For indie playwrights & fringe theater companies

The stage belongs
to everyone.

FringeRights is the licensing platform that cuts out the middlemen — connecting indie playwrights directly to the companies that need their work, at a price that actually works.

Playwright-owned Fringe-friendly Fair royalties
The Problem

The licensing system is broken.

Community and indie theater companies are being priced out of quality productions. Major licensing houses charge thousands of dollars for a single amateur show — fees designed for Broadway, not for black-box companies running on bake-sale budgets.

Meanwhile, independent playwrights have no accessible way to get their work in front of those same companies. They fill out forms, wait months, and hand over a large cut to a middleman who was never mentioned.

$2,000–$5,000+ Typical cost to license one amateur show from MTI or Concord
1926 The last time the basic licensing model meaningfully changed

We built FringeRights to fix this. For good.

How it works

Three portals. One mission.

Playwright Portal

Submit your work, upload scripts and scores, set your pricing, and sign platform agreements. Track your catalog and pull works whenever you need to.

  • Direct royalty payouts via Stripe Connect
  • Admin review before public listing
  • No-obligation catalog, you control your work

Licensing Portal

Browse the catalog, request perusal copies, select your license tier, and execute agreements — all in one place.

  • Transparent, tiered pricing by venue size
  • Automatic revenue split between playwright and platform
  • Contract delivery and license tracking

Materials Portal

Time-limited, secure, no-download access to scripts and music tracks during your production run. Built for non-technical users on phones and tablets.

  • PDF.js browser rendering — no download required
  • Multi-user / cast access for your whole production
  • Auto-expires after final performance date

Pricing

Built for fringe budgets.

No licensing house has ever asked "what can a 99-seat theater actually afford?" We're asking it. Every day.

Perusal Copy

Free

Read the script before you commit to anything. Trust is earned, not assumed.

  • Full script access
  • Available on all catalog titles
  • No obligation to license
Most Popular

Standard License

From $150 / production

Tuned for community and indie theater — not Broadway. Actual math, not estimates.

  • Per-seat and performance-count tiers
  • Materials included for full run
  • Platform fee vs. royalty split disclosed upfront

Pro License

Custom

For high-volume theater companies and professional productions with specific needs.

  • Custom pricing based on venue and run
  • Dedicated account support
  • Volume discounts available

Playwrights receive the majority of every licensing fee. Transparent splits. No surprises.

Early interest

The community has been waiting for this.

"We spent $3,200 licensing one musical. For a 100-seat theater. That number would have been $350 on a platform like this."

— Community theater artistic director, Reddit r/Theatre

"I wrote a play four years ago. I have no idea how many productions it's had because MTI never told me. That's not a relationship — that's a wall."

— Playwright, The Dramatists Guild community

"Concord bought Samuel French and service got worse. Then they absorbed Broadway Licensing. At some point you're just feeding a monopoly."

— Theater company manager, AACT community forums

The fringe has always been where new voices live.

FringeRights exists to make sure those voices get heard — and paid fairly for it. No labyrinth. No gatekeepers. No $3,200 licensing fees for a 99-seat production.

The work deserves better. The artists deserve better. The audiences deserve better.

The stage is yours.