Licensing

In order to use a copyrighted composition, you need permission from the publisher(s) to record, reproduce, distribute and/or display your musical rendition of the composition. In order to publicly perform your musical rendition of the composition, you will need a license from the performing rights organizations.

If you wish to create your own recording of a composition, you only need a license for the composition. However, if you want to use a specific artist's recording of a composition (the master recording), then you will need a license for both the composition and the master recording.

Commonly known as a "PRO," a performing rights organization licenses and collects money for performances of compositions on the radio, in television programs, live venues, and websites. In the United States, ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR are the four PROs; in Canada, the sole PRO is SOCAN; and in the United Kingdom, the sole PRO is PRS. In the United States, each songwriter chooses which PRO s/he wishes to affiliate with and that PRO will issue performance licenses on that songwriter's behalf. Often, a single composition can be represented by multiple PROs and can require more than one PRO license.

Commercial licensees are companies and business with a primary focus on the creation, sales, and national distribution of music products, and that account and pay royalties on a quarterly basis based on sales, or any non-music driven business or organization that wishes to use Capitol CMG compositions to promote it's business, products, or services. Non-commercial licensees are those users who manufacture less than 5,000 copies, and are an individual, ministry, church, or small independent record label that plans to use Capitol CMG compositions for a specific purpose (such as recording a CD as a fundraiser).