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Understanding P.R.O. Music & Cue Sheets
Understanding P.R.O. Music & Cue Sheets

Answers to common questions about P.R.O. registered music tracks and cue sheets.

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Written by Support
Updated over a week ago

Some of the music tracks on Motion Array have been registered with a performance rights organization. This article contains some answers to common questions about using P.R.O. registered music.

What does a P.R.O. do?

A performance rights organization or P.R.O. operates on behalf of musicians to collect a certain type of royalty for “performing rights” when the music is broadcast publicly.

On their website, ASCAP, one of the largest performance rights organizations, defines a public performance as, “one that occurs either in a public place or any place where people gather (other than a small circle of a family or its social acquaintances). A public performance is also one that is transmitted to the public; for example, radio or television broadcasts, music-on-hold, cable television, and by the internet.”

In the event that you need to purchase your own license for a P.R.O. registered track, or if you are unsure about whether or not your usage is covered by a license already, you should contact someone at the P.R.O. associated with the track you are planning to use.

In order to track where this music is being performed and broadcast, performance rights organizations rely on the use of cue sheets.

What is a cue sheet?

A cue sheet is a document used to track “public performances” of P.R.O registered music tracks, also called cues.

These documents are filled out by those using P.R.O. tracks and returned to the P.R.O., generally via email. If you download and use P.R.O. tracks for anything designated as a “public performance”, you are responsible for filling out and returning a cue sheet.

All of the details you’ll need for a P.R.O. registered track’s cue sheet are located on the track details page by clicking on the "P.R.O. Registered Track: View More Details" link.

These details include the P.R.O. name, the composer’s name, the name of the publisher (sometimes the same as the composer), and the name of the track as it is registered with the P.R.O. A track might be registered under one name but have a different name on our site.

If you want to take a look at a sample cue sheet or if you need a blank cue sheet template, you can download both here.

I thought Motion Array had royalty-free music.

Motion Array music tracks are considered “royalty-free” because we do not collect any royalties for the music you download from us regardless of how you use it.

Additionally, as stated above, in most cases these royalties have already been paid by the broadcaster or public space. So, the downloader will just be responsible for submitting the cue sheet most of the time.

What if I don’t want to deal with P.R.O. registered tracks?

No problem. We have a large selection of music that is not registered with any P.R.O. If a track is not registered with a P.R.O., it will not include the “P.R.O. registration” text on the asset details page.


Performance Rights Organizations

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