Bob,all you need do is list the songs that you play at a venue and give it to the venue owner,who is responsible for sending it to the PROs.You pay nothing to no one,if the writer(s) of some of the songs are not affiliated with a PRO,then they will receive nothing from the PROs.Just as if I don't buy lotto tickets I stand zero chance of winning.

The songwriter(s) will be paid out of the pool of money that is collected from the venue owners as a license fee.It cost them nothing more than the fee that they have already paid.

I have a friend that wrote several songs,gave them away to others who recorded them,got airplay on them,but the writer will not get royalties of any kind because he would not bother to register them with a PRO.
If he thinks so little of his songs or is too lazy to register them,then he doesn't deserve nor should he expect to get anything.

I don't claim to be an expert on this matter but this is my understanding of how it works.

The more you taste the bitterness of defeat, the sweeter final victory will be

May the flowers of love forever bloom in your garden of life

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