Guides

Music publishing in Ireland

How music publishing actually works in Ireland: who claims which rights, what the national copyright system does, and what it takes for a publisher to set up and collect.

Who claims which rights

Performance: IMRO. Mechanicals: MCPS Ireland. Sync: direct.

Copyright registration in Ireland

Automatic under Berne; no registry.

Setting up to claim publishing rights

IMRO membership parallels PRS and the societies work closely; UK-based representation usually covers Ireland in practice, and many publishers treat the two as one delivery.

The societies

IMRO — each linked page covers the society’s history and how registrations reach it.

Rules, fees, and society requirements change, and none of this is legal advice — confirm current requirements with the society or local counsel before committing. Registrations bound for Ireland can be checked free on the validator · more: setting up country by country · which societies accept CWR.

Check a CWR file free — errors and warnings tied to the exact line, nothing stored: cwrcheck.com.