Setting up to earn internationally – a checklist

If your songs are being used outside the UK, you need the right registrations and affiliations in place to collect that income. Missing any of these steps means royalties may be earned but never reach you.

Registration foundations:

• Join PRS and register all your works with complete metadata – song titles, co-writers, IPI numbers, splits and publisher information
• Ensure your works have ISWCs (International Standard Work Codes), which are generated through PRS registration and allow your compositions to be identified across territories
• Link ISWCs to the relevant ISRCs (International Standard Recording Codes) for each recording of your songs

International setup:

• If you have a publisher, confirm they are registering your works in all territories where you have activity – do not assume this is happening automatically
• If you are self-published, consider whether you need sub-publishing arrangements in key territories to handle registrations locally
• For the US, consider joining The MLC directly (free, no commissions) to collect digital mechanical royalties
• Choose either ASCAP or BMI for your PRS reciprocal representation in the US, and notify PRS of your choice

Monitoring:

• Check your PRS account regularly for international income appearing from territories you expect
• Verify your works appear correctly in foreign society databases for your key territories
• Watch for missing co-writers, name misspellings, or incorrect splits in foreign registrations – these are common causes of uncollected international royalties
• Track what you expect to earn against what you actually receive