How do I collect performance royalties?

This article covers the collection of performance royalties for compositions (songwriting and publishing). Not to be confused with non-interactive digital performance royalties for sound recordings, which are paid via SoundExchange. 

How do I collect Performance Royalties? 

1. Find your local PRO (Performing Rights Organization). Each country has one or more PROs that track and pay performance royalties. In the United States, there are two main PROs: BMI and ASCAP. 

2. Choose and register with a PRO. Both ASCAP and BMI offer similar services. CD Baby cannot recommend one over the other, so we encourage you to research each to determine which is the best fit for your needs.

3. Register as a songwriter (and optionally as a publisher). Once you’re registered as a songwriter, you can also register a publisher to collect your publishing share. This allows you to receive 100% of your performance royalties directly from your PRO

What if I have a Legacy Pro Publishing release?

CD Baby continues to provide Publishing Administration for all Legacy Pro releases. We will keep collecting publishing royalties on behalf of you and any co-writer credited as a collecting songwriter.

We can no longer accept certain update requests related to Legacy Pro Publishing releases, including:

• Ownership or songwriter split changes

• Letters of Direction (LOD) submissions

• Songwriter name changes

• Changing a songwriter’s collecting status (collecting ↔ non-collecting)

• Adding or updating self-owned publishing affiliations

• Troubleshooting song registration issues

This is because publishing updates can take over two years to process through large-scale publishers. To avoid unnecessary delays, we recommend canceling your Legacy Pro Publishing service and registering directly with your PRO if you need to make these kinds of changes. 

You can request a Pro service downgrade or cancellation at any time. Submit a request here and our CD Baby Pro Support team will follow up.