Performance rights organizations (PRO's) provide intermediary functions, particularly royalty collection, between copyright holders and parties who wish to use copyrighted works publicly in locations such as shopping and dining venues. Below are links to the most prominent US PRO's.
- ASCAP
Owned and run by its members, ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is the leading Performing Rights Organization in the US, representing over 435,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers.
The licenses to most musical plays can be found here.
- BMI
BMI (Brodcast Music, Inc.) collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works were performed.
- SESAC
SESAC, originally the Society of European Stage Authors & Composers, deals with all aspects of the business, from creation to licensing and administration. SESAC is the smallest of the three PRO's in the US, but the fastest growing.
- Samuel French, Inc.
Sam French publishes plays and represents playwrights. It holds the rights to more titles than any other agency.
- MPLC
Most cinematic performance licenses can be obtained from the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC), an independent copyright licensing agency authorized by motion picture copyright holders, such as studios and producers, to issue the MPLC Umbrella License for the public performance.
