Public performance
Any act of performing or transmitting a musical work to an audience beyond a small private circle — including broadcast on radio or TV, live concerts, digital streaming, playback in bars, restaurants, hotels, or retail spaces, and internet webcasting. Public performances require a license from the applicable PRO or CMO.
Articles about Public performance
Boost Music Royalties with Automated Registration System: 5 Steps
Manual song registration costs independent songwriters thousands in missed royalty payments each year. This five-step framework shows how automated registration systems ensure every work is registered across all relevant CMOs and DSPs, eliminating data entry errors and missed deadlines.
360 Deals in the Music Industry: A 2026 Guide
360 deals let labels take 15-50% of your income across recorded music, touring, merch, brand deals, and sometimes publishing. This guide explains exactly what labels claim from each revenue stream and how to negotiate better terms in 2026.
Song royalty tips: 7 ways to maximize your earnings
Most songwriters leave money on the table through registration gaps, territory blind spots, and misunderstanding royalty streams. These seven song royalty tips fix the operational gaps that cost writers thousands in unclaimed music royalties every year.
Songtrust: Business and Technology Partner to the Creative Community — How to use it for music publishing administration
Songtrust: Business and Technology Partner to the Creative Community provides global music publishing administration for independent songwriters and composers. This guide covers account setup, catalog registration, royalty collection from CMOs worldwide, and when Songtrust makes sense for your publishing rights.
Publishing Administration Explained: Roles, Workflows, and Standards for Rights Management
Publishing administration explained covers rights management in music publishing, mapping roles, operational handoffs, and industry standards. Learn about workflows, file formats, identifiers, and integration patterns to reduce unmatched revenue and build auditable systems.
ASCAP vs. BMI vs. SESAC: Which Performance Rights Organization is Right for You?
Joining SESAC, known for exclusive invitation-only membership, is to being part of an elite club within the realm of performance rights organizations . This music rights agency prides itself on offering personalized service and a unique boutique experience that larger organizations may struggle to provide.
Pandora vs. Spotify: A Songwriter's Guide to Royalties
Pandora vs. Spotify: The Comparison That Matters for Songwriters Countless articles compare Pandora and Spotify . They focus on music discovery, playlist curation, and the user experience.
Territory Collection Societies: A Global Guide to PROs and CMOs Worldwide
Territory collection societies form the patchwork of national and regional organizations that collect and distribute music royalties, and knowing who collects which rights in which markets is the practical difference between missing revenue and timely payments. This guide maps PROs, CMOs, neighboring rights and master rights collectors by territory, provides registration and metadata checklists for priority markets, and gives step-by-step troubleshooting and prioritization advice publishers, labels and sync teams can use to recover royalties faster.
Publishing Glossary Music Terms: Every Term Independent Artists Need to Know
Music publishing terminology is deliberately opaque, designed by an industry that profits from confusion. This glossary translates the language of royalties, rights, and revenue streams into plain terms independent artists can use to get paid correctly.