Performing Rights Organizations: Past. Present & Future.

list of global performing rights organizations 2025

Music is everywhere. It plays in restaurants, in stores, on the radio, in movies, on streaming services. But have you ever stopped to wonder—who gets paid when that song plays? Who makes sure that the songwriter, the composer, the people who actually created that music, see a dime from it? Because, for a long time, they didn’t.

That’s why Performing Rights Organizations—PROs—came into existence. The first PRO, SACEM, was founded in France in 1851 when a group of composers demanded payment from a café owner who was making money from their music. That moment sparked a revolution. Then came ASCAP in 1914 in the U.S., making sure songwriters were compensated in the booming radio industry. And from there, PROs spread across the world, evolving with the industry, ensuring that music creators are never left behind.

Because without them, where would we be? A world where music is everywhere—but the people who bring it to life get nothing. And that? That just wouldn’t be right.

Before them, musicians had almost no control over how their work was used. Imagine writing a song, pouring your soul into it, and then walking into a packed café only to hear your own music playing—and not seeing a single cent from it. It wasn’t fair. Artists were being exploited, their work filling the air while someone else made money off it.

So, PROs stepped in. Their job? To make sure that whenever a song is played in a commercial setting, the people who created it get their fair share. They license businesses—radio stations, TV networks, streaming platforms, restaurants, concert venues—and track when and where music is played. Then, they distribute the royalties to the rightful owners. Because let’s be realistic—no single artist has the time or resources to chase down every bar or radio station that plays their song.

It’s not just about fairness—it’s about protecting the very foundation of music. Copyright laws exist to give creators the right to control their work, and PROs help enforce that right. Without them, music would be a free-for-all, where businesses profit off songs without paying a penny to the people who made them.

Over time, music consumption has changed—moving from live performances to radio, then to television, and now to digital streaming. And PROs have adapted right alongside it, making sure artists still get paid, no matter how the world listens to their music.

The first PRO, SACEM, was founded in France in 1851 when a group of composers demanded payment from a café owner who was making money from their music. That moment sparked a revolution. Then came ASCAP in 1914 in the U.S., making sure songwriters were compensated in the booming radio industry. And from there, PROs spread across the world, evolving with the industry, ensuring that music creators are never left behind.

Because without them, where would we be? A world where music is everywhere—but the people who bring it to life get nothing. And that? That just wouldn’t be right.

What Are The Major PROs Around the Globe

Every time a song plays, someone, somewhere, is making money off of it. And that’s where PROs come in. Their job is simple: collect royalties from businesses that use music and distribute that money to the people who created it. Depending on where you are in the world, different PROs handle this. In the U.S., you’ve got ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and the newer, private group, GMR. Over in the UK, it’s PRS for Music. Canada? SOCAN’s got it covered.

Europe is filled with PROs, each serving their own country. SACEM in France, GEMA in Germany, SIAE in Italy, BUMA/STEMRA in the Netherlands, SGAE in Spain. And let’s not forget TONO in Norway, STIM in Sweden, and KODA in Denmark.

Down in Australia and New Zealand, there’s APRA AMCOS. Latin America has its own set of PROs—SAYCO in Colombia, SCD in Chile, ABRAMUS in Brazil, APDAYC in Peru, and SADAIC in Argentina. And in Asia? JASRAC in Japan, MCSC in China, and KOMCA in South Korea.

Each of these organizations plays a vital role in making sure music creators don’t just create—they get compensated. Because at the end of the day, music isn’t free. It’s the product of hard work, passion, and creativity. And without PROs, a lot of the people behind the music we love would be left out in the cold.

So the next time you hear a song playing in your favorite café, just remember—someone’s making sure the artist behind it gets what they deserve.

How Do PROs Collect Money?

Alright, so you’re a songwriter. You pour your heart into a song, someone records it, and suddenly—it’s everywhere. On the radio, in a coffee shop, blasting through a stadium before a big game. People are vibing, businesses are making money, but… are you getting paid?

That’s where Performing Rights Organizations—PROs—come in. Their whole job? To make sure the people who create music actually see some money when their work is used. But how do they do that?

First things first—licenses. If a business plays music in public, they need permission. Radio stations, TV networks, streaming services, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, even gyms and retail stores—all of them need a performance license. It’s basically their way of saying, “Hey, we’re gonna play music, and we’re gonna do it legally.” The cost? That depends. A giant stadium blasting music at a packed concert? That’ll be more expensive than a small café playing a Spotify playlist in the background.

Now, getting businesses to pay is just part of the job. Next, PROs have to figure out what music is actually being played. And they’ve got different ways of tracking that.

Radio and TV? They use automated monitoring systems and music recognition software to log every song that airs.
Streaming services? Places like Spotify and YouTube provide detailed reports on song plays.
Live performances? Concert venues have to submit setlists so songwriters get paid when their songs are performed on stage.
Bars, restaurants, and other businesses? Some self-report their playlists, but PROs also use sampling and tech to track what’s being played.


Alright, so the businesses are licensed, the music has been tracked. What’s next? Money collection. PROs take all the fees from those licenses and start distributing them. The more a song is played, the more money its creators make.

And finally—the payout. The money goes to the songwriters, the composers, the publishers—the people who actually wrote the song. Notice I didn’t say the performers? That’s right—if you’re the one singing on the record but didn’t write the song, PROs aren’t paying you. This money goes to the creators behind the scenes. And if a song has multiple writers? They split the royalties based on their ownership percentage, usually 50/50 between the writer and the publisher.

So why does any of this matter? Because without PROs, music creators would be stuck chasing down every business that plays their song, hoping to get paid. And let’s be real—that’s impossible. These organizations make sure that businesses pay their fair share and that music creators get what they deserve.

It’s a massive, complicated system, but at the end of the day, it’s about one thing—respecting the people who make the music we love.

The Challenges Ahead

The industry is shifting, technology is evolving, and if PROs don’t adapt? They might just get left behind.

Let’s start with the biggest issue—streaming. Services like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube have completely changed how we listen to music. Sounds great, right? Well, not if you’re a songwriter. Unlike radio or live performances, streaming pays fractions of a cent per play. You could have millions of streams and still not make enough to pay rent. And PROs? They’re struggling to negotiate fair rates with these tech giants that have all the power.

And then there’s the global problem. Music is more international than ever, yet PROs still operate on country-based models. A song played worldwide? It could take multiple organizations to track and collect the royalties. That means delays, lost money, and a system that just isn’t keeping up. To make things even more complicated, new private companies like Global Music Rights (GMR) are stepping in, offering direct and exclusive deals to songwriters—challenging the way PROs have always worked.

And let’s talk about transparency. If you’re a songwriter, do you actually know how much money you’re owed? Or why it takes months—sometimes years—to get paid? Exactly. Some PROs still use outdated tracking methods, which means a lot of money goes missing, and artists are left wondering if they’ll ever see it. Songwriters are demanding more clarity and accountability.

But here’s where things get really wild—Artificial Intelligence. AI-generated music is here, and it’s not going anywhere. But if an AI composes a song, who gets the royalties? If businesses start playing music created entirely by machines, do PROs even have a role in that world? And let’s not forget AI’s ability to clone voices and mimic artists. How do you protect human creators when AI can replace them? PROs are scrambling to figure it out.

Meanwhile, there’s the digital copyright battle. Millions of new songs are uploaded to TikTok, YouTube, and streaming platforms every single day. How do you track unauthorized use? How do you make sure every artist gets paid when content spreads at the speed of the internet? Some platforms don’t compensate songwriters properly, and others don’t remove unlicensed music fast enough. PROs have to fight harder than ever to protect copyright in this chaotic digital landscape.

And then there’s direct licensing. Some artists are cutting out PROs altogether, making their own deals with streaming services, or using blockchain technology to track royalties. NFTs, smart contracts—these could completely change how royalties are managed. If songwriters can handle their own payments, then… what happens to PROs? Do we even need them?

Here’s the bottom line—PROs either evolve, or they become obsolete. They need to push for higher streaming payouts, fix transparency issues, adapt to AI and blockchain, and rethink how they operate in a global digital market. If they don’t? Songwriters and composers—the people who actually create the music—will be the ones left behind. And that? That would be a disaster.

“Drilling” ahead and pioneering a new genre of music

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By Jonathon Winkler

Like a bad cavity, Drill is drilling the shit out of the tooth decaying hip hop scene.   With tracks coming from young talent like Lil Bibby and Lil Herb (new release just last month), maybe it is a sign of the time that hip hop is making a drastic swerve away from the Mickey Mouse hip hop club that is currently destroying everything that was once dangerous and anti-authoritative.  With government backed artists like Jay-Z, everything was looking rather docile and lacking bite (you’re not supposed to be part of the system, you’re supposed to fight the system!? Duh!! )  Maybe Drill is a sign that these over the hill hip hop artists need to take a back seat and let some fresh talent with youthful anger, guns, drugs, street knowledge, and aggression take the wheel. Better yet, these young punks need to push these old hip hop fucks out of the car altogether.  Time the youth reclaim what is rightfully theirs.

This new genre, Drill, emerging from “Chiraq” (Chicago) in the last few years, is something to be on the lookout for as rescuers of the hip-hop scene.  From the looks of it, Drill is still in its infancy; garnishing a few thousand listens here and there on youtube.com.  Albums with amazing titles like, “Free Crack” by Lil Bibby and “Welcome to Fazoland” by Lil Herb, illustrate a possible renaissance of that dirty ghetto gangster music we all loved in our youth.  After hearing musicians that are boring us to death in this culture of softness; maybe Drill is just what we need as a backlash against this. It is about time we had some tracks about the streets, misogyny, gun violence, hatred towards authority (especially police), and drugs.  That is what America is all about because it’s fun and youthful to offend the easily offendable and push some boundaries. 

Drill is showing the roughness of the streets of Chicago’s ghettos.  Enough of the R&B, rap and bullshit, it’s time hip hop stopped with the political correctness/ conscious hip-hop garbage and got back on the band wagon of being dirty, ghetto, truthful, youthful, rude, and showing a middle finger to the overarching boring milieu that permeates everything.  Most of all, making the genre fun again!  In comparison, it is the same way as how NWA used to make cops shutter back in the day; Drill is a sign of a new exciting movement and movements that it will spark.  Things seemed a bit boring in the music industry now; Drill might just shake it up a bit.  We can only pray and hope this new genre will take off in new directions and spark some new off-shoot genres that are just as rewarding.  In this author’s humble opinion, it’s some of the best and original stuff to come out of any music scene in the last few years.

Solid track here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg9Xt5yzeRs

Here is some background information on the music scene starting out of Chicago: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drill_%28music_genre%29

               

10 ClubHouse Rooms Everyone in the Colorado Music Industry Needs To Follow

10 Music Industry Clubs on ClubHouse App

You definitely have the tools and platforms available to make it mainstream these days, but you won’t if you’re living in a box.

It’s important that you network and make yourself and your music known across all reaches of the internet and of course your own backyard. Enter the ClubHouse App. The latest social media app to take the world by storm.

If you don’t know what it is, take a few minutes to watch this video.

Some nights I’ll be up at 2am working on a project and a music mogul starts a room, invites his or her friends, and next thing you know they’re allowing artists to demo their music for current or future opportunities.

Every money-making opportunity I’ve received in the past three years has been a result of the relationships I’ve established years or months prior.

In fact, how many times have you listened to the come-up story of one of your favorite recording artist or producer and they mention how “so and so” plugged them in?

Networking is one of the easiest catalysts you can add to your music marketing plan.

So, follow us on Clubhouse @mileHImusic and then search for these Music Clubs

  1. Music Industry Execs
  2. Music & Technology
  3. Music HQ
  4. Music, Impact, Culture
  5. Music Entrepreneurs Club
  6. The Music Playbook
  7. More In Music
  8. I Don’t Care: Music Business
  9. Music Supervision & Licensing
  10. Music, Money and Gems

Rubedo: Interview

 

I had first seen Rubedo, a kick-ass Denver band, last year at the University of Colorado Denver’s CAM JAM festival.  Their performance was energetic and powerful, while still hanging on to the subtleties that could define their sound in their compositions.  When the offer for and interview came through, I immediately said yes. With their new album, Love is the Answer, out now and a tour kicking off on the 25th, I knew they would have something to say.  As always, the guys did not disappoint.

 

Jennifer: First off I want to say a big “Hey!” to the guys of Rubedo, and start this off with a classic question: Where did you all meet and how did Rubedo come to be?

Rubedo: The 3 of us are Denver natives whose roots reach as far back as grade school. Rubedo is a word that describes the process of integrating ones vibrational nature with the physical plane to produce gold.  Cosmic chance, synchronicity, fate… I’m not sure how we came to be.  All I know is that we are always evolving.

 

Your new album, Love is the Answer, blends a lot of different techniques and genres. When you guys compose, do you keep a specific sound in mind, or does it bloom into its own sound?

R:  I like that.  It is a blooming mess.  Our sound is found through feeling.  Feeling guided mind compositions.  Individually our musical tastes are not limited to genre, so collectively we’re able to channel infinite sounds that match the feeling that the song seeks to express.

 

“My Oh My” is definitely one of my top favorite tracks, I love that you started the album off with a slower song. The brightness of the guitar matched with the echoing vocals provides the perfect balance of musical pleasure. How did you guys decide to arrange the album?

R: Thank you, you know we used to play that song much faster.  That is one of the great things that our producer Ikey Owens (of Mars Volta, Jack White) embedded into the album.  Each song was presented to him with an understanding that his objective prospective may shed light on the overlooked.  His input really is imprinted in each song.  By the time we had the final mixes it was just a matter putting the pieces together to see the full picture.

 

How did the song, “Love is the Answer”, become the title track?

R: Love Is the Answer is one of the first songs we wrote for the album, also one of the most fun to play live.  Simply put.

rubedo cover

 All of the tracks highlight the different instruments and equipment use/d what are your favorite to play, and how long have you all been playing your instruments?

 

R: It’s hard to tell. You see, we’ve got this time machine that grants us the ability to play lifetimes of music and come back for that next gig.  My favorite instrument is a Lunadulcer but alas, it hasn’t been invented yet.

 

You guys are going to be kicking off a tour on the 25th of January at the Bluebird, ending in Arkansas. What do you guys like to do to prepare for life on the road?

 

R: We like to gradually incorporate the touring life style back into our lives by routinely sleeping on hardwood floors and eating truck stop snacks to avoid culture shock.

 

After playing many different venues, which Colorado venue surpassed them all for you? Worst Venue?

R: Both questions same answer Lions Lair

 

If a fan wanted to get back stage, what would they have to do?

R: They’d have to bring a bottle of gin and some corn syrup for libations, 2 living chickens – one white one black one male one female, and one John the conqueror root.

 

I noticed on your Bandcamp page that you have a name-your-price option for your record. How did you decide to use this model as a selling platform?

R: We wanted to put it out as soon as it was done and we wanted people to have it as soon as they wanted it.  We didn’t feel like money was the good middle man.

 

After this upcoming tour, what can we expect from Rubedo?

R: We have a year of pretty much nonstop touring ahead of us, a bunch of festivals, and we’ve moved Rubedo headquarters to Dryer Plug Studios to begin the writing process for our next record.

 

 I want to thank you all again for taking the time to do this interview and good luck on your tour!

R: Thank you so much for your support and we look forward to talking to you again!!

Rubedoooodes out

(Kyle, Alex, Gregg)

 

You can catch Rubedo at the Bluebird Theatre on January 25th!  To find out more about the band, watch videos, and buy their tunes, head over to the links below.

 

CPR performance “Love is the Answer”

CPR performance “Ain’t it Funny”

Moon Magnet Sessions “My Oh My”

WEB: http://www.rubedomusic.com/

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Adam Duncan – Ga’Damn (Single Review)

“Sex is incredible, body’s amazing still, there’s only one way that could describe the way that you make me feel…Ga’damn.”

 

One of Colorado’s hottest pop artists is following the trend of turning to R&B much like Justin Bieber has done so – to many plaudits – recently. Adam Duncan is planning on releasing an R&B album after the impressive “Don’t Wanna Go Home Vol. 1” project presented his phenomenal capabilities when it comes to pop – and we even seen a little Hip Hop in there too. The lead single from the as-yet untitled project is produced by Nite (Well known for his production for Trev Rich) and the drum-heavy beat provides a brilliant foundation for a fantastic track.

Shades of Drake circa “Take Care” shine through on “Ga’Damn” as Duncan verges on rapping in one part of the R&B song in similar style as the “Nothing Was The Same” rapper/singer. If “Ga’Damn” is a true representation of the upcoming project we can expect a blend of Drake and Justin Timberlake with a lot of focus on the female figure and of course the desire to regain an ex’s affections. Duncan’s giving Jimmie Murphy a run for his money here, but their styles of R&B differentiate in that “Ga’damn” is much more radio-ready than anything from “Descendre”.

I can’t help but feel this is an amazing opportunity that Adam Duncan has opened up and I for one am looking forward to hearing a full project of his take on the R&B genre – so long as he doesn’t completely stray away from his pop side either. What do you think? Do you like the record? Or would you prefer Adam Duncan to remain in his current lane? Let us know in the comments below!