Songwriters are compensated for their work through various income streams, not a single paycheck. These payments, known as royalties, are generated whenever the song they created is used in specific ways. Understanding the journey from a song’s creation to a songwriter’s bank account involves grasping copyright concepts and the roles of various organizations that track and collect these earnings.
The Two Copyrights in Music
Every professionally released song carries two distinct copyrights. The first is the composition copyright, which protects the song’s core elements: the melody and the lyrics. This copyright belongs to the songwriter or their publisher. Think of the composition as the blueprint for a song; it’s the core structure that exists regardless of who performs it.
The second copyright is for the master recording, which is the specific recorded version of that song. This copyright is typically owned by the artist who performed the song, their record label, or whoever financed the recording session. Using the recipe analogy, the master recording is the finished cake baked from that recipe. A songwriter’s income is directly tied to the use of the composition copyright they own.
The Main Revenue Stream: Songwriting Royalties
A royalty is a payment made to the owner of a copyright for the right to use their work. For songwriters, this is the primary way they earn a long-term income. The payments are categorized based on how the song is used.
Performance Royalties
Performance royalties are generated whenever a song is performed publicly. This includes a wide array of scenarios, such as when a song is played on terrestrial or satellite radio, broadcast on a television show, or used in a commercial. It also applies to live performances in venues like concert halls and bars, and when a song is streamed on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
Mechanical Royalties
Mechanical royalties are earned from the reproduction of a song. Historically, this meant the manufacturing of physical products like vinyl records, CDs, or cassette tapes. For every copy made and distributed, a set royalty fee was due to the songwriter. In the current music landscape, this definition has expanded to include digital reproductions. This means mechanical royalties are also generated from permanent digital downloads and interactive streams on music services.
Synchronization Royalties
Synchronization royalties, often called “sync” fees, are payments made to license a song for use in visual media. This involves “syncing” the musical composition with video, such as in a movie, television show, advertisement, or video game. Unlike performance royalties that pay per play, a sync fee is typically a one-time, upfront payment negotiated in the open market. The fee can vary dramatically based on the song’s popularity and the project’s budget. This fee is generally split, with half going to the owners of the composition and the other half to the owner of the master recording.
Print Royalties
A less common but still relevant income stream comes from print royalties. These are generated from the sale of printed sheet music that contains a song’s composition. This includes physical songbooks and digital sheet music sold online.
Understanding Co-Writing and Song Splits
Many songs are not written by a single person but by a team of co-writers. When this happens, the ownership of the composition copyright must be divided among all contributors. This division is formalized in a document known as a “split sheet,” which details the percentage of the song each writer owns.
This agreement dictates how all future royalty payments for that song will be distributed. For example, if two writers agree to a 50/50 split, they will each receive half of the songwriter’s share of all royalties. Finalizing these splits when the song is created is standard practice to prevent future disagreements.
Who Collects Your Royalties
It would be impossible for an individual songwriter to track every radio spin, stream, or public performance of their music across the globe. For this reason, a network of organizations exists to handle the complex task of royalty collection and distribution.
Performance Rights Organizations (PROs), such as ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC in the United States, are responsible for collecting performance royalties. Songwriters and publishers affiliate with a PRO, which then licenses their catalog of songs to thousands of music users, collects the fees, and pays the respective shares to its members. In the U.S., The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) was established to collect mechanical royalties from digital streaming services and pay them to songwriters and publishers.
Music publishers play a more comprehensive role. A publisher can administer all types of royalties, pitch songs for sync placements, and handle legal and business affairs for a songwriter. In exchange for these services, a publisher takes a percentage of the royalties collected, known as the “publisher’s share.” Songwriters can sign with a publishing company or act as their own publisher to retain their full share.
Other Songwriter Income Streams
While royalties form the basis of a songwriter’s long-term earnings, other payment structures exist. One common form is an advance. When a songwriter signs a deal with a music publisher, they may receive an upfront payment, which is an advance against their future royalty earnings. This advance is “recoupable,” meaning the publisher will keep the songwriter’s share of royalties until the initial amount has been paid back.
Another method is a “work-for-hire” agreement. In this scenario, a songwriter is paid a one-time flat fee to create a song for a specific project, like a film score or a commercial jingle. By accepting this fee, the songwriter typically relinquishes ownership of the copyright and any claim to future royalties for that particular piece of music.