Two copyrights in every song
Every released song contains two separate copyrights, and each earns its own royalties:
| The recording (master) | The composition (song) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | One specific recorded performance | The melody and lyrics as written |
| Usually owned by | Whoever made or paid for the recording — the artist or the label | The songwriters, and their publisher if they have one |
| Identified by | ISRC | ISWC |
| Collected by | Distributor or label; neighbouring-rights societies | Collection societies; publisher or publishing administrator |
If you write and record your own songs, you own both sides and are owed both kinds of royalty. Many independent artists only ever collect the first.
Master royalties: paid for the recording
Streaming and download royalties
When a recording is streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music or any other service, or bought as a download, the service pays the owner of the recording. For independent artists that money goes to the distributor, which passes your share on. It is usually the biggest line on an independent artist's statement.
Services do not pay a fixed rate per stream. Most share out a pool of subscription and advertising money in proportion to listening. Rules differ by service: Spotify, for example, pays recording royalties only on tracks with at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months.
Neighbouring rights
When a recording is played on radio or TV, or in public — in shops, bars, gyms — the performers on it and the owner of the recording are owed neighbouring rights, also called related rights. These are collected by societies for performers and producers, such as PPL in the UK. In the United States, SoundExchange collects digital performance royalties for recordings from services such as Pandora and SiriusXM.
Performers can be owed these royalties even when they do not own the recording, which is why session musicians and featured artists should register too.
Content ID on YouTube
YouTube's Content ID pays the owner of a recording when it is used in other people's videos. It is a share of ad revenue rather than a royalty set by law, but for many artists it is steady income. See How much does YouTube pay for music?
Publishing royalties: paid for the composition
Whenever a song is streamed, broadcast, performed or copied, its writers are owed royalties for the composition as well. There are three main kinds.
Performance royalties
Paid when a song is performed in public: on radio and TV, in venues and shops, at concerts and, in many countries, when it is streamed. They are collected by the collection society in each country — PRS for Music in the UK, STIM in Sweden and SOKOJ in Serbia are three — and paid to the writers and publishers registered with it.
Mechanical royalties
Paid when a song is reproduced: on CD or vinyl, as a download, or as a stream. Who collects them depends on the country. In the United States, The MLC administers blanket mechanical licences for streaming and download services and pays songwriters and publishers; elsewhere it is often the same society that collects performance royalties.
Sync fees
Paid when music is put to picture — a film, a TV series, an advert, a game. A sync deal needs two licences: one from the owner of the composition and one from the owner of the recording. The fee is negotiated each time; there is no standard rate.
Who collects which royalty
| Royalty | Paid for | Collected by |
|---|---|---|
| Streaming and downloads | The recording | Your distributor or label |
| Content ID | The recording | Whoever registers your recordings in Content ID, often your distributor |
| Neighbouring rights | The recording (performers and owner) | Neighbouring-rights societies, such as PPL |
| Performance | The composition | Collection societies, such as PRS for Music, STIM or SOKOJ |
| Mechanical | The composition | Mechanical societies and collectives, such as The MLC in the US |
| Sync | Both | Publisher and label, or the owners directly |
A publisher or publishing administrator sits between songwriters and the societies. It registers songs with societies around the world, follows up on what they owe and pays the writers. A traditional publisher often takes a share of the songs' copyright as well; an administrator collects for you while you keep your copyrights.
ISRC and ISWC: the codes that route the money
Royalties follow codes. An ISRC identifies a recording. An ISWC identifies a musical work — the composition itself, not any recording of it — and looks like T-034.524.680-1. A cover version has a new ISRC but the same ISWC as the original song.
An ISWC is issued when a song is registered, normally through a collection society or a publisher. A song with no ISWC has usually never been registered, and its publishing royalties are not reaching its writers.
How TempoDigital collects for you
- Distribution collects your streaming and download royalties from every store we deliver to. You keep 100% on the Artist ($29.99 a year) and Label ($149 a year) plans, and 90% on the Release plan ($8.99 per release). See pricing.
- YouTube Content ID is included on every plan and pays you 80% of what your recordings earn in other people's videos. Content ID for music.
- Publishing administration registers your songs with more than 50 collection societies and pay sources across 215 territories, and collects performance, mechanical, digital and sync income. You keep your rights. Publishing administration.
All of it lands in one USD wallet with a monthly statement, and royalty splits pay each collaborator their share directly.
Royalties artists most often miss
- Publishing royalties on self-written songs that were never registered
- Neighbouring rights for radio and TV plays, especially abroad
- Content ID earnings on recordings used in other people's videos
- Shares lost to disputes because co-writers never agreed a split in writing
- Stream history lost when a re-release was given new ISRCs