Main  Pressing plants  Pennyroyal Tea  Test pressings  Collection

Identifying country of release/ Performing rights organizations
Performing rights organizations collects license fees on behalf of its songwriters, composers and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed; composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers. Three main types of liscenses are issued: Mechanical liscenses for record companies to release albums and singles; performance liscenses for whenever the songs are performed live or played on radio and TV or heard in hotels, bars, theatres, etc.; synchronization liscenses for music for use in film, television, advertising and multimedia. These organizations are non-profit. Each country generally has at least one such organization, though sometimes there may be more. Sometimes one organization does not cover all the various liscenses. In UK, MCPS issue liscenses for recorded music (CD, DVD, radio, TV, etc.), while PRS issue liscenses for public performance. (These two companies formed MCPS-PRS Alliance in 1997, but they still take care of their respective areas.) There are also organizations which cover larger regions, like Europe or Scandinavia. These international organizations represent the national organizations. While matrix and IFPI codes help us to determine where an item was manufactured, it gives little insight about where it was released. This can be found out by finding the performing rights organization(s) which issued the liscense to release the music, which is written on the disc and/ or back insert. Below is a list of several such organizations. (As I have not researched the respective areas of each organization, some of these may not offer liscenses for recorded media (mechanical), so you may never find them on a disc. Not all releases mention the performing rights organization, maybe because it's not as strict in all countries. For example, you have to include them in France, Italy and Spain, but on many UK releases, they aren't.)  Performing rights organizations ACAM - Costa Rica ACDAM - Cuba ACUM - Israel AEPI - Greece AGADU - Uruguay AKKA/LAA - Latvia AKM - Austria ALBAUTOR - Albania AMCOS (APRA|AMCOS) - Australasia (Australia, New Zealand) APA - Paraguay APDASPAC - Peru APDAYC - Peru APRA (APRA|AMCOS) - Australia, New Zealand (Australasia) ARTISJUS - Hungary ASCAP - USA Austro Mechana - Austria BBDA - Burkina Faso BCDA - Congo BGDA - Guinea BIEM - Worldwide BMDA - Morocco BMI - USA BNDL - Niger BSACP - Bulgaria BSDA - Senegal BUBEDRA - Benin BUCADA - Central African Republic BUMA (BUMA/STEMRA) - The Netherlands BUMDA - Mali BURIDA - Ivory Coast BUTODRA - Togo CASH - Hong Kong CEDAR - Netherlands CISAC - Worldwide CMRRA - Canada COMPASS - Singapore COSCAP - Barbados COTT - Trinidad & Tobago EAU - Estonia FCA - Fiji FILSCAP - Philippines GEMA - Germany GESAC - Europe GESAP - Georgia GRAMO - Norway GVL - Germany HDS - Croatia HFA (Harry Fox Agency) - USA IMRO - Ireland IPRS - India JACAP - Jamaica JASRAC - Japan KCI - Indonesia KODA - Denmark KOMCA - Korea LATGA-A - Lithuania MACP - Malaysia MCPS (MCPS-PRS) - UK and The British Commonwealth (excluding Australasia, Canada, the Gambia, Botswana, Lasotho and Swaziland), Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia MCPS Ireland - Ireland MCSC - China MCSK - Kenya MCSN - Nigeria MESAM - Turkey MUSICAUTOR/BSACP - Bulgaria MUST - Taiwan NCB - Scandinavia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Faroe Islands OMDA - Madagascar OSA - Czech Republic PAMRA - UK PPL - UK PRS (MCPS-PRS) - UK RAO - Russia SABAM - Belgium SACEM - France and its overseas departments (Guadeloupe, Guyane, Martinique, Reunion), Polynesia, Wallis & Futuna, New Caledonia, Mayotte, Saint-Pierre & Miquelon, French Austral and Antartic territories, Luxemburg, Monaco, Andorra, Lebanon, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Togo SACEM Luxembourg - Luxembourg SACM - Mexico SACERAU - Egypt SACVEN - Venezuela SADAIC - Argentina SAMI - Sweden SAMRO - South Africa SARRAL - South Africa SAYCO - Colombia SAZAS - Slovenia SBACEM - Brazil SCD - Chile SDRM - same as SACEM SENA - Netherlands SESAC - USA SGA - Guinea-Bissau SGAE - Spain SIAE - Italy, San Marino, The Vatican SOCAN - Canada SODRAC - Canada SOKOJ - Serbia, Montenegro (former Yugoslavia) SOZA - Slovak Republic SPA - Portugal, Madeira, Azores STEF - Iceland STEMRA (BUMA/STEMRA) - The Netherlands STIM - Sweden SUISA - Switzerland, Liechtenstein TAAF - French Austral and Antartic territories TEOSTO - Finland TONO - Norway UACRR - Ukraine UCMR-ADA - Romania UBC - Brazil ZAIKS - Poland
Thanks to BIEM.

Main  Pressing plants  Pennyroyal Tea  Test pressings  Collection