PRO
A PRO (Performing Rights Organization) is a collecting society that licenses the public performance of musical works and pays the resulting royalties to songwriters, composers, and publishers. Examples include GEMA in Germany, ASCAP and BMI in the US, and PRS in the UK. Members receive an IPI number and register their works so plays can be matched and paid.
What a PRO does
A PRO licenses the public performance of musical works and turns usage into payouts. Venues, broadcasters, streaming services, and businesses that play music pay license fees; the PRO matches reported usage to registered works and distributes the money to the writers and publishers on each registration. Many societies outside the US, GEMA in Germany among them, also administer mechanical rights, which is why the broader term collecting society is common in Europe. Through reciprocal agreements in the CISAC network, your home society collects worldwide: a Berlin songwriter gets paid when their work runs on French radio, without joining a French society.
How to join a PRO
Apply to the society responsible for your territory and role — as a writer, a publisher, or both. GEMA covers Germany; ASCAP and BMI operate in the US; PRS in the UK; SUISA in Switzerland; AKM in Austria. Membership assigns your IPI number, the identifier every work registration uses to credit you. From then on, register each work you write with its co-writers and shares, and the society matches usage to your catalogue. Writers generally hold one society membership for the same rights at a time, so pick the society in your country or the one whose terms fit your situation.
PRO royalties vs. master royalties
A PRO pays for the work, meaning composition and lyrics. Your distributor pays for the recording, the master. The same stream generates both: a master royalty that flows through distribution to the artist and label, and a work royalty that flows through the PRO to songwriters and publishers. bbn.music handles the master side for every account, with the free artist tier keeping 97% of revenue and the €12/year tier keeping 100%. For labels, BBN Label Suite adds the work side as an opt-in: rosters whose writers hold PRO memberships and IPI numbers manage works and shares in the platform and export CWR registrations for GEMA and other CISAC societies.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a PRO to release music?
No. Distribution and master royalties work without one. A PRO membership adds work royalties on top when you write your own material — performance income that streaming, radio, and live use generate for the composition.
Can I join two PROs at once?
For the same rights and role, you generally hold one writer membership at a time; the CISAC network's reciprocal agreements make your home society collect worldwide. Separate writer and publisher memberships can coexist.
Does a PRO collect my streaming royalties?
A PRO collects the work share of streaming for writers and publishers. The recording share comes through your distributor.