Issues Related to Performing Rights Organizations

The U.S. Copyright Office published a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) collecting information regarding issues related to performance rights organizations (PROs), as requested by Congress.


Background

Musical work copyright owners (for example, songwriters or music publishers) have long enjoyed the exclusive right to perform their works publicly. The variety of contexts where these works are performed and the number of works being performed, however, created practical challenges with licensing this right. PROs were formed to offer collective or blanket licenses to address these challenges. Such licenses have proven more efficient for businesses, songwriters, and publishers when compared to song-by-song licensing and enforcement.


Notwithstanding these benefits, other challenges related to these licenses remain. The number of PROs in the United States has increased in recent years, potentially undermining licensing efficiencies. Further, not all PROs publicly disclose comprehensive information concerning the works that are covered by their licenses, or their royalty distribution practices and policies.


Congressional Request and Response

In 2024, three members of Congress requested that the Office gather information on the recent increase in the number of PROs and their licensing revenue distribution practices.


On February 10, 2025, the Office published a notice of inquiry (NOI) inviting public comments on these topics. Initial public comments were due April 11, 2025, and reply comments were due May 27, 2025. The Office received over 5,000 public comments.*


On November 20, 2025, the Office sent a letter to Congress summarizing the comments received in response to the NOI. The letter does not contain new policy recommendations. It does, however, identify previously published reports which contain the Office’s positions on the topic of music licensing.


*Note: The Office received over 5,000 comments in response to the NOI, which included more than 4,865 nearly identical comments. The Office has identified and compiled the unique comments into downloadable PDF Portfolios. All comments remain available at Regulations.gov.