The difference between simply registering with a Performing Rights Organization (PRO) like ASCAP, BMI, or IMRO and using BeatStars Publishing lies in the scope of services, royalty collection, and administrative responsibilities. Here’s a detailed comparison:
1. Scope of Services
- PROs (ASCAP, BMI, IMRO):
- PROs collect performance royalties for public performances of your music (e.g., radio, streaming, live events).
- They do not handle other types of royalties, such as mechanical royalties (from sales/streams), sync licensing, or global collections beyond their affiliated networks.
- You are responsible for manually registering your works and managing other royalty streams independently.
- BeatStars Publishing:
- BeatStars Publishing provides comprehensive publishing administration in partnership with Sony Music Publishing.
- It collects both performance royalties (via PROs) and mechanical royalties globally.
- The platform also offers sync licensing opportunities and centralized management for all royalty streams.
- While you must manually add songs to BeatStars Publishing for registration, they handle the subsequent registrations with PROs and other global collection societies.
2. Royalty Collection
- PROs:
- Collect only performance royalties (split into a writer’s share and publisher’s share).
- You receive 100% of your writer’s share directly and the publisher’s share if you own it or have an associated publishing entity.
- BeatStars Publishing:
- Collects performance royalties (via PROs) and mechanical royalties from platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
- Retains a portion of certain royalties:
- Mechanical Royalties: You receive 80%.
- Performance Publisher’s Share: You receive 60%.
- Performance Writer’s Share: You retain 100%.
- Sync Licensing: You receive 65–80%, depending on whether BeatStars sources the placement.
3. Administrative Effort
- PROs:
- You must manually register each song with the PRO to ensure royalties are collected.
- For global collections or mechanical royalties, you need additional administrators or services.
- BeatStars Publishing:
- Handles global registrations with PROs and other collection societies after you submit your songs to their system.
- Simplifies the process by consolidating multiple royalty streams into one platform.
4. Exclusivity
- PROs:
- Registering with a PRO is non-exclusive. You can work with other administrators or publishers for additional services. (It means that affiliating with a PRO like ASCAP, BMI, or IMRO does not prevent you from licensing or exploiting your works in other ways. Specifically:
- You retain control over your works: You can directly license your music to others, such as film producers or advertisers, without going through the PRO.
- You can work with other entities: For example, you can engage publishers, administrators, or sync licensing companies to manage other aspects of your music rights.
- However, this does not mean you can register the same work with multiple PROs simultaneously. Each work can only be registered with one PRO at a time because they are responsible for collecting performance royalties for that work in their territory. Non-exclusivity refers to the flexibility in how you manage and license your rights outside of the PRO’s scope.)
- BeatStars Publishing:
- Requires an exclusive administration agreement during the term. All your songs are administered by BeatStars/Sony Music Publishing while under contract. (Under the BeatStars Publishing exclusive administration agreement, only the songs you register with BeatStars Publishing are administered by them and Sony Music Publishing during the term of the contract. Your past and future songs will not automatically fall under their administration unless you explicitly register those songs with BeatStars Publishing. This exclusivity applies only to the songs you choose to submit and register through their platform.)
5. Additional Features
- PROs:
- Focus solely on collecting performance royalties.
- Offer no additional services like sync placements or comprehensive publishing administration.
- BeatStars Publishing:
- Provides opportunities for sync placements and collaboration with artists through its platform.
- Offers centralized management of all publishing-related income streams.
Summary:
If you only need performance royalty collection and want full control over your works without sharing revenue, registering directly with a PRO is sufficient. However, if you want a more hands-off approach to managing global royalties (performance + mechanical) and access to additional opportunities like sync placements, BeatStars Publishing is a more comprehensive solution—though it comes at the cost of exclusivity and reduced earnings from certain revenue streams.
Point me out if I am wrong in any areas.
