SAMPLEDASCAP vs BMI vs SESAC: Which PRO Should a Songwriter Actually Join in 2026
A no-spin breakdown of America's three performing rights organizations — what they cost, who they pay best, and the one question that decides it for most writers.
If you write songs in the United States, you need a performing rights organization (opens in a new tab) (PRO) to collect the money you're owed when your music gets played — on the radio, in a Starbucks, on a TV broadcast, in a sports bar, on a streaming service. The PRO licenses the venues and platforms, tracks the plays, and cuts the checks. Without one, that money either sits unclaimed or gets distributed to other writers.
There are three you've heard of — ASCAP (opens in a new tab), BMI (opens in a new tab), and SESAC (opens in a new tab) — plus a fourth boutique that doesn't take applications, Global Music Rights (opens in a new tab). You can only belong to one at a time. Here's what actually separates them in 2026.
The fast version
| ASCAP | BMI | SESAC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1914 | 1939 | 1930 |
| Structure | Not-for-profit, member-owned | For-profit (sold to New Mountain Capital in 2024) | For-profit, privately held |
| Songwriter fee | Free to join | Free to join | Invitation only |
| Publisher fee | $50 one-time | $150 individual / $250 company | Invitation only |
| Members | 1M+ | 1.4M+ affiliates | ~35,000 (estimated) |
| 2024 revenue | $1.835 billion (opens in a new tab) | Not disclosed (private) | Not disclosed (private) |
| Best known for | Pop, classical, broad catalog | Country, hip-hop, R&B, film/TV | Boutique service, country, Latin |
ASCAP
ASCAP (opens in a new tab) is the oldest and the only one of the three that operates as a not-for-profit owned by its members. In practice that means the board is elected by writers and publishers, and the stated overhead rate is around 10% — meaning roughly 90 cents of every dollar collected flows back out as royalties.
The numbers are public because ASCAP publishes them. In the 2024 financial report (opens in a new tab), the organization posted a record $1.835 billion in revenue and distributed $1.696 billion to members — up 6.5% year over year — and crossed one million members for the first time. New 2024 signings included Tate McRae, Katy Perry, Timbaland, Kacey Musgraves, Jack White, Sexyy Red, and Max Martin.
Cost: Free for songwriters and composers. $50 one-time fee to also register as a publisher (opens in a new tab) — which most self-released artists should do, since publishers collect a separate share of every royalty pool.
Catalog strength: Pop, classical, theatrical, and a deep bench of legacy songwriters. The 1914 charter members included Irving Berlin, John Philip Sousa, and Victor Herbert; today's roster runs through nearly every corner of mainstream pop.
The pitch: Transparent finances, member governance, the lowest overhead of the three, and the broadest catalog. The trade-off is that the organization is large, so the service feels more institutional than boutique.
BMI
BMI (opens in a new tab) was started in 1939 by radio broadcasters who wanted an alternative to ASCAP, and for decades was a not-for-profit. That changed in February 2024, when BMI was sold to a private equity consortium led by New Mountain Capital — a reset that gave BMI the ability to invest in technology but also opened a long debate among writers about how a for-profit PRO should split its margin.
In March 2025 BMI launched Spark (opens in a new tab), a benefits program for affiliates that includes discounts, education, and well-being resources. It's part of a broader effort to compete on services now that the not-for-profit pitch is gone.
Cost: Free to join (opens in a new tab) as a songwriter or composer with no annual dues. To also affiliate as a publishing company, the fee is $150 for an individually owned publisher or $250 for a corporate one.
Catalog strength: Country (BMI is the dominant PRO in Nashville), hip-hop, R&B, and a very large film/TV composer roster. BMI claims over 1.4 million affiliates and represents more than 22.4 million musical works.
The pitch: No songwriter dues, a huge catalog, and strong Nashville and film/TV infrastructure. The open question is whether the new for-profit ownership changes payout rates in the years ahead.
SESAC
SESAC (opens in a new tab) is the smallest, the oldest after ASCAP, and the only one of the three you can't apply to. Membership is invitation-only — you have to be invited by a SESAC representative, usually after you've already started getting traction or have a publisher relationship that pushes for you.
The trade for that gate is service. SESAC's roster is small enough (estimates put it around 35,000 writers and publishers) that affiliates report more direct contact with their reps than ASCAP or BMI members typically get. SESAC also runs annual awards in Nashville, LA, Latin, and film and TV — the 2025 Nashville Awards (opens in a new tab) named Michael Tyler Songwriter of the Year, and the 2025 LA Awards (opens in a new tab) named Ariana Grande Songwriter of the Year. In January 2026 SESAC also brought in Chris Sheehan as VP of International to grow its overseas collection.
Cost: No application fee because there's no application. If invited, there are no annual dues.
Catalog strength: Country, Latin, gospel, and a notable composer roster.
The pitch: Concierge-level service and faster payouts (SESAC distributes monthly in some categories versus quarterly at the others). The trade-off is exclusivity — you can't choose to join, and SESAC doesn't publish its financials, so you're trusting the brand and your rep.
And then there's GMR
Global Music Rights (opens in a new tab) was founded by Irving Azoff in 2013 and is the first new US PRO in roughly 75 years. It's also invitation-only, with a tightly curated catalog of around 129,000 works from roughly 177 songwriters — including Drake, Bruno Mars, Pharrell, Bruce Springsteen, Post Malone, Pearl Jam, and the John Lennon, George Michael, Glenn Frey, Chris Cornell, and Prince estates.
GMR's pitch is leverage: by representing a small number of A-list catalogs, it can negotiate higher per-play rates with broadcasters than the bigger PROs can extract through consent decrees. For everyone not already in that room, GMR isn't a realistic option — but it's the fourth name you'll see in any sync or licensing conversation.
So which one should you actually pick
For most independent writers in 2026, this comes down to two real choices: ASCAP or BMI. SESAC and GMR aren't decisions you make — they're decisions made about you.
Pick ASCAP if you want a not-for-profit with published financials, you write pop or work across genres, or you value member governance and transparency. The $50 publisher fee is the only out-of-pocket cost.
Pick BMI if you're building in Nashville, hip-hop, R&B, or film/TV, you want zero out-of-pocket cost to start (you can publish-affiliate later), or you have a relationship with a BMI rep who'll actually work for you. Just go in clear-eyed about the new private equity ownership and watch how payouts move over the next few cycles.
If you're invited to SESAC, take the meeting. The high-touch service is real, but ask exactly how your specific genre and royalty streams will be tracked, and get the payout schedule in writing.
Whatever you pick, register as both a writer AND a publisher. Every song's royalty pool is split between a writer share (50%) and a publisher share (50%). If you don't have a publishing entity registered, you forfeit the publisher half by default — that's the single most common money-leaving-on-the-table mistake new writers make.
One more thing: you can switch PROs, but it's slow. Most have resignation windows that only open once a year, and works registered under one PRO continue to be collected by that PRO for plays during the period of membership. Move because you have a concrete reason, not because the algorithm told you to.