Every time you perform your own songs on a live stage, money is owed to the songwriter — even if the songwriter is you. Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC collect license fees from venues, promoters, and festivals, then distribute royalties to songwriters and publishers for public performances. If you perform your originals and never file setlists, that money gets distributed to whoever did file. Somebody else is eating off your songs.
The mechanism is simple. Venues pay blanket licenses to the PROs, usually based on capacity and event frequency. That money goes into a royalty pool, and the PROs pay out based on reported performances — concert setlists, radio logs, TV cue sheets. No setlist, no match, no payout. Most societies let you log performances directly in your member portal. Reporting is your job, not the venue’s.
How to File Your Setlists
After every gig, file the setlist: venue name, city, date, and every original song performed with writer splits. Most PROs require filing within a set window — often 30 to 90 days — so don’t let paperwork pile up. Register every song before it hits the stage; a performance of an unregistered song can’t be matched to a catalog. The split sheets you signed in the studio become the split data on the registration, so get splits agreed before release day.
One more move: royalties only flow if you’re affiliated. Pick one PRO — ASCAP or BMI in the US — and register as both writer and publisher so you keep the publisher’s share too. Independent artists who tour consistently and file diligently turn live shows into a second revenue stream that pays quarterly, long after the door money is gone.
About the Author – Ruben Burgos: Ruben Burgos brings over 25 years of music expertise and more than 15 years of model guidance to the table. He is the indie major pinnacle to retaining credits for musicians and helping them navigate this wicked industry without the fuckery.