Understanding licensing, especially when it comes to music, can be complicated. There’s different rules for different countries, use cases, and more. While all of the music in Storyblocks’ library is royalty free (not copyright free), we occasionally get asked about PRO licensing and how that differs from what’s included in our licenses. In this post, we’ll break down what a PRO is in music publishing, what a PRO license covers, and use cases where you would need one.
As a disclaimer, this article is not intended to provide legal advice or counsel.
What is a PRO in music publishing?
A PRO, or performing rights organization, is a company that manages public performance music licensing for songwriters, artists, and publishers. PROs serve as the middlemen between music creators and the people who use that music to make it easier on both sides.
When songs are played or performed publicly, such as on the radio, TV, stores, or venues, PROs collect royalties that they distribute to the copyright owners. By ensuring songwriters and publishers get paid for the use of their music in public performances, they help protect intellectual property rights.
In the United States, ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC are the main performing rights organizations. Each of these PROs represent different catalogs of music and affiliates across the millions of songs that are copyright protected in the US.
How do PROs work with musicians and publishers?
PROs manage and collect performance royalties from different sources on behalf of both songwriters and publishers. Once collected, PROs then distribute those royalties to the rights holders based on usage data along with their own formulas.
This process makes it easier for publishers to hand off usage and royalty management for public performances so they don’t have to manage it on their end.
When would you need a PRO license?
PRO licensing can be tricky. But the best way to think about it is if you’re using or performing music in a public setting that’s copyrighted, such as on the radio or TV, or in a venue or store, you’ll most likely need a PRO license. We say most likely because it ultimately comes down to the specific use case that you’re using the music in.
For example, if you want to use a song for your businesses’ on-hold music? That requires a PRO license as it’s considered a public performance. But if you’re a teacher playing music for your class at a non-profit educational institution as part of a lesson, permission isn’t required.
What do the Storyblocks licenses cover?
Everything in Storyblocks’ stock library, including our music, is 100% royalty free. So you’ll never need to pay additional royalties for the use cases our licenses cover.
We offer an Individual license and a Business license depending on whether you need your assets licensed to yourself or your organization. The Individual license covers distribution in educational, print, multimedia, games, in-store merchandising, and internet use cases. The Business license covers those use cases, plus broadcast, TV, streaming / OTT, and feature films.
Keep in mind that this covers distribution, which does not include public performances. Our licenses include a synchronization license, which allows use of music in a visual medium, along with a master use license, which allows permission to use the specific recordings of the songs in our library in visual or audio projects.
Understanding PROs within the Storyblocks music library
When you’re browsing songs on Storyblocks, you’ll be able to see if a song has a PRO under the details section.
In the example above, you can see that the performing rights organization for this specific song is ASCAP. So if you wanted to use this song in a public performance, you would need to obtain a license for that use case from ASCAP.
If I use music that has PRO assignments, will I have to pay an additional fee?
You will not have to pay an additional fee to Storyblocks. If you’re using a song that has PRO assignments, but you’re using it within the terms and use cases covered by your license, you won’t have to pay any additional fees to Storyblocks.
However, if you want to use a song from our library in a public performance or use case, you’ll need to reach out to the performing rights organization that manages that song to determine what license you need. Any additional fees you’ll need to pay for those use cases will go to the PRO, as public performance royalties are separate from what we cover under our royalty free licenses.
Resources for learning more about PROs and public use licensing
To learn more about performing rights organizations and licensing for public use in the United States, check out these resources from ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.
To learn more about the Storyblocks business license and what it covers, you can explore our licensing comparison page or reach out to our sales team with any questions.
