Guide
How to Register Your Song, Step by Step
Every place a song has to be registered, in the order that actually works — PRO, ISWC, the MLC, SoundExchange, and international.
Start with your PRO. Join as a writer and, if you self-publish, as a publisher. Until you have an IPI number, no society worldwide has a person to pay.
Register the work with that PRO: title, writers, splits, and any ISRC you already have. The PRO assigns or requests an ISWC — the global ID for the composition.
Register the same work with the MLC if you want US streaming mechanicals. The MLC does not inherit your PRO registration automatically.
If you own the master, register the recording with SoundExchange for non-interactive digital performance royalties in the US.
International collection depends on reciprocal agreements and on a publisher or administrator filing in each territory. That last step is the one most independent writers skip — and the one Found Royalties exists to do.