How to solve Royalty Collection Societies
Photo by ajburgess
In Britain, there’s an organisation called PRS for Music. They’re a membership organisation of composers and songwriters, and they collect royalties on behalf of those members, whenever music is performed publicly or broadcast.
And the PRS has reciprocal arrangements with other collection societies world wide – APRA in Australasia, IMRO in Ireland, ASCAP & BMI in the States, etc. So whenever a British composer’s music is played in France, money can return to that composer.
It’s a great system, and it means that people get paid when their creations are used – particularly in a profit-making context (eg: getting played on the radio; used as mood music in a restaurant or bar; performed live in concert; played by a DJ in a nightclub).
But it’s a far from perfect system.
