Copyright owners have become unable to control on an individual basis the right of public performance of their work since there are hundreds of thousands of radio and television stations, nightclubs, restaurants, hotels, super markets, amusement parks and other establishments where music is publicly performed. This right can only be administered effectively on a collective basis by collecting societies whose duty is to collect license fees from each user of music and then distribute the money collected to the writers and publishers from whom they have aquired the right to grant licenses to use their music to the various users.

There are collective licensing systems in the law of most countries. Local collecting societies have reciprocal arrangements with their counterpart societies in other countries so that authors in one country receive money (through their collecting society) for exploitation of their works in other countries. If, for example, a song written by an American writer is performed on British television the public performance royalties will  be paid to the writer via the British public performance collecting society (PRS), which will collect there and transmit the money to the American performing rights society (BMI, ASCAP, SESAC) for the writer’s account. The manner in which they collect and distribute income varies. Some of them operate on a non-profit basis and aside from operating expenses, all income goes  to member writers and publishers.

 Music performed on radio and TV stations is reported to the performing rights organization on music cue sheets, which list all music performed on a program. Distribution of royalties collected from non-broadcast users such as nightclubs, discos, bars, restaurants, hotels etc. and by background music services is based on the performances on commercial radio and broadcast television stations because there is the assumption that performances by non-broadcast users are a reflection of the frequency of performances on radio and TV. 

  There is also a section in the Copyright Law of most countries that provides for royalties to be paid to songwriters, music publishers, recording companies and recording artists for the importation or manufacture of digital audio recording equipment and blank digital tape and compact discs. The act imposes a royalty on the sale of such devices which is collected by collecting societies on behalf of their member songwriters, composers, and publishers.

Music Performing Rights Organizations.

Music Mechanical Rights Societies and Collection Agencies

• (Internationall)BIEM

•  (Australia) AMCOS

• (Canada) CMRRA Ltd.

• (Germany) GEMA

• (Netherlands) STEMRA

• (Scandinavia)Nordisk Copyright Bureau (NCB) 

• (U.K.) MCPS

• (U.S.)The Harry Fox Agency, Inc.  

Other Music Resources

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