What are performing rights societies?
There are three performing rights societies. ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) are the biggest, and they are both non-profit organizations. SESAC, Inc. is the oldest and smallest society. It is privately owned and handles about 1% of published music. These groups issue performance licenses and track the use of music in clubs, on radio and television, in elevators, and anytime a song is heard in public. Every time one of your songs is played in one of these places, you are owed a fee. Since it is impossible for you to negotiate a license and collect fees from every bar and radio station in the country, you affiliate with one of the societies and authorize them to do it for you. The organizations pay writers and publishers separately, so you should affiliate as a writer to receive the writer’s share of your performance royalties. If you plan to do your own publishing, you need to affiliate as both a publisher and a writer
