Every time a song is played on the radio, streamed or played in a restaurant, royalties are generated. They only reach you if the song and the recording are registered.
Two kinds of rights
- The song – melody and lyrics – belongs to the songwriters. The royalties are collected by a collecting society (often called a PRO): for example PRS for Music (UK), ASCAP or BMI (US), GEMA (Germany), SACEM (France), SOCAN (Canada), APRA AMCOS (Australia) or STIM (Sweden). Find yours through CISAC, which brings together more than 230 societies in over 120 countries.
- The recording belongs to those who recorded it. Musicians are paid through a performers' society: for example PPL (UK), GVL (Germany), SoundExchange (US, for digital radio) or SAMI (Sweden). Find one through SCAPR, which brings together performers' societies in around fifty countries.
The societies cooperate across borders, so royalties from other countries can reach you through your own society.
Splits – who wrote what?
Agree on the split before the song is released, in writing. Who wrote the melody, who wrote the lyrics, and how is it divided? It's much harder to sort out afterwards – especially when the songwriters live in different countries.
ISRC and metadata
Every recording gets a unique ISRC code, usually through your distributor. Make sure names, song titles and contributors are spelled the same everywhere – wrong metadata is a common reason royalties never arrive.
When you sign agreements
Read the terms on rights extra carefully, and have someone review the agreement – the musicians' union in your country or a music lawyer.
Do it now: Register your next song with your collecting society and the recording with your performers' society before release. The campaign plan has a step for it.
General advice. Check current terms with the societies. Sources: CISAC, SCAPR.