---
title: Does Songtrust collect songwriter performance royalties?
publisher: RapCanon
canonical: https://rapcanon.com/tools/royalty-coverage/songtrust-pro_perf/
license: CC-BY-4.0
retrieved: 2026-08-13
---

> Partial. Songtrust is explicitly NOT a PRO. It administers the PUBLISHER share; your PRO still pays your writer share directly. You still need ASCAP or BMI.

Royalty coverage

 
# Does Songtrust collect songwriter performance royalties?

 
 
Partly

 
Songtrust is explicitly NOT a PRO. It administers the PUBLISHER share; your PRO still pays your writer share directly. You still need ASCAP or BMI.

 
 
What this stream is. Paid when the composition is performed or broadcast. Split into a writer share and a publisher share, and those two halves can be collected by different parties.

 Worth knowing about Songtrust - Songtrust does not replace your PRO. You still need one, and Songtrust takes the publisher share only.
- Its mechanical commission rose from 15% to 20% effective 1 January 2025, so every older review is stale.
- Zero neighbouring rights. SoundExchange remains a separate registration you make yourself.
 
 
Read from Songtrust's own documentation on 2026-08-13. Check it yourself — and if it has changed, tell us.

 
See the full matrix for all 16 organisations →

---

## How to cite this page

**APA**
RapCanon. (2026). Does Songtrust collect songwriter performance royalties?. Retrieved from https://rapcanon.com/tools/royalty-coverage/songtrust-pro_perf/

**BibTeX**
```bibtex
@misc{rapcanon-tools-royalty-coverage-songtrust-pro-per,
  title  = {Does Songtrust collect songwriter performance royalties?},
  author = {{RapCanon}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://rapcanon.com/tools/royalty-coverage/songtrust-pro_perf/},
  note   = {Accessed: 2026-08-13}
}
```

**Wikipedia**
```
{{cite web |title=Does Songtrust collect songwriter performance royalties? |url=https://rapcanon.com/tools/royalty-coverage/songtrust-pro_perf/ |publisher=RapCanon |access-date=2026-08-13}}
```

Licensed CC-BY 4.0. Reuse it, including commercially, with attribution and a link back.
Canonical HTML: https://rapcanon.com/tools/royalty-coverage/songtrust-pro_perf/