Get paid royalties when you play live
ASCAP, the U.S.-based performing rights organization, is now making it possible for members to receive royalties whenever they perform their music at live venues throughout the country.
If you’re an existing ASCAP member, all you need to do is provide basic details for each show (along with a setlist) and you’ll receive performance royalties. And these don’t have to be giant arena concerts either; ASCAP OnStage pays you for live performances at venues of any size, from a small coffee shop to Gillette Stadium.
The PROs enter the digital age
It seems as though the performing rights organizations are finally catching up with the times, as BMI launched a similar service earlier this year called BMI Live.
Hopefully such changes to the big PRO’s live-show royalty systems forecast a larger overhaul that will make the whole performance royalty collection and payment process more transparent and precise. Artists lacking major label representation still deserve to be paid fairly for the performance of their music (and not JUST on stage, but also on radio and TV stations across the country).
How ASCAP members can collect royalties for live performances
For more information on how to earn money through ASCAP for your live shows, check out details at their website.
Both BMI Live and ASCAP OnStage provide artists with an additional revenue stream. If most of your shows are at smaller or mid-sized venues, it won’t be an absolute gold rush—but at the end of a tour, it’s nice to have that extra income add up over time to help offset some of the costs. And after all, it is YOUR money—owed to you—so you might as well collect it.
What do you think? Are these types of royalty payment services valuable for indie artists? Or are they just another way for the big PRO’s to collect royalties from more venues? Let us know in the comments section below.