PROs and your IPI number, for beat makers
The short version
If you make beats, you are a songwriter in the eyes of the publishing world. A performing rights organization, or PRO, is the body that collects money for songwriters when their music gets played in public. Your IPI number is the ID your PRO gives you so that money can find you.
None of this is required to sell on Polarity. It matters later, when one of your beats ends up on a released song. Adding your details now means the paperwork is ready when that happens.
- What a PRO is, and why it applies to you
- Picking a PRO
- Finding your IPI number
- Do you need a publisher?
- Filling in your royalty details on Polarity
- Questions producers usually ask
What a PRO is, and why it applies to you
A song earns money in two separate streams. One is the recording, the actual audio file people stream and buy. The other is the composition, the underlying music and words. Those are owned separately and paid separately.
When you make a beat, you wrote part of a composition. The melody, the chords, the arrangement: that is songwriting. When an artist writes over your beat, the two of you are co writers of one composition, and you each own a percentage of it.
A performing rights organization collects one specific slice of that composition money: public performance royalties. That is what gets paid when a song is streamed, played on radio, played on TV, or played in a venue. The PRO licenses those uses in bulk, tracks what got played, and pays the writers.
Here is the part most producers miss. Nobody sends you that money by default. If you are not registered with a PRO, your share of the performance royalties on every song built on your beats is sitting uncollected. Societies do hold unmatched money for a while, and some will pay a claim you make later, but the windows are limited, the rules differ from society to society, and the further back you go the harder it gets. The version that reliably works is being registered before the song comes out.
This is not the same as your beat sale. Selling a lease or an exclusive on Polarity puts money in your account straight away, and that side is fully handled. Performance royalties are a separate stream that arrives months after a song is out, from a different place, and only if you are set up to receive them.
Picking a PRO
There is usually one obvious choice where you live, and for most producers the obvious choice is fine. This is where people normally start:
| Country | Where most producers start |
|---|---|
| United States | ASCAP or BMI. Both cover the same job. Compare the sign up cost and the payout schedule and pick one. SESAC exists too, but it is invitation only. |
| United Kingdom | PRS for Music |
| Canada | SOCAN |
| Germany | GEMA |
| France | SACEM |
| Australia and New Zealand | APRA AMCOS |
| Anywhere else | Search for "performing rights organization" plus your country. Almost every country has one, and nearly all of them are part of the same international network, so a song registered in one place still collects in the others. |
Your country is a starting point, not a rule. PROs are not locked to where you live. Plenty of writers join a society in another country because the deal, the payout timing, or the support suits them better. Polarity's own founder is based in the UK and is a BMI member. So take the table as the easy default, then join whichever one you actually want.
Two things worth knowing before you sign up. You can only be a member of one PRO for your writer share at a time, so it is a real choice rather than something you collect. And a PRO is not a distributor, a publisher, or a sync agency, so joining one does not sign away your music or take a cut of your beat sales.
Registration is generally quick and either free or a small one off fee, depending on the society. We are not going to quote a price here, because they change. Check the fee on the society's own sign up page before you join.
Finding your IPI number
Once you are a member, you get an IPI number. IPI stands for Interested Parties Information. It is a number that identifies you as a writer worldwide, no matter which society you belong to, so that a song registered in one country still pays you in another. You will also see it called a CAE number, which is the older name for the same thing. If a form asks for CAE/IPI, it wants this one number.
You do not apply for it separately. It is issued through the international IPI database when you join, and your society shows it to you. A few things to expect: it is a run of digits with no letters, it is public information rather than a secret, and if you register alternative names or aliases you can end up with a separate number for each of them.
Where it sits in each society:
| PRO | Where to look |
|---|---|
| ASCAP | Log in to Member Access and open your Profile, where it appears as CAE/IPI. It is also in the ASCAP mobile app under membership information, and you can look your own name up in the ASCAP repertory search. If you joined very recently, give it a week or so to appear. |
| BMI | Log in to your BMI account and open IPI Number. If you have more than one account, open the account you want under My Accounts, and your legal name plus any registered aliases are listed there, each with its own IPI. It also shows on the detail view of any work in your catalog. |
| PRS for Music | PRS uses membership number and CAE/IPI for the same number, which is why their works search labels the field "Membership no. (CAE/IPI)". You will find it in your online account and on your PRS correspondence. |
| SOCAN | Sign in to the member portal. Your identifying numbers sit on your profile. If you cannot see it, SOCAN member services will confirm it for you. |
| GEMA | In the online portal, open the My details service. Your IP name numbers are under "My IP name numbers", and the IP base number, the umbrella number they link to, is under "My membership details". GEMA is careful about the naming: the one other forms want is the IP name number. |
| SACEM | Your IPI name number is on your membership documents and in your online account. If it is not obvious, SACEM member support can confirm it. |
| APRA AMCOS | In the Writer Portal or the app, under your account details. It is also in the membership confirmation email you got when you joined. |
If none of that finds it, two fallbacks work almost everywhere. Search your own name in your society's public works or repertoire database, where writer entries are usually listed with their IPI. Or email member services with proof of who you are and ask them for it directly. Support teams answer this question constantly.
Do you need a publisher?
Composition money is split into two halves: the writer share and the publisher share. The writer share is yours because you wrote it, and it cannot be taken from you. The publisher share is a separate slot in the same song, and if nothing is registered in that slot, part of it can go uncollected.
A publisher entity is just a company, often a one person company, registered with your PRO to hold that publisher share. Set one up and you collect both halves of your own work. That entity gets its own IPI number, separate from your writer one.
Who actually needs one:
- Most producers starting out do not. Get your writer registration done first. That is the part that is genuinely yours and genuinely leaking if it is missing.
- Worth doing once songs you are on are actually earning. Setting up a publishing entity has paperwork and, at some societies, a fee. It makes sense when there is real money in the pipe, not before.
- Worth doing if you are signing splits often. If you regularly appear on releases with other writers, having your own publisher makes your side of a split sheet cleaner and easier for their team to process.
- Not needed if someone already publishes you. If you signed a publishing deal, that company already holds this slot and handles the registration side for you.
Signing to an outside publisher is a different decision entirely. A publisher takes a cut in exchange for actively working your catalog: pitching for placements, chasing registrations, collecting worldwide. That can be worth it. It is just not something you need in order to get paid.
Filling in your royalty details on Polarity
You will find these under Settings, then Royalty. There are five fields and none of them are required. Leaving them blank does not limit your store, your sales, or anything else. They exist so we can prepare royalty paperwork for you automatically when your beats end up on released songs, instead of you chasing details later.
Songwriter legal name
Your legal name, as it appears on official documents, not your producer name. Registrations and split sheets are matched on your legal identity. There is one name field here, so it wants your legal name even if you also registered aliases with your PRO, and the IPI below should be the number attached to that legal name rather than an alias number.
Performing rights organization
Pick from ASCAP, BMI, PRS or SOCAN. If yours is not in that list, including GEMA, SACEM, APRA AMCOS or any other society, choose Other. Leave it unset if you have not joined one yet, and the reminder in this panel will stay visible so it does not quietly slip off your list.
IPI/CAE number
The number from the section above. Digits only. If you have separate numbers for different aliases, use the one attached to the name you entered as your songwriter legal name.
Publisher name and Publisher IPI
These sit behind the optional "Publisher entity" section, and as the form says, they are for your own publishing company. Fill them in only if you have one, using its name and its own IPI, not your writer IPI. If you are signed to an outside publisher rather than running your own, leave these blank: that company holds the publisher share on their side, and putting them here would file them as your entity. An empty publisher section is completely normal and does not make your profile incomplete.
You can change any of this at any time. If you join a PRO in six months, come back and add the number then.
Questions producers usually ask
I only sell leases. Does this still apply?
Yes. The lease covers the artist's right to use your beat. It does not cancel the fact that you co wrote the composition. If a song built on your leased beat gets streamed or played on radio, there is a writer share on it that belongs to you.
Do I have to register every song myself?
Someone has to register the composition with a PRO for it to collect, and that registration needs every writer, their IPI, and their percentage. Often the artist or their team does it, and they need your details to include you. That is exactly why having them saved here helps.
Is my IPI number sensitive?
No. It is an identifier, not a credential. It appears in public works databases, and co writers routinely share it with each other so registrations can be completed.
Can I join more than one PRO?
Not for your writer share, no. One society represents you at a time. You can switch later, and there is normally a notice period for doing so.
What if I already have an IPI but I am not sure which one?
Search your name in your society's public repertoire database. If more than one entry comes up, the one attached to your legal name is your main writer number, and the others are usually aliases you registered.
This guide is general information about how music publishing works, not legal or financial advice. Fees, sign up terms and portal layouts are set by each society and do change, so check the details on your PRO's own site before you commit to anything. If something here looks out of date, tell us at admin@polarity.fm and we will fix it.