After confirming my PRO affiliation with the PRS in the UK, I thought, Great, now the PRS can collect royalties for my audiojungle sales. But it turns out that the PRS can’t collect digital royalties from the US. They say that I would need a publisher or record label to do this.
Can anyone please give me some advice and thoughts on if I should get a publisher to work with or not?
Can you recommend any good publishers? and if you have one, What does your publisher do for you?
Thanks for reading.
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With “digital royalties” they mean YouTube etc. which won’t add up to many cents.
All other royalties the PRS should be able to collect from the US without a publisher. That’s the “normal” royalties from broadcast.
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Thanks for the reply. Does this mean that the PRS will collect my broadcast royalties for me, without me having to do anything? Since audiojungle allowed us to upload PRO registered tracks, I’ve been asking how the royalties from these sales get to me? Both audiojungle and the PRS have been very unhelpful on this matter.
I sold a couple of licenses to be broadcast to 1 million +, so I obviously want the royalties for that. Please forgive me for my lack of knowledge on this. I’ve made sales all over the world through AJ and it’s baffling me on how I get the royalties from all the different countries.
Yes, that is how it should work. This is a very old system and relies on cue sheets being filled out with the information you give them on each track page. The most important is the IPI/CAE number and the money should find its way to you.
Just keep in mind that it could take up to two years sometimes for international broadcast royalties to reach you so don’t expect anything quickly!
I’m expecting royalties in March for a UK commercial that ran 2-3 years ago… But a decent chunk of £.
This system is an old dinosaur but it will be at least 5-10 years before it’s all streamlined for the modern age…
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the thing about the ‘1 million broadcast’ license, is that these will be for very small channels, which you might not get royalties for, or else they will be for very small amounts of money (pence)
Thanks for the advice guys. Very helpful indeed. I guess its just a waiting game now to see if we get anything. I didn’t realise it could take so long for some royalties to come through.
Hi @GavinJack,
I’m very surprised that PRS told you that you need a publisher or record label in order for them to be able to collect US royalties. Moreover talking about tracks which you sell licenses through AudioJungle? I don’t get it…
I once asked somewhere around here if we could sell licenses in AudioJungle for already published (from other publishers) tracks. They would get the 50% anyway from the royalties as agreed in contract. Does anyone know if this is possible?
Hi there. To be honest, the PRS staff are so vague and frustratingly bad at there jobs that I’m not sure if the information they gave me is correct. Since starting this thread I have registered a few audiojungle tracks with the PRS and they have paid me some royalties on those tracks. I have also registered with the MCPS and am waiting to see if I get any royalties from them.
Here in the UK, we have the PRS who deal with “performance royalties”, the MCPS for “mechanical royalties” and the PPL who deal with “performer and rights holder royalties”.
It’s my understanding that as long as you register with all of these organisations (for UK based artists at least) then you will cover all of the bases for getting paid.
However the more helpful staff at the PPL have told me not to register any royalty free music with them. But I recommend speaking to the PPL for advice on that.
What country are you based in @ZodiacArts ?
PS. I still don’t have a publisher and am hoping by registering with the MCPS, I will get any international royalties.
Hi @GavinJack,
I’m a member of all these many years now (PRS & MCPS since 2009) for the good reason that you already mention. Get as many royalties as possible worldwide. At least, that’s what I hope.
It’s been few times PRS has given me the same impression of not being clear or even know what to answer on a particular case. For instance, just yesterday, I emailed them asking if PRS allows its authors to distribute direct licenses to clients. Have you ever crossed this? A friend or client wanting to use a track of yours that you have registered with PRS, MCPS and PPL? How do you deal with it?
As for PPL, did they gave you a reason why you should’t register your tracks with them? By the way, why mention to these tracks as royalty free music? The tracks you have here in AJ that ARE registered with a performing, mechanical or reproduction royalties society are no royalty free music.
I’m in Brussels, Belgium. I got registered to PRS when I was living in the UK many years ago and had been working with UK based music libraries.
It’s still a mess with ALL these in the music industry. No one is sure about anything, especially people who are here to inform us about how to proceed in particular cases…
Hi there @ZodiacArts
I think if a friend or client would like to use one of your tracks it might be helpful if you can provide them with the PRS tunecode for that track. That way they can get in touch with the PRS to say that they have used your track. Another way might be to tag your tracks with ISRC codes that you can get from the PPL. Did you get your unique ISRC code when you registered with the PPL?
It’s my understanding that whoever uses your music should inform the PPL and PRS that they have done so.
The PPL told me that the reason I should not register my stock music/royalty free music with them is that once audiojungle sells a license to use my work then there is no reason for the PPL to sell another license. But I would call the PPL for more advice on that because I could be wrong there.
As for why I mention the tracks as royalty free. This is where it gets a bit confusing for the Performing rights organisation.
Because Audiojungle advertise themselves as a “royalty free” company. It looks like we are selling royalty free music. But the fact is that if we have a PRO affiliation and we show this on our Audiojungle acount, then our music is NOT royalty free.
You are right when you say that the tracks registered with a royalties organisation and we show this in our AJ account are no longer royalty free.
The PRS first told me that I could not register any AJ tracks with them, but after I explained all this they changed there mind and said it was ok.
I am planning to become a member of the musicians union to get more support and understanding on these matters. I also thought about booking some time with a lawyer to have the legal side of things explained.
But I think for now. As long as you can provide who ever uses your music with a tunecode or ISRC code. It is up to them to report that they have used your music. You can also report any use that you think you are due royalties for, by informing the royalties society where your music was used. It is there job to chase up the royalties for you, apparently.
For the PPL.did you register as a Performer AND Rightsholder? as these are two different accounts. and did you ask them for an ISRC code?
Hi,
I’m sharing the following valuable information with you as I think you could find it helpful same way I did:
Hello,
I’m a PRS member since many years. I would like to know what happens if a client wants to use one of my PRS registered track for a video production.
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Could I charge him for a “license” giving him the permission to use my track?
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How could I know for sure that this person will really report/fill a CUE sheet with all the music (including mine) used in his production?
Thank you,
Alex
Hi Alex
I will answer your questions with the numbers they relate to below.
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Yes this is called a sync fee, it’s up to you to negotiate with the licensee and PRS offers no guidance on how much this fee should be.
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If the games are used in a format which requires a licensee to report to us, then a cue sheet would be submitted and you could see it on database on the website.
Kind Regards,
Jim
Jim Hobley l Member Services
PRS for Music l 41 Streatham High Rd, London SW16 1ER
Writer Team - T: +44 (0)20 3741 4801 E: writerquery@prsformusic.com
Publisher Team - T: +44 (0)20 3741 4848 E: publisherquery@prsformusic.com
Website: www.prsformusic.com
We’re here for music
Not sure if you were aware of that but I wasn’t! So basically, very much related to our discussion, you sell a SYNC FEE to someone liking and wanting to use your track in a production. This money goes straight to your pocket! Then this production company (or whatever) needs to fill and provide CUE SHEETS to the tv channel or radio station (or whatever). Usually TV Channels, Radio Stations etc have already payed for a blanket fee that permits them to use the majority of music out there. By filling CUE SHEETS and reporting them to PRS, PRS knows which track (of yours for example) has been used, how many seconds/minutes of the track and how many times. Then they will be able and they pay our royalties!
I don’t know if the same applies to music published by OTHE PUBLISHERS - I expect an answer from PRS on that although I think the answer is obvious.
PPL is a weird story which I never understood 100% what they do. I do register everything to them (both Performer and Rightsholder) too even assign ISRC (from Belgium) numbers to my tracks. But PPL is not only there to sell licenses but to collect a different from PRS type of royalties. So why they answered to you that way I don’t know?!
The situation with PRS and PRO music in general changed very recently here in AJ - they have come into a negotiation apparently. So this is why we can submit PRS registered tracks in AJ and it’s a good thing!
Hi @ZodiacArts
Thank you for the information. The PRS has also given me some new information regarding US royalties. I got an email today stating…
“Any online royalties in the US territory would be initially collected by a local society and then forwarded to PRS. Please note that overseas royalties can take up to 18 months to be paid out”
So this information obviously conflicts with what they said before, when they told me that I need a publisher to claim US royalties.
So it is good news that out US royalties will come through the PRS eventually.
Thanks again
Gavin
Hi again @GavinJack,
That’s how it should be and I’m glad they did confirm you correctly this time!
Wish you luck and good continuation on your creations!
P.S.: Heard your music and I really very much enjoyed “Mellow Inspiration” no surprise why it’s your 2nd best sale!
Thanks @ZodiacArts. I am really enjoying your music as well! I wish I could get my mixes sounding that good. I can only do acoustic guitar stuff at the moment and I’m still learning how to produce tracks with more instruments. Your music is an inspiration!!! 
All the best
Gav
Hello,
While PRO music is allowed on Audiojungle, the music uploaded on here still has to be royalty-free (other than performance royalties).
So I would be surprised that you can indeed register your music with MCPS and PPL and still upload it on AJ.
To be honest I had not heard of these before, so I could be wrong. But from what I gathered from this thread, it looks that they would collect royalties for which buyers would indeed be responsible. This would be a big problem.
Hi there @PurpleFogSound.
I asked Audiojungle if it was ok to register my tracks with a PRO and they said it was ok to do so, as long as I fill in the relevant information in my Audiojungle settings (the PRO affiliation settings). The PPL said I should nt register my AJ tracks with them, so my stufff is only registered with the PRS for now.
I recommend that you contact audiojungle directly on this, as well as any pro that you are dealing with. The information on the AJ forum can be a great help most of the time but can be misleading sometimes too.
Gavin
I’m not sure that there is no such thing as music being registered with a PRO but being royalty free. Performing Royalties = NON Royalty-Free Music 
On the other hand the procedure/transparency on the client’s end is simular to this of a Royalty-Free scenario.
Client gets a license for ONE END (Music Standard License) product but broadcasts have already cleared the PRO music to be used.
For example, I get a Music Standard License for one of your tracks to use it in a video production and to release it/post it on youtube. Youtube is paying already blankets for Performing Royalties to PROs so that means that you’ll get your royalties for each play and I do not need a PRO license to use the track, only Audiojungle license.
That’s an on-going debate. Some people use the term “true royalty-free” to describe non-PRO music, opposed to “royalty-free” that’s PRO registered, but free of other type royalties.
In any case, Audiojungle sells royalty-free music and yet they allow PRO music, so it’s not a problem (other than some rare and very specific live performance situations)
However, other organizations such as PPL and MCPS seem to cover these other types of royalties, and thus should not be used by AJ authors in my opinion.
Again, there is no such thing music being registered with a PRO to be royalty free. I don’t know how and where you have got this conclusion but it is not correct. If your tracks are registered with a PRO then the tracks are NOT royalty free.
AudioJungle very recently began and accept from authors their PRO music. Obviously not as royalty free as I explained before. I will get my Performing Royalties from the PRO register tracks I have submitted here.
Conclusion is selling both Royalty Free and NON Royalty Free music. But like I explained in my previous post, the end user (we are working for them) are not financially “touched” by that change because MOST of the times they will not have to personally deal with Performing Royalties since these MOST of the times are already cleared.
Let’s not confuse the situation more with nonexistent terms like “true royalty free” etc