Collection societies, as they are often referred to in Australia, are organisations that collect royalties on behalf of their members; whether an artist, composer, publishing company or music label. Around the world, certain collection societies are generally referred to as Performing Rights Organisations (PROs).
What is a Performance Rights Organisation (PRO)?
Whether someone is an artist, author, musician or owner of copyrighted works (such as music, lyrics, visual art, or literature), or other copyrighted material (such as sound recordings, film, or television broadcasts), at some point they will want to sell those works and create an income stream.
Artists, as defined earlier, use collection societies to grant licences of their copyright to third parties; and, in many or most cases, this is usually done through a nominated publishing company. Their works are licenced out in a variety of ways, and royalties are collected and then paid out to each recipient according to contractual agreements.
Collection societies, through established publishing companies, make it easier for artists to licence their work and get paid for it. The process becomes significantly simplified in what is ordinarily a complex game to play.
The benefit of using an established publishing company is that, as an artist, you can get on with the creative process and not have to spend copious amounts of time doing administrative business in order to get the money your created works deserve.
What are the different collection societies that I should know about?
PROs are not the only type of mainstream collection society. There are different types of collection societies for different royalty types. For example, while APRA/AMCOS is the main collection society in Australia.
Then there is the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) who grant licences for the broadcast, communication or public playing of recorded music. They also collect royalties based on public performances and the communication of sound recordings.
Generally, there are several organisational types in most developed countries, and some developing countries, across the world, each who provide a collection service for those who create and/or licence or distribute content.
Dark Escapes Publishing Pty Ltd is a registered publishing company in Australia offering services across the music industry to help artists licence and distribute their content internationally, while also collecting royalties on their behalf. If you are a musician who needs assistance with this, connect with us to find out what happens next: hello@darkescapespublishing.com
