Glossary · Royalties
SESAC
SESAC is a US performing rights organization founded in 1930. Unlike ASCAP and BMI it is a privately held, for-profit company and is invitation-only — songwriters cannot apply to join in the open way they can with ASCAP or BMI.
SESAC is the smallest of the long-established US performing rights organizations and the one an independent artist is least likely to join, because joining is not something you can decide to do. SESAC operates by invitation: it selects affiliates rather than accepting applications, and it does not publish membership fees or a standard rate schedule the way ASCAP and BMI do.
The trade-off attached to that selectivity is a smaller, more curated repertory and, at least in principle, more individual attention per writer. Because SESAC is privately held and for-profit, it also operates outside the consent decrees that have historically governed ASCAP and BMI licensing, which gives it more freedom in how it negotiates with licensees.
SESAC's corporate footprint is wider than performance rights alone. SESAC acquired the Harry Fox Agency in 2015, bringing mechanical licensing under the same roof as performance licensing, and the group has since operated a broader rights-administration business.
For a working independent artist, the practical guidance is short: if you cannot join SESAC or GMR, the real decision is ASCAP versus BMI, and neither can be shown to pay better as a rule. Both are free to join as a writer. If you want the publisher half registered too, ASCAP is free when you apply for writer and publisher at the same time, while BMI charges a one-time publisher processing fee whose amount it no longer publishes. Per their own pages, checked 1 September 2026.
The misunderstanding: people sometimes assume an invitation-only PRO means higher payouts. Affiliation determines who collects and administers your performance royalties, not the size of the licence fees the underlying users pay.
Independent artist's read of the landscape; verify anything specific with the organisation itself.
Related terms
- PRO (performing rights organization)A performing rights organization licenses the public performance of musical compositions and collects performance royalties for…
- GMR (Global Music Rights)Global Music Rights is a US performing rights organization founded in 2013 by music executive Irving Azoff.
- ASCAPASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, is a US performing rights organization founded in 1914.
- Harry Fox AgencyThe Harry Fox Agency, founded in 1927, is a United States mechanical licensing agency.
Answers that use this term
- ASCAP or BMI — Which PRO Should a Beginner Join?Both are free for songwriters, so cost no longer decides the writer account. The difference is on the publisher side.
- ASCAP vs BMI vs SESAC vs GMR: Which PRO Can You Actually Join?Only two of the four US performing rights organizations are open to you. ASCAP and BMI accept applications from anyone.
- What Is a Performance Royalty, and Who Collects It?A performance royalty is money owed when a musical composition is performed publicly — on streaming, radio, television, in a bar…
- ISRC vs ISWC: The Two Codes Your Song NeedsAn ISRC identifies a specific sound recording and is issued when you distribute — DistroKid, TuneCore and CD Baby assign one…
Definitions on this site describe the United States system. I am an artist who has been through this, not a lawyer.
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