ACEMLA (Asociación de Compositores y Editores de la Música Latinoamericana)

ACEMLA (Asociación de Compositores y Editores de la Música Latinoamericana) is a performing rights organization that licenses and collects royalties for Latin American music compositions. Based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, ACEMLA operates as the fourth PRO in the United States alongside ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, representing the Latin American Music Co. (LAMCO) catalog and affiliated publishers.

How ACEMLA Works

ACEMLA controls and licenses the non-exclusive performance rights of Latin American Music Co., Inc. (LAMCO) and other affiliated Latin American music publishers. The organization issues blanket licenses to businesses that play music publicly, including radio stations, restaurants, retail stores, and venues. License fees are collected and distributed to affiliated composers and publishers based on logged usage data.

Unlike most PROs, ACEMLA operates through its own publishing entity (LAMCO) rather than acting solely as a collection society. This means royalties flow directly to composers without passing through third-party publishers. The organization tracks public performances across radio, television, streaming platforms, and live venues to determine royalty distributions.

ACEMLA won a landmark federal court case in 1985 against the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, securing its status as the fourth recognized performing rights society in the United States. The organization is listed as member number 76 in the CISAC world directory.

Real-World Example

A salsa radio station in Miami plays 200 songs per day from the LAMCO catalog. Without an ACEMLA license, that station is infringing on the performance rights of those compositions. ACEMLA issues a blanket license (typically an annual fee based on the station's revenue) that covers all public performances of its catalog. The collected fees are then distributed to the composers and publishers whose works were actually played, based on airplay logs and monitoring data.

If a composer has 50 songs in the ACEMLA catalog and those songs receive 1,000 logged performances across licensed stations in a given quarter, that composer receives a proportional share of the quarterly royalty pool. ACEMLA's direct-to-composer model means the payment arrives without publisher deductions.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

If you write or compose Latin American music (salsa, merengue, bolero, bachata, cumbia, or related genres) and your works are performed on radio, in venues, or on streaming platforms in the United States or Puerto Rico, ACEMLA can collect performance royalties you would otherwise never receive.

Registering with ACEMLA is particularly relevant if your music is not adequately represented by ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. Many Latin American composers find that the larger US PROs do not track Latin music airplay with the same accuracy. ACEMLA specifically monitors Spanish-language radio and Latin music venues, which means more accurate royalty collection for that repertoire.

You can only belong to one PRO at a time for the same catalog of works. If your music is primarily Latin American and performed in US and Puerto Rican markets, ACEMLA may collect more accurately than the larger societies. Compare their distribution reports and licensing reach before deciding.

Related Resources

• Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) - What a PRO is and how it functions
• Performance Royalties - How performance royalties are generated and collected
• Blanket License - The licensing model used by PROs including ACEMLA
• Collective Management Organization (CMO) - How collective rights management works globally
• Copyright - The legal foundation for performance rights
• ACEMLA Official Website - Visit ACEMLA to learn about membership and licensing
• Use our Streaming Royalty Calculator to estimate your digital performance earnings