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# The Difference between a PRO and a Publishing Administrator
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/the-difference-between-a-pro-and-a-publishing-administrator/
- Published: 2015-01-29T11:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2015-01-29T11:00:00.000Z
- Description: Guest Post by Alex Bardanes on Songtrust Blog I don’t need a publishing administrator because I’m already affiliated with ASCAP right? Don’t these two entities perform essentially the same function? Actually, they perform. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2015/01/the-difference-betw
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: DIY Advice & Tips, Music Business, Streaming, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Dynamic music, General counsel, music industry, Music licensing, Paul Williams (songwriter), Performance rights organisation, Performing rights, songwriter, United States, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 10:28

[![PRO_Blend](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201bb07e4e66d970d-150wi "PRO_Blend")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201bb07e4e66d970d-popup?ref=hypebot.com)

Guest Post by **Alex Bardanes** on [Songtrust Blog](http://blog.songtrust.com/uncategorized/whats-the-difference-between-a-pro-and-a-publishing-administrator/?ref=hypebot.com)

*I *don’t need a publishing administrator because I’m already affiliated with [ASCAP](http://www.ascap.com/?ref=hypebot.com) right?* Don’t these two entities perform essentially the same function?* Actually, they perform very different functions, but work together to achieve the same simple goal; getting you paid. *But what does a [Performing Rights Organization](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance%5Frights%5Forganisation?ref=hypebot.com) (PRO) actually do?*

**The main business of PROs is the collection and distribution of money for music that is publicly broadcasted or “performed”.** The PROs collect licensing fees from radio stations, [TV networks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television%5Fnetwork?ref=hypebot.com), gyms, airports, bars, live music venues, as well as digital sites such as [Spotify](http://www.spotify.com/?ref=hypebot.com), Pandora, [Youtube](http://twitter.com/YouTube?ref=hypebot.com), [Rdio](http://www.rdio.com/?ref=hypebot.com) etc. for their use of music. Once these fees are collected, the PRO tracks and surveys all of the ASCAP or BMI licensed sources and pays the [songwriters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songwriter?ref=hypebot.com) and publishers based on a percentage of performances for each song. This pool of money usually accounts for 30% of a songwriter’s annual income. To learn more about their tracking and payment system, click [here](http://www.ascap.com/members/payment/?ref=hypebot.com).

*How is that different to a publishing administrator?*

![songtrust](http://blog.songtrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/songtrust.png)

**Unlike a PRO, a publishing administrator does not track your songs and deal with a specific royalty type for a certain territory.** They handle all business aspects of your songs globally. A publishing administrator will not only register your songs at your local PRO, but handle the registration of your songs at PRO’s around the world so that you are eligible to collect performance income wherever your songs are being heard. They will also make sure you are eligible to collect your [mechanical royalties](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royalties?ref=hypebot.com) by affiliating you and registering your songs at mechanical societies worldwide. Up until now, a service like this was only offered to top tier songwriters with commercial releases; with [Songtrust](https://songtrust.com/?ref=hypebot.com), independent songwriters are now able to collect additional songwriting royalties that they may be owed around the world.

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