# What happens with with PRO-registered if i move to another one?



## Lionel Schmitt (Jan 30, 2016)

Let's say I make a track for a trailermusic company, give them my GEMA number and they publish the music like "Zimmer 'n' Nolan rocks - Lionel Schmitt (GEMA) 100% [66666666]".
But what if I want to move to another PRO at some point? What happens then with those tracks? Thank you for any info.


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## Gerd Kaeding (Jan 30, 2016)

DarkestShadow said:


> Let's say I make a track for a trailermusic company, give them my GEMA number and they publish the music like "Zimmer 'n' Nolan rocks - Lionel Schmitt (GEMA) 100% [66666666]".
> But what if I want to move to another PRO at some point? What happens then with those tracks? Thank you for any info.



Hi ,

1.
being a member of a european PRO like the german GEMA or the french SACEM makes it a little bit more difficult to switch to another PRO ( ... _if this makes sense at all_ ... ) , while it might be more practical to switch between ASCAP and BMI .

The easiest way to find out for you is to directly contact the department "_mitgliederservice_" at the GEMA office in Berlin/Germany.

Phone number :
+49 - (0) 30 - 21245 300
Monday - Friday / 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Or write an email , and include your GEMA member number.
( [email protected] )

There you can get infos at what point you are able to quit your specific membership ( ... as far as I remember there is a 3 years cycle of membership ... ).



2.
Actually I never met someone who left a european PRO .
Therefore I cannot comment on what happens to the works you've registered with GEMA when you might end your membership there and switch to another PRO.
However I met a songwriter who switched from BMI to ASCAP , and in his case the "old" works remained with BMI , and only his "new" works are with ASCAP .
But the situation in the U.S. might be different from the legal situation within Europe , because ASCAP/BMI and SESAC are actually working on the same territory , while each european PRO works more or less exclusively in a certain territory .(_ This is not completely true , but ... _)

Ask the GEMA about this scenario. Even if they can not answer your question immediately they will come back to you.

The people in the GEMA office are usually quite helpful and supportive.





Best
Gerd


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## Lionel Schmitt (Jan 30, 2016)

Thank you. Yes, I can quit every 3 years. In my case 2 years remain and I have to wait so long. The problem is that I maybe couldn't puplish/sell music somewhere. I'm not sure if the service for those tracks continues if I quit and therefore don't pay anymore. I will also send a mail now.


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## Gerd Kaeding (Jan 30, 2016)

DarkestShadow said:


> In my case 2 years remain ...


May I ask _why_ you want to switch your PRO ?


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## Lionel Schmitt (Jan 30, 2016)

Because I jumped into GEMA very quickly without having much information about it. I had heard that I have to be PRO member to work for some production/trailer-music sites. Now I got problems with one of the sites because GEMA administers exclusively the mechanical rights. I want to switch to PRS or ASCAP because they only administer the performance rights. They are also easier to understand in their functions. All necessary informations are on one page while GEMA is a bit blurred and complex in some things. And many production music composers are members of those.


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## Gerd Kaeding (Jan 30, 2016)

DarkestShadow said:


> I want to switch to PRS or ASCAP ...



If you can gain ( _good + worthy_ ) jobs when switching to another PRO , than you should go for that.
No question.


In this case please also think of two other aspects :

1.
If you choose a PRO which is not located in your country of residence you should also think of _how_ to receive the money from them.
Therefore you should find out if you need a bank account in the country where the PRO is located , or if they are willing to do international banking and transfer the money to your local bank as a free service .
If 'yes' , you should find out if your local bank is taking a fee for receiving and changing a foreign currency.
Example : you are located in Germany and you get your first ASCAP money , let's say 100 $ US . Your current german bank is charging a fee of 20.-Euro for receiving and exchanging the Dollars into Euros. You might change your local bank to avoid this , so ask your local bank how they handle the transfer of foreign currencies.

2.
Another thing you should keep in mind is taxes . Yes .
Make sure you are prepared to deal with this aspect when your first check is 15000.-$ from ASCAP , or maybe 15000.- English Pound from PRS . In both these scenarios you receive money from a foreign country's PRO, and depending on the involved countries you might have to fill out certain documents for the finance department abroad properly _beforehand_ .


Both aspects , 1 and 2 , are not relevant when you stay with a local PRO.
The downside with staying with a local PRO is , however , that you will receive the royalties at least one and a half year later compared to
a direct payment from the foreign PRO ( ... assuming that your music was broadcastet in the foreign PRO's territory ... ).


Good luck


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## Lionel Schmitt (Jan 30, 2016)

Thanks a lot for your informations! Appreciate your help. 
So the 2 years of waiting have a little positive aspect: I can deal with all that somewhat complex stuff.


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