Performance rights organisation
Encyclopedia
Performance rights organizations (PROs) provide intermediary functions, particularly royalty collection, between copyright holders and parties who wish to use copyrighted works publicly such as shopping and dining venues. Legal consumer purchase of works, such as buying CDs from a music store, confer private performance rights. PROs usually only collect royalties when use of a work is incidental to an organization's purpose. Royalties for works essential to an organization's purpose, such as theaters and radio, are usually negotiated directly with the rights holder.
In some countries PROs are called copyright collective
s or copyright collecting agencies. A copyright collective is more general than a PRO as it is not limited to performances and includes
reproduction rights organizations (RROs). RROs represent works distributed via mediums such as CD, audiocassette, or computer file rather than use of works in public settings.
was the first to protect musical compositions with the Performing Right Society
, founded in 1914 encompassing live performances. The rights for recorded or broadcast performance are administered by the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society, founded in 1924. Italy introduced a performing rights society in 1882 and Germany in 1915. In the United States, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) was founded in 1914; Society of European Stage Authors & Composers
(SESAC) in 1930 and Broadcast Music, Inc.
(BMI) in 1939.
, or in the U.S., to the Copyright Royalty Board
, of the Library of Congress
. PROs lobby on behalf of rights holders, especially in discussions of legal royalty rates.
As a side benefit of tracking public performance of works for royalty collection, PROs publish statistics of publicly performed works.
The licensing services provided by a PRO arguably provide advantage to customers, who can simultaneously license all works the PRO represents.
s for their use of copyrighted music in situations where the non-profit organization was not earning money from the use. ASCAP, for example, was eventually forced in the face of public opinion to abandon its attempts to charge the Girl Scouts of the USA
for singing campfire songs. ASCAP's and SESAC
's policy of charging non-commercial educational
(NCE) radio station
s for playing copyrighted music has also been criticised, especially by college radio
stations across the U.S., which rely entirely on student and listener support for funding and have difficulty affording the extra fees.
PROs are often criticized for stretching the definition of "public performance." Until relatively recently in the U.S., playing copyrighted music in restaurants did not involve legal issues if the media was legally purchased. PROs now demand royalties for such use.
By discouraging performances in limited public arenas, again using the restaurant example, critics say PROs eliminate the free publicity such performances provide for a work thereby depressing media sales. Incidentally, lower media sales conflicts with RROs but disputes between the two parties are not known to occur since each type of organization represents the interests of the same parties, rights holders, and are forced to work in common interest.
Rights owners - especially independents and newcomers not represented by large publishing companies - criticize the PROs for what they deem to be "mystical" formulas for deciding who gets what share of the total licensing revenue received.
Rights holders criticize PROs for slow or non-existent payments and excessive membership dues or service fees.
* (USA):............. ASCAP, BMI, SESAC
* (Argentina):....... SADAIC
* (Australia):........ APRA
* (Austria):.......... AKM
* (Belgium):......... SABAM
* (Brazil):............ UBC
* (Bulgaria):......... MUSICAUTHOR
* (Canada):.......... SOCAN
* (Chile):............. SCD
* (Colombia):........ SAYCO
* (Croatia):.......... HDS
* (Czech Republic):. OSA
* (Denmark):......... KODA
* (Estonia):.......... EAU
* (Finland):.......... TEOSTO
* (France):........... SACEM
* (Georgia):.......... SAS
* (Germany):......... GEMA
* (Greece):........... AEPI
* (Hong Kong):...... CASH
* (Hungary):......... ARTISJUS
* (Ireland):........... IMRO
* (Israel):............. ACUM
* (Italy):.............. SIAE
* (Japan):............ JASRAC
* (Korea):............. KOMCA
* (Lithuania):........ LATGA-A
* (Malaysia):......... MACP
* (Mexico):........... SACM
* (Netherlands):..... BUMA
* (New Zealand):.... APRA
* (Norway):.......... TONO
* (Panama):.......... SPAC
* (Peru):.............. APDAYC
* (Philippines):....... FILSCAP
* (Poland):............ ZAIKS
* (Romania):.......... UCMR
* (Russia):............. RAO
* (Serbia):............. SOKOJ
* (Singapore):........ COMPASS
* (Slovakia):.......... SOZA
* (South Africa):..... SAMRO
* (Spain):............. SGAE
* (Sweden):.......... STIM
* (Switzerland):...... SUISA
* (Taiwan):........... MUST
* (Thailand):.......... MCT
* (Trinidad):.......... COTT
* (Ukraine):........... UACRR
* (United Kingdom):. PRS , PPL
* (Uruguay):.......... AGADU
* (Venezuela):....... SACVEN
In some countries PROs are called copyright collective
Copyright collective
A copyright collective is a body created by copyright law or private agreement which engages in collective rights management...
s or copyright collecting agencies. A copyright collective is more general than a PRO as it is not limited to performances and includes
reproduction rights organizations (RROs). RROs represent works distributed via mediums such as CD, audiocassette, or computer file rather than use of works in public settings.
History
The first performing rights society was established in France in 1851. In the United Kingdom, the Copyright Act 1842Copyright Act 1842
The Copyright Act 1842 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, which received the Royal Assent on 1 July 1842 and was repealed in 1911...
was the first to protect musical compositions with the Performing Right Society
Performing Right Society
PRS for Music is a UK copyright collection society undertaking collective rights management for musical works. PRS for Music was formed in 1997 as the MCPS-PRS Alliance, bringing together two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society and Performing Right Society...
, founded in 1914 encompassing live performances. The rights for recorded or broadcast performance are administered by the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society, founded in 1924. Italy introduced a performing rights society in 1882 and Germany in 1915. In the United States, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) was founded in 1914; Society of European Stage Authors & Composers
SESAC
SESAC, originally the Society of European Stage Authors & Composers, is the smallest of the three performance rights organizations in the United States. SESAC was founded in 1930, making it the second-oldest performing rights organization in the U.S. SESAC is also the fastest-growing PRO in the...
(SESAC) in 1930 and Broadcast Music, Inc.
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
(BMI) in 1939.
Activities
Other than their primary purpose as an intermediary between rights holders and customers, PROs are highly active in legal arenas. PROs take alleged rights violators to courtCourt
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
, or in the U.S., to the Copyright Royalty Board
Copyright Royalty Board
The Copyright Royalty Board is a U.S. system of three Copyright Royalty Judges who determine rates and terms for copyright statutory licenses and make determinations on distribution of statutory license royalties collected by the United States Copyright Office of the Library of Congress...
, of the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. PROs lobby on behalf of rights holders, especially in discussions of legal royalty rates.
As a side benefit of tracking public performance of works for royalty collection, PROs publish statistics of publicly performed works.
The licensing services provided by a PRO arguably provide advantage to customers, who can simultaneously license all works the PRO represents.
Criticisms
PROs have been criticized for charging non-profit organizationNon-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
s for their use of copyrighted music in situations where the non-profit organization was not earning money from the use. ASCAP, for example, was eventually forced in the face of public opinion to abandon its attempts to charge the Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
for singing campfire songs. ASCAP's and SESAC
SESAC
SESAC, originally the Society of European Stage Authors & Composers, is the smallest of the three performance rights organizations in the United States. SESAC was founded in 1930, making it the second-oldest performing rights organization in the U.S. SESAC is also the fastest-growing PRO in the...
's policy of charging non-commercial educational
Non-commercial educational
The term non-commercial educational applies to a radio station or TV station that does not accept on air advertisements , as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission . NCE stations do not pay broadcast license fees for their non-profit uses of the radio spectrum...
(NCE) radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s for playing copyrighted music has also been criticised, especially by college radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
stations across the U.S., which rely entirely on student and listener support for funding and have difficulty affording the extra fees.
PROs are often criticized for stretching the definition of "public performance." Until relatively recently in the U.S., playing copyrighted music in restaurants did not involve legal issues if the media was legally purchased. PROs now demand royalties for such use.
By discouraging performances in limited public arenas, again using the restaurant example, critics say PROs eliminate the free publicity such performances provide for a work thereby depressing media sales. Incidentally, lower media sales conflicts with RROs but disputes between the two parties are not known to occur since each type of organization represents the interests of the same parties, rights holders, and are forced to work in common interest.
Rights owners - especially independents and newcomers not represented by large publishing companies - criticize the PROs for what they deem to be "mystical" formulas for deciding who gets what share of the total licensing revenue received.
Rights holders criticize PROs for slow or non-existent payments and excessive membership dues or service fees.
Organizations
See also Copyright collection societies (Wikipedia category)United States
- ASCAP (U.S.)
- BMIBroadcast Music IncorporatedBroadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
(U.S.) - SESACSESACSESAC, originally the Society of European Stage Authors & Composers, is the smallest of the three performance rights organizations in the United States. SESAC was founded in 1930, making it the second-oldest performing rights organization in the U.S. SESAC is also the fastest-growing PRO in the...
(U.S.) - SoundExchangeSoundExchangeSoundExchange is a non-profit performance rights organization that collects royalties on the behalf of sound recording copyright owners and featured artists for non-interactive digital transmissions, including satellite and Internet radio.-History:Prior to 1995, SRCOs in the United States did not...
(U.S.) - ACEMLA (Puerto Rico)
Canada
- SOCAN (CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
)- formerly PROCANProcanProcan is a fictional deity in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Procan is the Oeridian god of seas, sea life, salt, sea weather, and navigation...
and CAPAC
- formerly PROCAN
- CMRRA (Canada) - http://www.cmrra.ca
- SODRAC - http://www.sodrac.com
- SPACQ (QuébecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
) - http://www.spacq.qc.ca/
Mexico
- SACM (MéxicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
) - http://www.sacm.org.mx/
more of them
Most countries (that observe copyright..) have the equivilant:* (USA):............. ASCAP, BMI, SESAC
* (Argentina):....... SADAIC
* (Australia):........ APRA
* (Austria):.......... AKM
* (Belgium):......... SABAM
* (Brazil):............ UBC
* (Bulgaria):......... MUSICAUTHOR
* (Canada):.......... SOCAN
* (Chile):............. SCD
* (Colombia):........ SAYCO
* (Croatia):.......... HDS
* (Czech Republic):. OSA
* (Denmark):......... KODA
* (Estonia):.......... EAU
* (Finland):.......... TEOSTO
* (France):........... SACEM
* (Georgia):.......... SAS
* (Germany):......... GEMA
* (Greece):........... AEPI
* (Hong Kong):...... CASH
* (Hungary):......... ARTISJUS
* (Ireland):........... IMRO
* (Israel):............. ACUM
* (Italy):.............. SIAE
* (Japan):............ JASRAC
* (Korea):............. KOMCA
* (Lithuania):........ LATGA-A
* (Malaysia):......... MACP
* (Mexico):........... SACM
* (Netherlands):..... BUMA
* (New Zealand):.... APRA
* (Norway):.......... TONO
* (Panama):.......... SPAC
* (Peru):.............. APDAYC
* (Philippines):....... FILSCAP
* (Poland):............ ZAIKS
* (Romania):.......... UCMR
* (Russia):............. RAO
* (Serbia):............. SOKOJ
* (Singapore):........ COMPASS
* (Slovakia):.......... SOZA
* (South Africa):..... SAMRO
* (Spain):............. SGAE
* (Sweden):.......... STIM
* (Switzerland):...... SUISA
* (Taiwan):........... MUST
* (Thailand):.......... MCT
* (Trinidad):.......... COTT
* (Ukraine):........... UACRR
* (United Kingdom):. PRS , PPL
* (Uruguay):.......... AGADU
* (Venezuela):....... SACVEN
Further reading
- Choquette, Frederic, "The Returned Value of PROs", Music Business Journal, Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, May 2011 - Schulenberg, Richard, Legal aspects of the music industry: an insider's view, Random House Digital, Inc., 1999. Cf. Chapter 13, "Performance, Performing, and Neighboring Rights".