Reference
Find each collective management organization paying songwriters and performers, organized by country with registration steps, joining cost, and payout cadence. This living reference is reviewed monthly.
29 collective management organizations (CMOs) operate across 19 countries in this directory: 22 performance rights organizations, 4 mechanical-rights societies, and 3 neighboring-rights bodies. Together, they form the global system that pays songwriters and performers for uses of their music.
Each listing explains what the org collects, whether and how you can join, the membership cost, its payout schedule, and if Davincii registers you during standard onboarding. Keep this as a reference; these entries are cross-linked throughout our guides and blog.
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
A member-owned, non-profit organization and one of the two leading US PROs. Membership is available to writers, publishers, or both. Payment arrives roughly 6 months after the performance quarter.
Broadcast Music, Inc.
The second major US PRO. It has operated for profit since 2022 (acquired by New Mountain Capital). BMI leans somewhat toward radio + television while ASCAP leans toward streaming, though each licenses everywhere. Membership is exclusive — choose ASCAP or BMI, never both.
SESAC Performing Rights
The smallest major US PRO accepts members by invitation only — it recruits selected writers rather than taking applications. With a meaningful catalog and no ASCAP or BMI affiliation, you may hear from them.
Global Music Rights
Irving Azoff founded this boutique PRO, which admits members only by invitation. Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon estate, Pharrell Williams, etc. appear on its roster. For indie songwriters, it matters only if they contact you.
The Mechanical Licensing Collective
The Music Modernization Act (2018) established the MLC to manage US streaming mechanical royalties. Joining costs nothing. For plays on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc., it collects and pays the mechanical side — provided you've registered those songs with them.
Harry Fox Agency
SESAC has owned HFA since its 2015 acquisition. It covers US mechanicals outside streaming (CDs, vinyl, downloads) and facilitates sync licensing. Although most streaming mechanicals shifted to the MLC in 2021, HFA continues directly administering certain publisher catalogs.
SoundExchange pays for the SOUND RECORDING, not the writing. As the recording artist (whose voice/performance appears on the record), you can collect; as only its writer, you can't. Coverage includes non-interactive digital broadcasts (Pandora, SiriusXM, internet radio) — NOT interactive Spotify or Apple Music streaming.
Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada
Canada's PRO handles performance royalties plus some Canadian streaming mechanicals through the SOCAN Reproduction Rights division. Canadian songwriters join SOCAN; for US writers played in Canada, a US PRO collects under its reciprocal SOCAN agreements.
Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency
Canada's counterpart to HFA manages the country's non-streaming mechanicals. It has been a SOCAN subsidiary since 2020.
The UK combines its PRO and mechanical licensing collective here, jointly administered with MCPS. This one organization collects both rights across UK/Ireland. Through US PRO reciprocal arrangements, US members receive UK-play royalties from ASCAP/BMI.
Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society
Since 1997, MCPS has been administered together with PRS for Music; you apply through PRS, but MCPS membership carries its own separate one-time fee. It distributes UK mechanical royalties from physical + digital downloads + on-demand streaming.
Phonographic Performance Limited
The UK's SoundExchange counterpart pays recording rights owners and performers for public airings, radio, and TV. A featured performer may register for a recording — whether or not they wrote its song.
Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte
Germany puts its PRO + mechanical society under one roof. German law grants it wide collection power. Its long, famous fight with YouTube ended in 2016. GEMA collects German plays unless a reciprocal arrangement sends the proceeds back through your home PRO.
Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique
France combines its PRO + mechanical society here, with subsidiary SDRM operating the mechanical side. It's the world's oldest PRO and maintains a strong international reach — reciprocal deals cover several African and Middle Eastern territories.
Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori
Italy's PRO + mechanical society also manages some neighboring-rights income. Though its EU exclusivity ended in 2017 (allowing other societies to collect in Italy), it remains dominant.
Sociedad General de Autores y Editores
Spain combines its PRO + mechanical society in SGAE, a leading reciprocal partner to Latin American CMOs. Royalties from Spanish-language songs played in Spain or Latin America frequently arrive there first.
Svenska Tonsättares Internationella Musikbyrå
Sweden's PRO + mechanical society offers free membership and pays out eight times a year, alternating between digital and traditional distributions. Alongside PRS and GEMA, it jointly owns ICE Services — the platform handles much of Europe's digital licensing.
Vereniging Buma en Stichting Stemra
These two affiliated organizations share administration: Buma = performance and Stemra = mechanical. Widely used by Dutch artists, they also collect Belgium and Luxembourg plays through reciprocal agreements.
Société d'Auteurs Belge — Belgische Auteursmaatschappij
Belgium's bilingual (French + Dutch) PRO + mechanical society maintains reciprocal deals with most leading societies. For songwriters outside Belgium, a home PRO receives SABAM earnings through those arrangements.
Schweizerische Gesellschaft für die Rechte der Urheber musikalischer Werke
Switzerland's PRO + mechanical society handles Liechtenstein as well. Stronger local rate cards tend to put its per-stream payments above EU averages.
Denmark's PRO leaves mechanicals to NCB (Nordic Copyright Bureau). That shared mechanical-rights body also serves Sweden's STIM, Norway's TONO, Finland's Teosto, and Iceland's STEF.
Norway's PRO uses NCB, the shared Nordic mechanical body, to handle mechanical rights.
Australasian Performing Right Association + Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society
Two jointly administered organizations cover Australia and New Zealand together. Their digital-streaming infrastructure is strong, and international royalties are processed monthly.
Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers
Japan's leading PRO has a more demanding membership process than Western societies — a Japanese publisher partner is often needed. Because it has reciprocal agreements with every major US and EU society, foreign writers generally collect from their own PRO.
Korea Music Copyright Association
South Korea's principal PRO is largely unavailable to writers outside Korea — their money comes through reciprocal collection. It plays an important role in international K-pop sync business.
Escritório Central de Arrecadação e Distribuição
Brazilian collection runs through ECAD, representing seven member societies (UBC, AMAR, ABRAMUS, SBACEM, SICAM, SOCINPRO, ASSIM). Writers join an affiliate — most often UBC or ABRAMUS — while ECAD collects centrally.
Sociedad de Autores y Compositores de México
Mexico's combined PRO + mechanical society is central to Latin American sync, reflecting Mexico City's importance in Spanish-language TV and film.
Southern African Music Rights Organisation
South Africa's PRO uses service agreements to administer several nearby sub-Saharan territories too. CAPASSO handles the mechanical rights separately.
Societies' Council for the Collective Management of Performers' Rights
You can't join this CMO directly. It coordinates 60+ national neighboring-rights bodies (PPL, GVL, etc.) paying performers and recording rights holders. For featured performers earning abroad, the local body (PPL UK, GVL DE, etc.) connects with SCAPR-coordinated counterparts through the IPD database.
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