There are three performance rights agencies in the United States: BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC. You can only register yourself and your music with one of them.

Canadian artists should register themselves on SOCAN.

ASCAP

ASCAP stands for the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. It is America’s first performance rights agency and an industry leader in performance royalties.

Learn more about ASCAP and register HERE.

BMI 

BMI stands for Broadcast Music, Inc. It is the largest music rights organization in the United States. Its role is to make sure that musicians get paid for having their music played by selling blanket music licenses to businesses and organizations.

You can JOIN BMI HERE.

SESAC

SESAC is the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers. SESAC artists receive monthly royalty payments as opposed to the traditional quarterly distribution that is the industry standard.

Learn more about SESAC HERE. (The organization is only accepting internal recommendations for new artists affiliations at this time.)

SOCAN (Canada)

Canada’s premier Performance Rights Organization (PRO) is SOCAN: the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada. It seeks to uphold the thought that music creators and publishers should be compensated fairly for their work. The company collected $249.3M in USD total revenues in the fiscal year ending on Dec. 31, 2016, according to Billboard.

Become a SOCAN member HERE.