A PRO and a music publisher are not the same thing.

For songwriters, understanding the difference can mean the difference between collecting one part of your income and collecting much more of what the composition generates.

What is a PRO?

PRO stands for Performing Rights Organisation.

Examples include:

  • PRS
  • ASCAP
  • BMI
  • APRA AMCOS
  • SOCAN

They collect certain performance royalties when compositions are:

  • Broadcast
  • Performed
  • Streamed
  • Played publicly

A songwriter usually joins the PRO applicable to them.

What does a music publisher do?

A publisher or publishing administrator manages broader rights connected to compositions.

That may include registration and collection of:

  • Mechanical royalties
  • Publisher-side performance royalties
  • International income
  • Certain digital royalties
  • Other composition income

The exact service depends on the agreement.

Why would you need both?

Because they perform different roles.

RouteNote currently recommends eligible Publishing clients join a PRO, while RouteNote Publishing then handles additional collection and administration.

RouteNote’s current guidance explains that its Publishing service can collect publisher-side performance royalties and mechanical royalties while the songwriter’s PRO handles the relevant writer-side income.

Example

You write and record your own song.

Spotify streams it.

Several financial events may happen.

The recording generates master revenue.

The composition generates publishing income.

Your distributor deals with the master side.

Your PRO and publisher deal with different parts of the composition side.

One stream can therefore create more than one payment.

Does a publisher own your song?

Not necessarily.

Publishing administration can involve managing rights while you retain ownership.

Traditional publishing agreements may involve different ownership structures.

Read the agreement rather than assuming all publishers work the same way.

Do you need a publisher as a small artist?

Potentially.

The relevant question isn’t how famous you are.

It’s whether your compositions generate royalties that need collecting.

An independent songwriter with global streams can have money moving through societies in multiple countries.

Keep distribution and publishing separate in your head

Distribution = recording.

Publishing = song.

That’s simplified, but it’s an excellent starting point.

The fact you’re already receiving Spotify money through a distributor does not mean every songwriter royalty has automatically been collected.