How to Collect Performance Royalties

🎶 A note about CD Baby Pro Publishing:

This service was discontinued on August 8th, 2023. Any paid release which was signed up for CD Baby Pro Publishing prior to this date is considered a Legacy Pro release and will continue to receive Pro Publishing services. CD Baby now offers an expanded suite of revenue amplifiers called “CDB Boost." 

Since performance royalty collection is no longer available for new releases, we've gathered some information to help guide you through the process of collecting performance royalties on your own. 

*This article is in reference to the collection of performance royalties for compositions on behalf of songwriters. Not to be confused with non-interactive digital performance royalties for sound recordings which are paid via SoundExchange. For more information on the different types of royalties, go here.

How do I collect Performance Royalties on my own? 

• First, you'll want to find your local PRO (Performing Rights Organization). Here is a list of countries and their corresponding PROs. In the United States there are two: ASCAP and BMI. The "FAQ" or Help Center for your PRO will have all the information you should need.
• For U.S. songwriters:
  • BMI FAQ
  • ASCAP Help Center
  • ASCAP and BMI offer the same service, and we cannot advise you which to choose. We suggest you research each to see which is the best fit for you. 
• Once you know which PRO to go with, you can register yourself as a songwriter! Once registered, you have the option to register a publisher as well. This will allow you to control your full share of performance royalties.

Music Publishing Explained

Looking for a general overview of Music Publishing? We've got it here, at the DIY Musician Blog. 

What if I have a Legacy Pro Publishing release?

What has not changed?

We still offer Publishing Administration services for your Legacy Pro release(s)! This allows CD Baby to collect publishing royalties on behalf of you and any co-writer that is credited on a Legacy Pro release as a collecting songwriter.

What has changed?

Certain requests to change or update Legacy Pro Publishing releases will no longer be accepted.

• Ownership changes / songwriter splits
• Submitting Letters of Direction
• Songwriter name changes
• Changing a songwriter's collecting status (collecting vs. non-collecting)
• Updating or the addition of, a self-owned publishing affiliation
• Troubleshooting of song registration issues

But why?

Requests like the ones above are very difficult to process given the nature of Publishing. Issues like ownership changes, songwriter changes, and works registration updates can take over 2 years to resolve if submitted via a publisher, like CD Baby, that works at a large scale.

In short, we don't want to put in a request on your behalf if we're unable to resolve it in a reasonable amount of time. If you need to submit a request like the ones listed above, it would be faster for you to cancel your Legacy Pro Publishing service, register on your own, and make updates directly at your PRO.

We are able to offer Pro service downgrades and cancellations at any time. If you choose to cancel or downgrade, please submit a request here and our CD Baby Pro support team will get back to you!

*Please note, links to third-party sites are provided purely for informational purposes and we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information. These sites are not governed by our artist agreement and privacy policy.