ASCAP vs BMI matters less than people think: both are free for songwriters to join, both collect your US performance royalties, and you can only be signed to one at a time. Once you’re in, the Spotify royalty calculator shows roughly what the song side of your streams is worth. The real mistake isn’t picking the “wrong” one. It’s not joining either.
What they actually do
ASCAP and BMI are performing rights organisations. They license radio, TV, venues, shops and streaming services, collect the money, and pay it out to writers and publishers of registered songs. That money is your performance royalties.
They don’t collect mechanical royalties, the other half of a song’s streaming money. In the US that goes through The MLC, which you sign up with separately (see mechanical royalties).
ASCAP vs BMI vs SESAC vs PRS
| ASCAP | BMI | SESAC | PRS (UK) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writer joining fee | Free for new writers | Free since 1 March 2025 | By invitation | £30 one-off if you’re under 25 |
| Can you just apply? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Who it suits | US writers | US writers | Writers it invites | UK writers |
BMI used to charge songwriters a one-off fee. It dropped that for new writers from 1 March 2025, which left fees out of the decision. ASCAP was already free for new writer members.
SESAC is the third US society, but it’s invitation-only, so for most independent writers it isn’t an option.
PRS cut its joining fee to £30 for writers under 25. If you’re older, check the current fee on the PRS site before you apply.
If you’re in the UK
Join PRS, not ASCAP or BMI. PRS collects your UK performance royalties and, through its agreements with societies abroad, money from US plays too. It’s one sign-up instead of chasing each country.
How to choose between ASCAP and BMI
If you’re in the US, both will do the job. A few things that might tip it:
- The sign-up process. Look at each site’s writer application and pick the one you’ll actually finish today.
- Extras. BMI launched Spark, a set of tools and resources for writers, alongside the fee change in 2025. Nice to have, not a reason to choose on its own.
- Co-writers don’t need to match. A song can have an ASCAP writer and a BMI writer on it. Each society pays its own members their share.
Whichever you pick, register every song you write, with every co-writer’s share. Both societies pay out on what’s registered, so a song without registered splits is a song nobody gets paid for properly.
What to have ready
- Your legal name and the name you write under
- A list of your released songs and who wrote them
- The agreed splits for each song, ideally on a signed split sheet
- Your co-writers’ society and IPI numbers, if they have them
Next step
Join one society this week, then register your songs. To get the splits agreed before you register, use our split sheet template, and read music royalties for the full picture. More in our songwriting money guides.
Where these figures come from
- Music Business Worldwide: BMI launches Spark and drops writer application fees (13 Mar 2025)
- Hypebot: Which PRO is best for you? ASCAP vs BMI vs SESAC (23 Aug 2023)
- SESAC (membership by invitation)
- CISAC: PRS for Music reduces joining rate to £30 for music creators under 25 (30 Mar 2023)
