I got a letter from GMR. Now what?

If a GMR envelope just landed on your desk, take a breath. Most bar owners have never heard of GMR until the letter arrives, which makes it feel like a scam. It is not. GMR is real, the catalog is real, and ignoring it is the wrong move — but you also should not sign their first quote.

Here is the actual playbook: who GMR is, why they exist, and the calmest way to respond without overpaying.

First, who GMR is

GMR stands for Global Music Rights. Founded in 2013 by music executive Irving Azoff, they are the newest and smallest of the four US Performing Rights Organizations. GMR represents about 100 songwriters, but the catalog is unusually high-profile — Drake, Bruno Mars, John Lennon, Pearl Jam, Smokey Robinson, the Eagles, Pharrell Williams, Steely Dan, and dozens more.

Because GMR was founded after the ASCAP and BMI antitrust consent decrees were already in place, GMR is not bound by them. There is no public rate card and no rate court setting their fees. Every GMR license rate is negotiated case by case, similar to SESAC.

What GMR can legally do

• •Sue you in federal court for copyright infringement. Statutory damages run $750 to $30,000 per song, up to $150,000 per song for willful infringement, plus attorney fees. GMR has been an active litigant since their founding.
• •Document your music use through field reps and third-party monitoring services.
• •Quote you a custom rate with no obligation to match a published schedule, because there is none.

What GMR cannot do

• •They cannot have you arrested. Copyright infringement of this type is civil, not criminal.
• •They cannot enforce a quote you never signed. The first letter is a licensing offer, not an invoice you legally owe.
• •They cannot block you from comparing their quote against ASCAP, BMI and SESAC numbers for context.

The actual playbook

1. Do not ignore it. GMR has the smallest catalog but they litigate aggressively. Silence is the worst response.
2. Do not accept the first quote. Without a published rate sheet, the opening number is whatever GMR thinks you will pay. Push back.
3. Verify your venue data. Capacity, hours, music type, cover charge. GMR usually starts from rough assumptions; correcting them often lowers the quote.
4. Compare against your other three PROs. Your ASCAP, BMI and SESAC numbers are a reasonable yardstick for what GMR should be charging given how small their catalog is relative to the others.
5. Solve all four PROs at once. Fixing only GMR leaves you exposed to ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. The cheap end-state is a single agreement covering all four.
6. Get a lawyer involved only if the letter cites a specific infringement date, demands a specific lump sum, or threatens imminent suit.

That fifth point is what we do. We negotiate GMR alongside the other three PROs and roll everything into a single monthly payment, so the negotiation only has to happen once and you do not get a surprise renewal letter every spring. If you want to see what your full PRO bill should look like before you respond to GMR, run a free quote and you will see all four side by side in about two minutes.

Why GMR feels especially confusing

GMR is the youngest PRO and the most opaque. Their letters often arrive after ASCAP and BMI have already licensed a venue, which makes owners feel like they are being double-charged. They are not — GMR represents different songwriters — but the experience of getting a fourth bill from a fourth organization you have never heard of is genuinely rough.

The system is fragmented by design, not by accident. PROs are legitimate copyright enforcement entities. The way they reach small venues just feels like an ambush because there is no unified front door for compliance. That is the problem we built this company to fix.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Consult an attorney for specifics about your letter.