ASCAP vs BMI: Which PRO Should You Join?

If you write music, you need a PRO (Performance Rights Organization) to collect your performance royalties. In the US, the two main options are ASCAP and BMI. Choosing between them is one of the first decisions new songwriters face, and there's a lot of confusing information out there.

Here's what actually matters.

What PROs do

A PRO collects one specific type of royalty: performance royalties. These are generated whenever your song is publicly performed, whether that's on the radio, in a restaurant, at a concert, on a TV show, or streamed on a platform.

Performance royalties are just one of several royalty types your music can earn. Your distributor handles streaming royalties from the master recording. The MLC handles mechanical royalties for streaming and downloads. Your PRO handles performance royalties specifically.

If you don't register with a PRO, the performance royalties your song generates have nowhere to go. You're leaving money uncollected.

ASCAP vs BMI: the practical differences

Cost to join. ASCAP is free for both writers and publishers. BMI is free for writers but charges a one-time fee of $175 for individual publisher registration ($250 for corporations/LLCs, $500 for partnerships). Neither charges annual dues.

Payment schedule. ASCAP pays quarterly (four times per year). BMI also pays quarterly, though the specific months differ. Both have a delay of several months between when a performance happens and when you receive payment, typically 6-9 months.

Percentage scale. This is where split sheet math gets confusing. ASCAP uses a 100% scale where the total song equals 100% (50% writer + 50% publisher). BMI uses a 200% scale (100% writer + 100% publisher). They represent the same thing differently. A 25% writer share on ASCAP equals a 50% writer share on BMI.

Repertory access. Both ASCAP and BMI have searchable databases where anyone can look up song registrations and writer IPI numbers. This is useful when you're co-writing and need to find a collaborator's information.

Open vs selective. ASCAP and BMI are both open, meaning anyone can join. SESAC, the third major US PRO, is invitation-only. There's also GMR (Global Music Rights), which is selective and focuses on high-earning catalogs.

The #1 mistake: joining both

The single biggest mistake songwriters make with PROs is registering with both ASCAP and BMI as a writer. You can only be a member of one PRO at a time as a writer. If you register with both, you create a conflict that can delay or block your royalty payments.

Here's why this happens. A songwriter signs up with BMI. A year later, they hear ASCAP might pay better, so they sign up with ASCAP too without canceling BMI. Now both PROs have the same writer in their system, and when a song gets registered, neither one knows which organization should be collecting.

If you want to switch PROs, you need to formally resign from one before joining the other. There's usually a waiting period and process involved.

One important note: your writer membership and your publisher membership can be at different PROs. So you could be a writer at BMI and register your publishing entity at ASCAP. This is uncommon and adds complexity, but it's technically allowed.

So which one should you pick?

The honest answer: for most independent songwriters starting out, it doesn't matter much. Both ASCAP and BMI collect from the same sources, pay similar rates, and provide similar services.

Here are a few tie-breakers to consider. If you want to save money upfront, ASCAP is completely free for both writer and publisher registration. BMI is free for writers but charges $175 to register a publishing entity. If your co-writers are mostly at one PRO, joining the same one can simplify split sheet registration (though it's not required).

What matters far more than which PRO you choose is that you actually register your songs once you join. A surprising number of songwriters sign up for a PRO, get their IPI number, and then never register a single song. That means their PRO has nothing to collect royalties on.

What to do after you join

Once you've joined a PRO, the work isn't done. You need to register a publishing entity (so you collect the publisher share too), register each song you've written with the correct splits and co-writer information, and keep your IPI number accessible for collaborators who need it for their own registrations.

A split sheet makes this process much easier. When you have a document that lists every writer's legal name, PRO, IPI number, and ownership percentage, registering the song with your PRO takes minutes instead of hours of back-and-forth texts trying to track down information.

Pick a PRO, register your songs, and claim both your writer and publisher shares. That's the formula.