# Member of Multiple PROs??



## arielblacksmith (Nov 10, 2015)

Hello VI

Im in the process of registering in a PRO( or PROs) and want to know if everyone recommends joining multiple PROs or not. Curretly residing in Mexico and there is the SACM and im also interested in joining ASCAP, what is the process with Multiple PROs? do you structure your membership as to cover only certain locations??

Thanks in advance VI!


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## tav.one (Nov 12, 2015)

I have the same question.


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## GULL (Nov 12, 2015)

arielblacksmith said:


> Hello VI
> 
> Im in the process of registering in a PRO( or PROs) and want to know if everyone recommends joining multiple PROs or not. Curretly residing in Mexico and there is the SACM and im also interested in joining ASCAP, what is the process with Multiple PROs? do you structure your membership as to cover only certain locations??
> 
> Thanks in advance VI!



I don't think you can join two PRO. It is not allowed as I understand.
I am affiliated to a PRO in a foreign country (due the circumstance at the time of joining). It is fine.


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## tav.one (Nov 12, 2015)

GULL said:


> I don't think you can join two PRO. It is not allowed as I understand.
> I am affiliated to a PRO in a foreign country (due the circumstance at the time of joining). It is fine.



So the PRO of foreign country collects the royalties from works produced & released all over the world?


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## ghostnote (Nov 12, 2015)




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## GULL (Nov 12, 2015)

itstav said:


> So the PRO of foreign country collects the royalties from works produced & released all over the world?



Yes.


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## GULL (Nov 12, 2015)

// 
Question: Can I Join BMI and ASCAP?

Answer:

No, you cannot be a member of both BMI and ASCAP. You can only belong to one performance rights organization (PRO) at any given time, so if you want to switch from one to the other, you will need to allow your current contract to expire before you can move to the other PRO. 

//
http://musicians.about.com/od/musiciansfaq/f/bmiascap.htm


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## tav.one (Nov 13, 2015)

Thanks Gull, this clears a lot of confusion.


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## Brian Ralston (Nov 30, 2015)

You can not be a member of two PROs in the same country (territory)...but you can be a member of more than one PRO around the world. You would just need to have your "main" PRO exclude collecting for you in the territories where your other PROs have jurisdiction. So...let's say you are a member of BMI in the USA. But want to join GEMA in Germany. BMI would collect for every territory BUT Germany. And GEMA would collect for you in Germany only. A reason this may be beneficial is if you lived in the states...but then were scoring a full time show that airs in Germany...you may get your German performance royalties faster if you collected them directly from GEMA instead of waiting for the international distributions passed along through BMI. There are some other benefits as well. For example the French PRO SACEM collection also contributes to a pension fund there that may prove beneficial to you later in life. Something the US PROs do not really do. But if you did not have a full time show broadcasting in France, being a SACEM member would not be necessary. Other than those reasons...being a member of multiple PROs is probably more headache and paperwork than is necessary.


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## tav.one (Nov 30, 2015)

Thanks @Brian Ralston , this makes a lot of sense now.


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## SDCP (Nov 30, 2015)

Brian Ralston said:


> You can not be a member of two PROs in the same country (territory)...but you can be a member of more than one PRO around the world.



True, I am a member of ASCAP and GEMA. ASCAP collects for North America (Canada, USA and Mexico), and GEMA collects for "Rest of World." The reason I did this, is because my main income is from TV series that air in Europe. I live in the United States, but write for two TV series in Europe.

You have to get an agreement from each PRO stating which territories will be covered. Also keep in mind, if you have a PRO in a different country, most of the information from them (Statements, Registration Forms, etc.) will be in language of that country. For example, all of my GEMA correspondence is in German.

There are other factors to consider. For example, once every three years, I have to get a statement from the IRS that says I pay all taxes in the USA. This statement is required by GEMA, so that there is not double taxation of royalties.


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## bonebones (Dec 1, 2015)

Brian Ralston said:


> you may get your German performance royalties faster if you collected them directly from GEMA instead of waiting for the international distributions passed along through BMI


I wish I had of listened to this type of advice before heeding the wishes of my native collection society and waiting for over a year, a crashed exchange rate and the loss of a lot of money. 
My advice is be a member of multiple PROs and chase any significant money hard.


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## arielblacksmith (Dec 2, 2015)

I decided to join ASCAP only for now, based on workflow.

Correct me if im wrong, but with ASCAP I can upload the songs (which being full time for now I want to work on a large volume of songs) but with SACM (Mexico`s PRO) I would need to register them via normal mail (which would cost money and time) 

I have a last question, do i need to get a TIN number? or with a foreign TIN (RFC in my case) the application is good to go?? currently looking at the instructions, but they arent that clear.

Thanks in advance everyone! very informative post


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## gsilbers (Dec 2, 2015)

so if I am BMI and my shows air in Germany I only get royalties if I join Gemma?

any other countries I need to sign up for another PRO ?


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## arielblacksmith (Dec 2, 2015)

gsilbers said:


> so if I am BMI and my shows air in Germany I only get royalties if I join Gemma?
> 
> any other countries I need to sign up for another PRO ?



From what I understood is that you do get pay , but it will take longer,not an expert tough so people may correct me here


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## gsilbers (Dec 2, 2015)

that's what I thought.


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## SDCP (Dec 3, 2015)

gsilbers said:


> so if I am BMI and my shows air in Germany I only get royalties if I join Gemma?
> 
> any other countries I need to sign up for another PRO ?


If you are with BMI (or any other PRO) and your show airs in Germany (or anywhere else in the world), you will get paid by BMI, as long as the music is registered with your PRO. It may take a little longer to get paid, but you will get paid.

However, your royalties will be reduced because of BMI's administrative fee. From the BMI website..."International royalties are distributed quarterly by BMI after the deduction of an administrative fee, which is currently 3.6%, but which is subject to change at any time."


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