Criticisms
PROs have been criticized for charging non-profit organizations for their use of copyrighted music in situations where the non-profit organization was not earning money from the use. ASCAP, for example, was eventually forced in the face of public opinion to abandon its attempts to charge the Girl Scouts of the USA for singing campfire songs. ASCAP's and SESAC's policy of charging non-commercial educational (NCE) radio stations for playing copyrighted music has also been criticised, especially by college radio stations across the U.S., which rely entirely on student and listener support for funding and have difficulty affording the extra fees.
PROs are often criticized for stretching the definition of "public performance." Until relatively recently in the U.S., playing copyrighted music in restaurants did not involve legal issues if the media was legally purchased. PROs now demand royalties for such use.
By discouraging performances in limited public arenas, again using the restaurant example, critics say PROs eliminate the free publicity such performances provide for a work thereby depressing media sales. Incidentally, lower media sales conflicts with RROs but disputes between the two parties are not known to occur since each type of organization represents the interests of the same parties, rights holders, and are forced to work in common interest.
Rights owners - especially independents and newcomers not represented by large publishing companies - criticize the PROs for what they deem to be "mystical" formulas for deciding who gets what share of the total licensing revenue received.
Rights holders criticize PROs for slow or non-existent payments and excessive membership dues or service fees.
Read more about this topic: Performance Rights Organisation
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