Songwriting royalties

As a songwriter, you are entitled to certain royalty payments when your music is played or used for any other purpose. The royalty process can get a bit complicated; here’s an overview of how it works.

Songwriter royalties are licensed, tracked and collected by the publishing company.

Here’s a scenario that’s every songwriter’s dream: you spend a lot of hours writing a song, record a demo, send it to an established music publisher, and they love it.

The publisher signs you to an agreement and sets out to get the song recorded by a major artist. The song is recorded and released, reaching #9 on the charts.

How do you get paid?

Songwriter royalties are licensed, tracked and collected by the publishing company. The general cut of royalties is generally 50-50 between writer and publisher. Here are the principal sources of royalty income:

• Mechanical royalties are royalties received from record sales, including both the original recording and any subsequent releases by other artists. The mechanical license rate changes periodically.
• Performance royalties: whenever your song is performed in public, be it on radio, TV, a nightclub or even a ringtone, you are entitled to payment. The performing rights societies, BMI, ASCAP and SESAC, negotiate and collect these payments.
• Print royalties are collected for each unit of sheet music sold.
• Synchronization royalties are payments received when your music is used or “synched” with any kind of visual image: TV shows or commercials, films, videos, etc.
• Grand rights are collected when a song is used in a Broadway play or other type of theater production.
• Foreign royalties are payments received from licensing in foreign countries.

It should be noted…

The procedure of collecting song royalties is subject to negotiation in almost all stages. The exact rates and writer’s share are often dependent upon the demand for and popularity of the song.