If you only registered as a writer with your PRO, you are collecting half of your performance royalties. The other half, called the publisher's share, is sitting there unclaimed.
This is the single most common money-losing mistake independent artists make. It is also the easiest one to fix.
What is a "publisher" anyway?
Every song has two owners on the composition side: the writer (you) and the publisher (also you, if nobody else has taken it). PROs like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC split performance royalties into two checks: the writer's share and the publisher's share. If you never told them who the publisher is, they hold onto that money.
ASCAP: sign up as both
At ASCAP, you can register as a writer and a publisher in the same application. Pick "Individual / Sole Proprietor" for your publisher entity type. Your SSN is enough. No LLC, no EIN, no lawyer.
When you sign up as writer + publisher together, ASCAP waives both application fees. That is real money you save on day one.
BMI: you may not need a publisher at all
BMI handles self-published writers differently. If you sign up as a writer only, BMI already pays you both the writer AND publisher shares. You do not need to register a separate publisher entity to collect 100% of your performance royalties.
The catch: if you ever sign a deal that carves off the publisher share, you will want a publisher entity to hold what remains. Most artists set one up when they need it.
Do you need an LLC to do this?
No. Not for the royalty unlock. See our LLC guide for when an LLC actually makes sense.
What you get, in plain numbers
Say your song does 1,000,000 streams and earns $2,000 in performance royalties. If you are writer-only at ASCAP:
- Writer share: $1,000 → paid to you
- Publisher share: $1,000 → unclaimed, sits with ASCAP
Affiliate as a publisher and the full $2,000 lands in your account.
The 3-step checklist
- Log into your PRO account.
- Add a publisher affiliation (ASCAP) or confirm your self-published writer status (BMI).
- Register the composition side of every song under both your writer and publisher accounts.
That's it. Free. No entity. No accountant. Do it this week.
At 200% (100% master + 100% composition) you keep every dollar from every royalty stream: SoundExchange, DSPs, AFM & SAG-AFTRA, The MLC, PRO performance, and sync.
One royalty destination per row
Register with a PRO while you own the master.
Owning the master collects one side. Registering the composition with a PRO collects the other. Right now you're set to collect 100% on the master side and 100% on the composition side, for a combined 200% claim on every play, stream, and spin.
We never touch your money. Royalty Lock registers on your own accounts.