A periodic audit of your catalogue is worth the time, particularly if you have works registered over several years or across multiple publishers.
Start with a master list of every work you have written, including the title, co-writers, agreed splits, your publisher at the time of creation, and the ISWC (if assigned). Cross-reference this against what PRS shows in your member portal. Look for works that are missing entirely, works with incorrect splits or co-writer details, and works that have no ISWC assigned.
For published writers, compare your own records with what your publisher has registered. Catalogue acquisitions create particular risks – when a publisher sells your catalogue, the new owner inherits the registrations, but updates to society databases often lag or get missed. Works with translated titles, covers with variant spellings, or songs registered under different names in different territories may never reconnect with you without manual intervention.
If your music earns internationally, check the databases of major foreign societies. ASCAP’s ACE database, BMI’s Repertoire search and GEMA’s online tools all let you look up your works and verify how they are registered in those territories. Discrepancies between your PRS registration and what a foreign society shows are a sign that your data has not flowed through correctly.
Keep records of what you checked and when. An annual deep dive – verifying your top-earning works across your key territories – catches problems that a casual check would miss.
