# Which PRO to join?



## muk (Sep 21, 2016)

Hello all

Incredibly, it looks like I've managed to get myself into an exclusive library in the UK! It's really quite amazing. Now I need to join a PRO. I'm swiss, and there is the swiss PRO SUISA. Does anybody have any experience with them?

I've done some reading, but haven't seen a contract yet. There is a one time fee of 200$ when joining them. After that there is no annual fee. But they deduct 4% of any income that is generated outside of Switzerland, on top of what their affiliated PROs charge. They write they try to avoid tax deducted at source, which would outweigh their 4% deduction. Does this sound like a common and fair deal? Or would I be better off joining a PRO from the UK?
Any advice on this would be much appreciated.


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## muk (Sep 22, 2016)

Any help on this? Is it better to join the PRO of your home country, or one that's located where you suspect your placements are going to be?


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## JohnG (Sep 22, 2016)

Why don't you email BMI and ASCAP and ask what they think? I don't know what they'll say but it might be interesting.


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## thov72 (Sep 22, 2016)

would you need an american bank account for that? guess not, but I love asking stupid questions


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## babylonwaves (Sep 23, 2016)

thov72 said:


> would you need an american bank account for that? guess not, but I love asking stupid questions


in order to call the, no you don't  - you can join at least ASCAP without an US bank account


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## muk (Sep 23, 2016)

Thanks for the input, I'll do that. Asking SUISA is no use, because they simply say 'join us'. Lets see if BMI and ASCAP have a bit more information to share.


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## thov72 (Sep 23, 2016)

thank you from my side too. Let me ask one more question:
Do I stil need to copyright my pieces e.g. at copyright.gov when joining a pro and registering pieces with them?


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## Maximvs (Sep 23, 2016)

muk said:


> Thanks for the input, I'll do that. Asking SUISA is no use, because they simply say 'join us'. Lets see if BMI and ASCAP have a bit more information to share.



I also live in Switzerland and don't find SUISA at all interesting... thanks Muk for posting this interesting topic on the forum.

Best,

Max


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## mOKa (Jan 24, 2017)

Hi everyone. I´m trying to join ASCAP as a non-US-Citizien. I run into the problem that I cannot finish my application, bc I get the following message "Your payment could not be processed. Please re-enter your payment info ..." I tried mutliple times, but didn´t succeed. The service guy on the phone told me, that I need to send in my application on paper, bc I don´t have an US bank account. It´s "Step 3" I assume, where they ask for the credit card infos to collect the application fee of $50. It seems weird that they dont accept any VISA Credits Cards from a EU bank. So after searching the whole site, I cannot find any pdf application. I got the IRS W-8Ben I need to send in though, but nothing from ASCAP. Does anyone know where to find it, or have any late expierence/advice how to register correctly. Thank you very much in advance for any input or help.


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## dannymc (Jan 24, 2017)

> Hi everyone. I´m trying to join ASCAP as a non-US-Citizien. I run into the problem that I cannot finish my application, bc I get the following message "Your payment could not be processed. Please re-enter your payment info ..." I tried mutliple times, but didn´t succeed. The service guy on the phone told me, that I need to send in my application on paper, bc I don´t have an US bank account. It´s "Step 3" I assume, where they ask for the credit card infos to collect the application fee of $50. It seems wired that they dont accept any VISA Credits Cards from a EU bank. So after searching the whole site, I cannot find any pdf application. I got the IRS W-8Ben I need to send in though, but nothing from ASCAP. Does anyone know where to find it, or have any late expierence/advice how to register correctly. Thank you very much in advance for any input or help.



hey Moka i'm from Ireland and i had the same issue when i was trying to join ASCAP through the website. it feels really primitive having to fill out all the paper forms but actually it went very smoothly for me. i made sure to do out the draft/cheque in dollars and just sent everything away to the LA office. i made sure to ring them about a week or so later to make sure they got my application. i'd say all in all the process took about 6 weeks before i recieved my IPI number. 

Danny


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## mOKa (Jan 24, 2017)

dannymc said:


> hey Moka i'm from Ireland and i had the same issue when i was trying to join ASCAP through the website. it feels really primitive having to fill out all the paper forms but actually it went very smoothly for me. i made sure to do out the draft/cheque in dollars and just sent everything away to the LA office. i made sure to ring them about a week or so later to make sure they got my application. i'd say all in all the process took about 6 weeks before i recieved my IPI number.
> 
> Danny


Thank you Danny for your quick reply. So did you just copy and pasted everything from the online form. I wouldn´t mind filling out any paper forms, but I can´t seem to find them anywhere to download.


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## jononotbono (Jan 28, 2017)

muk said:


> Any help on this? Is it better to join the PRO of your home country, or one that's located where you suspect your placements are going to be?



Well I'm no authority on this subject but I think it would be wise to absolutely join the PRO of your home country. You live there, you should be a member. Calling them will no doubt clear up any questions you have. I am from UK and a member of PRS.


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## muk (Jan 28, 2017)

Yeah, I ended up joining SUISA. They should be a reliable PRO, and I don't have to worry about foreign bank accounts, currency conversion rates, and foreign tax deductions. So far they have been very responsive and pleasant to deal with.


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## mOKa (Jan 28, 2017)

I have a bit of the same problem as @Blackster. I am gathering my income as a composer from royalty free music, mostly indie projects like games. My countries PRO isn´t flexible and I wouldn´t be able to compose for games anymore for example. ASCAP lets you much more freedom in that regard.


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## thov72 (Jan 28, 2017)

joined BMI. I only had to fill out one form and needed my ITIN, because the US has a tax treaty with Germany.


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