For musicians, understanding how music royalties work is essential for turning their craft into a sustainable career. Whether you’re an independent artist or signed to a label, music royalties are one of your primary income streams. With the complexity of today’s digital music landscape, it’s essential to grasp the basics of royalties to ensure you’re getting paid for your work. Here’s what every artist needs to know about music royalties.
1. Types of Music Royalties
Music royalties come in several forms, with each type tied to different uses of your music. The four main types of royalties include:
- Mechanical Royalties: These royalties are generated whenever your music is reproduced, either through physical sales (such as CDs and vinyl), digital downloads, or streams on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Mechanical royalties ensure you get paid each time your music is sold or streamed.
- Performance Royalties: These royalties are collected whenever your music is played in public, whether on the radio, on TV, at a live performance, or even in public places like cafes and retail stores. Performance rights organizations (PROs) such as ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC collect these royalties on behalf of artists, songwriters, and publishers.
- Synchronization (Sync) Royalties: Sync royalties are earned when your music is licensed to be used in visual media, such as films, TV shows, video games, or commercials. Sync licensing deals often involve an upfront payment for usage rights and additional royalties when the media containing your music is broadcast or streamed.
- Print Royalties: You’ll earn print royalties if your compositions are printed and sold as sheet music. Though this revenue stream is smaller, it’s critical for songwriters and composers whose works are regularly arranged and performed by others.
2. Who Earns Music Royalties?
Depending on your role in creating and distributing a song, royalties are divided among several key players. Understanding how these splits work can help ensure you’re receiving your fair share.
- Songwriters and Composers: You’re entitled to mechanical and performance royalties if you write your songs. Songwriters earn mechanical royalties when their compositions are sold or streamed, and performance royalties when their works are publicly performed.
- Performing Artists: If you’re a song performer but didn’t contribute to the songwriting, you’ll still earn performance royalties and mechanical royalties for the sound recordings you’ve performed on.
- Publishers: Music publishers represent songwriters and help promote their work by licensing it for use in various media. Publishers typically take a cut of the songwriter’s royalties (often 50%) in exchange for their services, such as securing sync deals or ensuring proper royalty payments.
3. How Are Royalties Collected?
To make sure you get paid for your music, different organizations track, collect, and distribute royalties on your behalf.
- PROs (Performance Rights Organizations): These organizations, such as ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, monitor where your music is played and collect performance royalties from venues, radio stations, and digital streaming services.
- Mechanical Royalties: In the U.S., organizations like The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) collect and distribute mechanical royalties from digital platforms. Distributors such as TuneCore, CD Baby, and DistroKid also help independent artists collect mechanical royalties from sales and streaming.
- Sync Licensing: Sync royalties are often handled through licensing agencies or publishers that work with music supervisors who choose songs for films, TV shows, and ads. Sync deals can be lucrative because they often involve upfront fees and ongoing royalties.
4. Protecting Your Rights
To ensure you’re adequately compensated, it’s crucial to register your music with the necessary organizations. Songwriters and composers should sign up with a PRO like ASCAP or BMI to collect performance royalties. Similarly, if you expect mechanical royalties from streams or digital sales, register with organizations like the MLC. Registering your work ensures all possible revenue streams are accounted for and collected.
If you have a publisher, they will likely handle registration and collection for you. However, if you’re an independent artist, you must take these steps to ensure you don’t miss out on revenue.
Conclusion
Music royalties are a vital income stream for artists, songwriters, and performers. Understanding the different types of royalties and how they’re collected will help you maximize your earnings and protect your work. By registering your songs with the appropriate organizations and staying on top of royalty collection, you can make sure you get paid for the music you create.
Originally posted on http://ericgany.org/
