We need Performance Rights Organization (PRO) affiliation details from all collecting songwriters before we can register your works with collection societies. You will need to select an answer to the following question for each songwriter: Are you currently or have you ever been affiliated with a Performance Rights Organization (PRO)?
The answer you select will direct you to the appropriate PRO form. Continue reading for an explanation of each answer.
I am currently affiliated with a PRO
I am NOT currently affiliated with a PRO
I am NOT currently affiliated with a PRO but have been in the past
I am currently affiliated with a PRO
Choose this option if you are already affiliated with a PRO that we work with. You will need to provide us with details about your PRO affiliation, including your IPI or CAE number, email address, and publishing affiliation details if applicable.
I am NOT currently affiliated with a PRO
If you are not currently affiliated with a PRO but have been in the past, please stop reading and skip to the next section.
If you have never been affiliated with a PRO, choosing this option will allow you to submit a membership application with a PRO through your CD Baby account. Please select this option if you meet any of the criteria below:
- You are a US citizen that wants to affiliate with ASCAP or BMI
- You are an Irish citizen that wants to affiliate with IMRO
- You are a citizen of one of the countries on this list and want to affiliate with IMRO instead of your local PRO
If you are a US, Canadian, or Irish citizen, you can submit a songwriter membership application with your local PRO. If you are a citizen of one of the countries from this list you won't have the option to submit a songwriter membership application with your local PRO through your CD Baby account. In your country, you have the option submit a songwriter membership application with the Irish PRO, IMRO.
About IMRO
IMRO is an established PRO that encourages international songwriter members. CD Baby has partnered with IMRO to give you the option to submit a membership application with IMRO through your CD Baby account. Affiliating with IMRO means you will not be affiliating with your local PRO.
Local PRO vs IMRO
We are not able to provide you with legal advice or make legal conclusions about your circumstances. We urge you to do your own research and decide which PRO is the best fit for you.
Here are some links from IMRO's website that may help inform your decision:
Most songwriters tend to affiliate with their local PRO, but this is not required. If you would like to affiliate as a songwriter with a PRO other than IMRO, we encourage you to do so directly on their site.
For example, if you are an Australian songwriter then your local PRO is APRA. Most Australian songwriters would tend to affiliate directly with APRA instead of affiliating with an international PRO like IMRO.
If you do not wish to affiliate as a songwriter with IMRO, please affiliate with a PRO that we work with. Once your application has been approved and you have been assigned an IPI or CAE number, return to the Pro Publishing Admin section of your account, select the "I am currently affiliated with a PRO" option, and complete the form. Please note that it can take several weeks for your PRO to process your application and assign you an IPI or CAE number. Please contact that organization if you need to inquire about the status of your membership application.
CD Baby registers works with PROs and collection societies all around the world, so you will not miss out on publishing royalties generated in your home country by choosing IMRO as your PRO.
What if I don't have the option to affiliate with IMRO, I don't have a local PRO, or CD Baby doesn't work with my local PRO?
If you live in a country that does not appear on either list, it means CD Baby does not work with your local PRO, or there is no local PRO in your country. In which case, you will need to affiliate directly with a PRO of your choosing from either the lists below:
-
Countries and PROs where songwriter membership applications can be submitted through a CD Baby account
-
Countries where songwriters must join a PRO directly
I am NOT currently affiliated with a PRO but have been in the past
If you are choosing this option it means that you were affiliated with a PRO in the past, but have since terminated your agreement with the PRO and have yet to affiliate with a new PRO. Unfortunately, we are unable to affiliate songwriters who have previously been affiliated with a PRO.
Instead, please affiliate directly with a PRO from this list. Once your application has been approved and you have been assigned an IPI or CAE number, return to the Pro Publishing Admin section of your account, select the "I am currently affiliated with a PRO" option, and complete the form.
Please note that it can take several weeks for your PRO to process your application and assign you an IPI or CAE number. Please contact that organization if you need to inquire about the status of your membership application.
Why can't CD Baby affiliate me with a PRO if I have been affiliated with a PRO in the past?
This process requires a physical release form or Letter of Relinquishment (LOR) from your old PRO to be submitted to your new PRO along with your membership application. The PROs don't allow publishers to handle this process on behalf of songwriters.
Comments
0 comments
Article is closed for comments.