and pay any current registration fee. Approval can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
4. Set up your publishing company (optional but recommended). If you’re serious about collecting everything you’re owed, register a publisher entity too. You’ll submit a few unique name options; the PRO clears one and assigns it to you.
5. Register every song. This is the step people forget. Merely being a member does not collect royalties — each individual composition has to be registered in the PRO’s catalogue, with the title, the writers, their splits (which must total 100%), and the publisher. If a song has co-writers on a different PRO, each writer registers their own share with their own organization.
6. Keep it current. Register new songs as you release them, update your banking and contact details, and make sure your co-writers actually register their shares — a missing co-writer registration can hold up a whole song’s payout.

What a PRO does not cover: the royalty gaps you still need to fill

This is the part that saves independent artists the most money, because a PRO only collects one slice of what you’re owed. Registering with ASCAP or BMI is necessary, but it is not the whole picture.

Mechanical royalties are a separate stream, generated when your composition is reproduced — including the “digital mechanicals” paid for interactive streams. In the US these are handled largely by The MLC (the Mechanical Licensing Collective), which you register with independently of your PRO. Many artists also use a publishing administrator to sweep up mechanicals and international royalties they’d otherwise miss.

Master/recording royalties are different again — those attach to the sound recording rather than the composition, and they flow through your distributor and, for non-interactive US streams, through SoundExchange (which you should also register with as a performer). And crucially, getting your music onto streaming platforms in the first place is the job of a distributor, not a PRO. A service like LANDR handles distribution to Spotify, Apple Music and the rest, and can master your tracks to release-ready loudness in the same workflow, so you’re not stitching together five tools before your song is even live. Compare the leading online mastering services here if you want to weigh your options first.

If you only register with a PRO and stop there, you’ll collect performance royalties but leave mechanicals and SoundExchange money on the table. The full stack for most independent artists looks like: a PRO (ASCAP/BMI) + The MLC + SoundExchange + a distributor. It sounds like a lot; each signup is a one-time afternoon of admin that pays out for the life of your catalogue.

Common mistakes when you register with a PRO

A few avoidable errors cost independent writers real royalties every year:

• Joining but never registering songs. Membership alone collects nothing. Every track must be individually entered into the catalogue.
• Skipping the publisher registration. Without a publisher entity, the publisher’s share of your performance royalties may never reach you. Own your songs? Then be your own publisher.
• Splits that don’t add up or aren’t agreed in writing. Co-writer shares must total 100% and match across everyone’s registrations. Sort splits before release, not after a dispute.
• Assuming your distributor handles it. DistroKid, TuneCore and CD Baby move your recording onto platforms; they do not collect PRO performance royalties. Different job entirely.
• Confusing a PRO with copyright registration. Registering a song with a PRO is not the same as registering the copyright with the US Copyright Office. They serve different purposes; you may want both.
• Registering with more than one PRO as a writer. In the US you belong to one at a time. Pick one.

When to register and how it fits your release workflow

Register with a PRO before — or at least at the same time as — your first release, and register each new song as part of your standard release checklist. The ideal sequence is: finish and master the track, register the composition with your PRO and The MLC, hand the finished master to your distributor for delivery to streaming platforms, and confirm you’re set up with SoundExchange as a performer. If you master and distribute through one workflow, you can slot the PRO registration in alongside it rather than scrambling months later when you notice royalties piling up uncollected. Learn more about getting your master release-ready in our guide to mastering a song for streaming, and if you’re deciding how to finish your tracks, our AI mastering vs human mastering comparison is a useful companion. For the wider business side of releasing music, browse the Music Business hub.

None of this requires a lawyer or a manager. It’s a handful of free-to-cheap signups and the discipline to register every song. Do it once, keep it current, and you turn plays you’re already getting into money that actually lands in your account.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free to register with a PRO?

BMI has historically offered free songwriter registration, while ASCAP typically charges a small one-time fee, and both may charge separately to register a publisher entity. Fee structures change, so check each provider’s current pricing before you sign up. Either way, the cost is minimal compared with the royalties you can collect over the life of your catalogue.

Can I join both ASCAP and BMI?

Not as a writer — in the United States you can only be a member of one PRO at a time in your songwriter capacity. You choose either ASCAP or BMI (or an invite-only society like SESAC or GMR). You can switch later, but there are notice windows and timing rules, so treat your initial choice as a considered decision rather than a temporary one.

Does registering with a PRO put my music on Spotify?

No. A PRO collects performance royalties; it does not deliver your recordings to streaming platforms. That’s the job of a distributor such as LANDR, DistroKid, TuneCore or CD Baby. You need both: a distributor to get the music live, and a PRO to collect the songwriter and publisher royalties those plays generate. They’re complementary, not interchangeable.