PRS for Music

The UK performing rights society: performance and mechanical collection for UK-based writers, with reciprocal deals worldwide.

Best for: UK-based writers collecting performance and mechanical royalties. UK-based songwriters, composers and publishers whose music is streamed, broadcast, performed live or otherwise used publicly. It is particularly useful for artists regularly playing original music at licensed UK venues.
Skip if: Your music has not generated—or is unlikely to generate—enough eligible royalties to recover the joining fee, you only own master recordings without songwriting rights, you are already represented by another performing-rights organization that prevents overlapping membership, or are not UK-based.
First move: Register once your songs earn UK performances. Estimate whether your upcoming performance and broadcast royalties will exceed the fee. If they will, confirm whether you need PRS alone or PRS plus MCPS, then join, register every composition with accurate ownership splits and begin submitting live setlists promptly.
Watch out: PRS and MCPS cover different rights, so PRS membership alone may not capture all mechanical income. Incorrect titles, writer identifiers or ownership splits can delay matching and payment. Live royalties depend heavily on accurate setlist reporting, and joining involves assigning qualifying rights to PRS under its membership agreement.
Reach: Industry-wide
When: Useful from day one.
Based in: United Kingdom