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Hi everybody,
New to this community, I am very excited to see how interactive it is! I learned a tremendous amount from my first gathering on this site. Thank you Art!
Still, I am confused about many things especially in regards to PROs.
After the very positive feedback about my music, I intend to professionalize in composition. I have about 20-30 tracks, that can be derived in about a 100 (incl. 15/30/60s loops and sections, instrumentals, etc). I plan to write at least one a week for the coming years (including all variations and processing). Maybe more and build my catalog steadily and effectively.
I will submit a first bunch to non-exclusive libraries soon (A well-established one has already told me they love my stuff and is guiding me in the submission). I have savings, so I quit my job in June to give it a shot for a couple of years and attempting to reach my dream.
My question is about Royalties: I am a member of the PRS where I register my tracks and I am unpublished. I intend to become my own publisher (yup, I am one of these control freaks!).
So, you guys, who have been in that industry for years, what is your routine action process for collecting royalties once a track at one of the non-excl libraries has been pitched for broadcast?
For you to understand more accurately my question, here is how I understand the process I need to go through:
1/ I copyright my tracks, then register the works on PRS. (that I know how to do)
2/ I submit the tracks to non-excl. libraries. If during the submission process, they require a publisher’s name, I indicate my full name even though I am not registered at MCPS yet.
3/ Some of my tracks get pitched, for example, for a TV show.
4/ The non-excl library sends me a mail (with a payment) that one of the track has been pitched and provides me with information about the client.
5/ Once the track is broadcasted, the client will send a cue sheet to the PRO of his country (I assume an honest client… if not, I understood there is TuneSat, although this is a very expensive service for a starter).
6/ The PRO of the client’s country will forward that cue sheet to PRS.
7/ PRS informs me of that broadcast and will pay me at the end of the quarter.
8/ With that first evidence, I can subscribe to MCPS as a writer (as an individual). (It is stated on the PRS site, that you can only subscribe to MCPS once you have at least one track on Broadcast.)
9/ I amend my tracks on PRS to add my name as a publisher for publishing royalty collection (for now it is blank).Then, once I am set, the process becomes routine for any new pitch: steps 3 through 7 and I also receive publishers’ royalty on the quarterly payment.
Is my understanding of the system correct? or am I completely heading west?
What is your own administrative routine as an established music producer using PRS (and MCPS).
Just in case it is important: I am French, I reside in The Netherlands (barely managing basic Dutch) and I registered to PRS, because the organization of the SACEM (the French PRO) appears like Chinese to me.
Thanks for any help!
Edouard
That was information overload for me!
You should probably just call PRS and explain your situation. I am sure that they deal with issues like this on a regular basis. They could give you info on copyrights, royalties, and all of the other important information to make intelligent and informed decisions.
This is a great community here, but I think it would benefit you to just work with PRS/MCPS. Good luck!
Edouardo, the non-exclusive library placing your tracks will most likely be taking 100% of the publishing royalty (U.S. libraries usually do this by re-titling). So you can’t list yourself as publisher…
Hi Edouardo, sounds like you’re getting the idea. I’m U.S. based so can’t help you regarding your U.S. placements. I wonder if you could simply join a U.S. PRO? I think U.S. residents are allowed to join foreign PRO’s, but I let ASCAP collect on the international level for me. Someone here with more experience will have to chime in..
Cue sheets are probably not automatically transfered, but I think your royalties will be. I’m with another European pro, and they don’t see any cue sheets from US as far as I know. US royalties are collected by BMI or ASCAP and automatically sent to my PRO.
Keep in mind that the Atlantic ocean is pretty big and can take forever to cross 😉
Hello Eduardo,
why would you want to be a publishers for starters?
being a publisher per se wouldn’t really grant you more royalties per se.being a publisher makes sense if you’re also publishing other people’s work and it could be a nice extra card to play when negotiating royalties with another publisher.
Incidentally PRS would not allow you to be a publisher unless you can prove you have publishing contracts in place with 3rd party composers and ‘media’ company (a production house for example).
hope this helps
lupo
On the other hand, they told me that if a track gets pitched in the US, I need to give them the information concerning the client: The Cue sheet is not automatically transferred from the US PRO to the UK PRO. That looks quite complicated…
they always ask you that so that they can keep an eye on that particular event (ie a tv broadcast you let them know about)
royalties coming from cuesheets will eventually make it over the pond…eventually…and with a lot of overheads charged on it
Just one question I am trying to find an answer to. If I have multiple versions of the same track (Full, 15,30 and 60s sequences): Is that OK to register them under the same song (same ENJW number on PRS) and then provide multiple names, one for each version, even if these have different durations?
If those are just edits of exactly the same track, the name stays the same. Every title you decide to assign to anything must always be registered with your PRO tho’