When should I join a PRO?

[SteveBaruah]

I wasn't sure which board topic to put this under, but I guess it is more forward related.

I have had my first couple of forwards in the the last couple of weeks (whoo-hoo!)
but I haven't yet joined a PRO.

Should I wait until I get a phone call from a music supervisor/library saying they want to place my cue, or should I join now and register the cues?

Do you register every cue you make, just those that get forwarded, or just those that get placed?


Bonus question for European Taxi members: I live in Austria. I don't think I can join an American PRO. Does it matter which one I join? I am also English, I think I can join PRS, would they be better than the Austrian equivalent?

Thanks!

[FMstereo]

Congrats on the forwards, Steve!

I wouldn't wait to join a PRO; in my opinion it looks more professional if you've already done that.

People have differing opinions on whether or not to register all their tracks with their PRO. I like to do it fairly promptly, other members say some libraries or publishers want to do it themselves, and it's a pain if it's already been registered. (This probably only applies to exclusive libraries though, as most libraries will simply do their own registration with their own prefix in the title.)

Hope that helps.

[SteveBaruah]

Hi,

Thanks for the useful insight!
I'll look into joining one.

I would be interesting to hear from non-US based members on which PRO they have registered with.

[Russell Landwehr]

Hi, Steve.

Yeah, get registered with a PRO as soon as possible. You don't want to play catch up if one wants to sign your stuff. (BTW placing a piece of music in a library we call a "signing". When the music is used on TV or in a Film, that is a "placement")

other members say some libraries or publishers want to do it themselves, and it's a pain if it's already been registered. (This probably only applies to exclusive libraries though, as most libraries will simply do their own registration with their own prefix in the title.)

Because a piece of music could be placed with an exclusive library, this is reason enough to NOT register your music with your PRO. Also, some non-exclusive libraries register the works without a special "prefix", so you would need to come up with a different title for them or go through the hassle of changing the PRO registration. So, yeah, I'm one of those folks who say don't register a song yourself unless the Library asks you to or your are signing it direct to supervisor.

Regards
Russell Landwehr

[SteveBaruah]

Hi Russell,

OK, cool. I guess the only worry with not registering it would be that music is getting forwarded all over the place and you wouldn't know if someone is using it without your permission. Although, I can't image anyone would do this, I guess, as their professional reputation would be ruined....? Plus, I guess they wouldn't use the mp3 that was forwarded anyway, and would only want to use the wave file...



Thanks.

[SteveBaruah]

...Ah! I've just seen I CAN join BMI as a non US-resident!

[hummingbird]

I belong to SOCAN, the Canadian PRO. When you register for SOCAN, you may choose your US affiliate. But most PROs (if not all) outside of the US have agreements to track performances etc.

I would say: go through the process of registering with your PRO so you have your IPI number. Just looks more professional. (For SOCAN I had to show my work had been published or performed to become a member). I do not register my cues unless the library wants me to. The process of registering a cue with SOCAN is simple and easy, so I wait to see what the end user wants before taking that step. Typically most libraries (non-E and E) are going to register the cues themselves with the appropriate shares.

[SteveBaruah]

I've just filled out my BMI forms (plus additional tax form for non-US resident) so I'm going to give BMI a try.
I would have registered with my local (Austrian) PRO but I have seen posts from non-US Taxi members where they have had to wait 2 years for the royalties to come through and then had complications trying to switch to the US-based PRO as they were already registered with a foreign PRO. Thanks for the info!

[Russell Landwehr]

Hi Russell,
OK, cool. I guess the only worry with not registering it would be that music is getting forwarded all over the place and you wouldn't know if someone is using it without your permission. Although, I can't image anyone would do this, I guess, as their professional reputation would be ruined....? Plus, I guess they wouldn't use the mp3 that was forwarded anyway, and would only want to use the wave file...
Thanks.

Hi Steve.

Don't worry about your music getting forwarded all over the place and someone using it illegally for money. Any placement that would generate royalty income or sync fees will be reputable and not "steal" anything. And any place that would steal music and monetize it won't get their hands on it through the channels TAXI deals in.

Plus, registering the song with a PRO wouldn't keep a thief from making money off of it under a different title.

Regards
Russell

[hummingbird]

Just to clarify: Registering a title with a PRO is about Royalties for Performances (broadcast on TV, for example). It has nothing whatsoever to do with copyright.

In the US and Canada, anything you write is copyright from the moment you put it in a tangible form. If you are worried about your music being 'stolen' then you can register your copyright with the applicable institution in your country.. in the States it's the Library of Congress, for example.


these discussions are always good!