P.R.S is the obvious choice for registering your songs / music , but does anyone know of any others legitimate agencies that do the same ?.. im trying not to spend to  much money lol. I know my mums ex used one but for the life of me cant remember the name of it ( it wasnt internet based ) .

A few of my tracks are getting air play on radio and ive been and are booked for a number of radio acoustic sessions singing my originals so im missing out on royalties if i dont get it sorted !

any suggestions please - i might recongnise the one i cant think of too lol..
thanks
George

Hi Georgette,

Congratulations on your success.

The PRS isn't an agency as such, they are the national body who administer music publishing (royalties for song writing).

you could go with a company to collect your royalties (they would be called a publisher) but in all honesty they would only chase the PRS on your behalf and charge you about 30% for doing so.

The advantage of having a publisher is that they will try get your music played on the radio more and might be able to find other outlets for your music (like TV and films; these are called Sync rights because the music is "synced" to the images). Of course if they can't get more airplay for you then you still pay 30%.

If I were you I would just go with the PRS yourself. Register yourself as a songwriter and they will pay you directly. Alternatively register yourself as a publisher (although I believe this is more expensive). You then let them know what songs are yours and then they will give you the money you are owed. Be aware that it can take the PRS months to pay what they owe you - they collect from radio stations every 6 months and you don't get your money until they've had theirs.

If you're concerned about the cost then speak to the PRS. I believe that they do a scheme where you can off-set your registration costs against future royalties, so that you don't have to pay any money upfront.

Good luck - if you'd like some more detail then drop me a message.

google PPL ...
http://www.ppluk.com/en/I-Make-Music/Why-Should-I-Become-A-Member/

they collect radio broadcast royalties on behalf of the performer and as you are the performer as well as the songwriter you have an entitlement. Check it out..
You should register with PPL as a performer, its in London and linked to PRS, its free, any writing can be registered along with the summary of your musical projects..
Whatever you do its a good place to get information.
Not complicated just read about it on the PPL website.

I am so glad i joined this forum ,really helpful advice there, thanks .... I am so new to this - ive only been doing this in a serious manner for around two months - and doing the radio i realise that i need to sort the background stuff out .. or i could be missing out .. Its not something i really thought about until now .

I will go and check it all out ... difficult decision as to what to do ..If i go with a publisher can i stop using them at any point or will i be asigned to  a contract with them for a certain amount of time ?

Publishing deals can last for a very long time. Historically they ran for 20-30 years but this is less common now.

You may be able to find a small publishing company that might be willing to give you a 2 year deal but you won't get a good rate and definitely won't get an advance (an up front payment against future earnings).

You only really get to sell your publishing rights once. The second time you sell publishing rights to a publisher it can get very complicated. I would say to hold on until you absolutely have to sell them. If you make it really big then you can sell them for a very large sum later on.

Look at the Darkness as an example. Their manager Sue Whitehouse decided that they guys shouldn't sell their publishing rights when they started getting some airplay and some small offers. She waited and waited, signed a record deal and let the ticket sales pay the bills. Then the band exploded, they were on every radio station and had a multi-platinum selling album. She then had to fight off bids for the publishing rights. In the end she sold their publishing rights for £1,000,000 + future royalties and Sue won manager of the year from the MMF.

Try not to sell your publishing rights until you abolutely have to.

I joined PRS this year. £30 membership which is only due when they collect royalties for you. (It comes out of your first payment.) And don't worry about missing out on songs that are already being broadcast/performed/recorded. They can backdate collections.

Chris