Newbie: PRO registration of library music

[Wibben]

Hello! I’m very new to all of this and am looking at getting into library writing (obviously :P) I’ve been reading through tonnes of threads on here and it has really been great with all the information you all share!

I’m still, however, confused about the workings of PRO’s and libraries.
Do I have to/should I register the music with a PRO, even if the music is on a library like Tunefruit? As I understand it, libraries like this don’t sell for broadcast, so a PRO wouldn’t hunt down royalties, right?

My PRO here in Sweden – STIM – has a way of marking tracks that are for Production music, that is to add a -LIB to the end of the track, would that mean that the track will never pull royalties, even if the track somehow ends up in a TV or Radio program?

I’ve searched around here a lot for more info on this specifically, but seeing as I’m so new to all of this I think I’m missing out on information because so many discussions here are a bit over my head, for the time being 🙂

Any swedish writers on here who have experience with Production/Library music and STIM? I would love to hear some thoughts or helpful advice: Should you/should you not join STIM, does it serve a purpose when working on lib music?

Sorry if I’m rambling 🙂

Cheers!

[Tbone]

Based on my PRS experience:

Yes, register your tracks. No, the LIB extension will not mark it as not pulling royalties – it just marks it as production music. Most production music in the UK is for TV at the top end anyway. Again based on my experience I wouldn’t worry about it, just register the tracks.

EDIT: Also, PROs don’t usually hunt down royalties, you just need to be registered and have a CAE – that is a composer identifier number – and you need to register the tracks, so that in case they are on broadcast programs you will get paid.

[Kubed]

i live in Greece but decided to skip my country’s PRO and register to BMI.
I did this because i don’t have any sort of income as a musician from Greece (i don’t do gigs and having a good income from music biz in Greece is near impossible) while i got accepted in many US-based libraries that feed US TV Shows with music.All of my placements were in US TV Shows so far and i’m also exempted from any taxation due to the US-Greek treatment (you have to get an ITIN number to be eligible for tax reductions/exemptions).

Do some research about STIM to see how it works,if you can search for forums/info of swedish artists registered to STIM and ask questions.
I’ve read somewhere that German and Spanish PROs have some really weird terms & conditions etc so,be careful when you choose your PRO.

Tunefruit and other RF libraries doesn’t demand to have your tracks registered with a PRO but there are artists that got TV placements from those libraries and received backend royalties.So,yes,register your tracks.

[Wibben]

Thank you for the information! I’ve checked as much info as possible with STIM, seems to be ok, as far as I can tell. Sent them a mail as well with some questions.

Registering with other countries PRO’s, didn’t even know that was allowed! 🙂

[Kubed]

you can register with BMI and ASCAP in the US,you just have to fill in a W8BEN form and get an ITIN number to get tax reductions.Both are easy to
complete.

Wait for STIM to answer your questions and then you can choose your PRO.If you can find other swedish artists registered to STIM ask them if they’re happy with them.

[GULL]

I am affiliated to STIM. You don’t need another PRO. You can be a member of only one PRO at one time.

I register my tracks with STIM with no LIB thing. You should do the same I guess. Rest will be taken care.

[Wibben]

Really? STIM seemed very clear about the LIB-extension in the song registration. I filled in the paper work and started rigistering my works LIB in the “intended use” box. Why wouldn’t one do that?

[Author]

Posts