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Songwriter — living in United Kingdom

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As a songwriter

Join this society in United Kingdom

Writers generally join one authors' society for a given territory and right. That society collects your writer share from other countries through its agreements with sister societies, so you don't join a second one for the same rights.

PRS for Music

PRS for Music (Performing Right Society) · United Kingdom

Your home society
Who can join
Songwriters, Publishers
Joining fee
Writers: £100 one-off (£30 if under 25). Publishers: £400 one-off. MCPS (mechanical rights) is separate: another £100 one-off for writers.
Yearly fee
None mentioned. PRS calls the £100 writer fee a one-off payment for lifetime membership.
Processing time
Not published
Apply online
Yes. The join page links an online joining form ('Join us – Launch the joining form'), and you can opt into MCPS while joining PRS.
Members from abroad
PRS says you can join from anywhere in the world. No rule about membership of another society was found on the pages that could be loaded.
Who is eligible
  • Writers: no minimum condition is published on the join pages. PRS recommends joining when you're likely to earn over £100 in royalties in a year (advice, not a rule).
  • Publishers: must represent at least 15 works by two or more writers or composers.
  • Publishers: need a publishing or sub-publishing contract for the territory, entitlement to the publisher share, and a bona fide publishing business that exploits the works.
  • Publishers: the performing right in at least one catalogue work must have been granted through a PRS licence (e.g. a broadcaster), and you must be able to identify the writers.
What to have ready0 of 3 ready
Apply at PRS for Music ↗
Sources and notes

Membership start: apply 1 Jan–30 Jun and PRS membership starts 1 January; apply 1 Jul–31 Dec and it starts 1 July. MCPS starts on the date the application is processed.

Joining PRS means you exclusively assign your performing right to PRS.

Payment thresholds: earnings are shown once they pass £30 in the UK or £60 internationally. PRS pays in April, July, October and December.

After joining, register each work and report live setlists so you can be paid. Have ISRCs ready for recorded works, and check with your publisher first.

PRS will not accept writer-publisher agreements that give the publisher more than 50% of the performance share.

Sources — PRS for Music's own pages, read on 2026-10-06. Fees and rules change: the society's site is the reference.

How we chose these

Your home society comes first: it is the one you join for the rights listed. The joining details come from each society's own website, read on the date shown on its card. Countries we haven't checked yet show the society from our worldwide directory, with a link to its site.

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Why join?

Songwriters

Societies pay the writers registered with them. If you write songs and aren't a member of an authors' society, your writer share of radio, TV, live and streaming plays can't reach you. It sits unidentified until it is claimed, or is shared out to others.

Performers

When a recording you are on is broadcast or played in public, performers are owed a share (neighbouring rights). It is paid through performers' societies, and registering is how it finds you.

Producers and publishers

Master owners collect their share of the same plays through producers' societies. Publishers collect the publisher share of the songs through the authors' society. Both collect through a society membership.

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