Definition
PRO
Also known as: Performance Rights Organization
An organization that licenses public-performance rights on behalf of songwriters and publishers, then collects and distributes the resulting royalties.
PROs (Performance Rights Organizations) handle the composition side of public-performance income: a venue playing your song, a radio station spinning it, a restaurant on hold-music duty.
Major PROs: ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR (US); PRS for Music (UK); SOCAN (Canada); GEMA (Germany); SACEM (France); JASRAC (Japan).
Every songwriter affiliates with exactly one PRO. The PRO licenses bulk-use to broadcasters and businesses, samples what gets played, and distributes royalties based on those samples.
PROs handle composition public performance. The MLC handles composition mechanicals. SoundExchange handles master neighboring rights for digital radio. Three different pipes, three different registrations.