PROs (Performing Rights Organizations)
The organizations, like ASCAP and BMI, that collect performance royalties on behalf of songwriters and pay them out.
Why this matters
What is it?
A PRO, or performing rights organization, is a company that licenses the public performance of music to businesses (radio stations, venues, streaming platforms, restaurants) and then distributes the money it collects to the songwriters and publishers whose songs were performed. In the US, the major ones are ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC; most countries have their own equivalent.
You join a PRO as a songwriter (and separately, sometimes, as a publisher) and register each song you write with them. The PRO then tracks usage through a mix of reported setlists, radio logs, and digital sampling technology, and periodically sends you a royalty payment based on how much your registered songs were performed.
Joining is usually straightforward: pick one PRO (you generally can't split songwriter membership across multiple at once), sign up online, and register your catalog. It's one of the few genuinely free-or-cheap steps in the music business that has a direct payoff.
A simple example
Why you should care
When you'll use it
Common mistakes
- Not registering songs individually after joining, thinking membership alone is enough.
- Choosing a PRO based on rumor rather than checking which fits your catalog and how each pays out.
- Forgetting to register as a publisher too, missing half of the performance royalty pie.
Register every song with your PRO within the same week it's released, before you forget.
Keep reading
A unique numeric code assigned to an entire release (single, EP, or album) that identifies it across stores and streaming platforms, similar to a barcode on a physical product.
A unique identifier assigned to a specific recording of a song, used to track plays, streams, and royalties for that exact version, distinct from the song's UPC.
The set of text information attached to your release, like song title, artist name, genre, and release date, that DSPs use to display and organize your music correctly.
A promotional tool that lets fans save an upcoming release to their streaming library or playlist before it's even out, so it appears automatically on release day.
A running list of every task that needs to happen before a song can go live, used to make sure nothing gets missed.
The recurring payments you earn every time your song gets streamed, sold, played on the radio, or used somewhere else.
The royalty paid to songwriters whenever their composition is reproduced, including every stream and download.
The royalty paid to songwriters when their composition is performed publicly, including radio, live shows, and some streaming plays.
The business of owning, registering, and collecting income from the songwriting side of your music, separate from the recording.
A simple written document that records who wrote what percentage of a song, signed before disputes can happen.
The company that takes your finished song and delivers it to Spotify, Apple Music, and every other store or streaming service.
DSP stands for Digital Service Provider, the industry term for streaming platforms and download stores like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
A widely used digital distributor known for its subscription-based pricing and fast turnaround from upload to release across DSPs.
One of the earliest and longest-running digital music distributors, offering artists a one-time payment model with no subscription required.
A long-established digital distributor offering distribution, publishing administration, and other artist services, historically priced per release.
The specific day (and often time) you choose for your music to go live on streaming platforms and stores, set in advance through your distributor.
The full schedule of everything that needs to happen between now and release day, and after it, laid out with dates.
Playlist pitching is the process of submitting your song to curators, whether that is Spotify itself or independent playlist owners, hoping to get added.
Editorial playlists are playlists curated by a streaming platform's own staff, like Spotify's 'New Music Friday,' rather than by an individual listener.
An EPK is a one-page digital packet with your bio, photos, music links, and contact info, built so anyone from a journalist to a booker can learn about you fast.
How and roughly how much artists actually get paid for streams, and why the amount per stream varies so much between platforms.
The number of unique people who played at least one of your songs on Spotify in the last 28 days, shown on your artist profile.
The final audio polish applied to a finished mix, making it loud, consistent, and ready for release across all platforms.
The square image that represents your song or album everywhere it's sold or streamed.
Put this into a real release plan
Diamond Release turns terms like this into dated steps for your single, EP, or album — with the full 160-article Encyclopedia inside.