Royalties are the lifeblood of music publishing. They’re what you get paid for when someone uses your song in their project—like a movie, TV show, or commercial. But there’s more than one type of royalty involved in music publishing, and each one is based on the use of your music. In this post we’ll go over three types of royalties you should know about:
Mechanical royalties are paid to songwriters and music publishers when their songs are recorded and sold on a CD, vinyl record, or digital download. Mechanical royalties are shared with the artist who performed the song (if applicable), as well as record companies who invest in producing and distributing it.
Songwriter royalties are paid when you write your own music, while publisher royalties go to whoever owns the publishing company that controls your work (often your manager).
Performance royalties are paid to songwriters and publishers when their songs are played on the radio, in restaurants, bars, or other public places.
Performance royalties are collected by ASCAP (American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers) BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.) SESAC (Society Of European Stage Authors & Composers) SoundExchange.
Synchronization (or “blanket”) licenses are a type of music publishing royalty that allows an artist to be paid for their songs being used in the film, television shows, and commercials.
A synchronization license is typically bought by a music supervisor who works for the producer of a movie or TV show. They’ll listen to several songs before deciding which ones fit best with their project’s storyline and theme. When they select one song from an artist’s catalog and decide to use it in their project, they contact that artist’s publisher requesting permission to use their song(s) under license terms agreed upon beforehand by both parties (the publisher and artist).
Understanding the different types of royalties in music publishing is key to getting paid.
Royalty is the money or percent of the amount being earned from a published work, that is allotted to the publisher once a sale is made. The percentages will vary based upon several different factors, but suffice it to say, they are a very good way of making additional income, provided that you have established rights to your music through publishing.
I hope that in reading this article you have gained a better understanding of the many different types of royalties involved with music publishing. This is just a basic explanation but they are quite complex, and many things can occur when you are talking about publishing. I urge any individual who is considering entering the world of music publishing to seek out more information before doing any deals with publishers because it could cost you thousands later on down the road. Have fun writing your songs, and remember these important points!