Mechanical royalties:
As a songwriter/publisher, you are owed a royalty every time your composition is reproduced (on vinyl, tape, CD, MP3, etc), re-transmitted or re-broadcast. The mechanical royalty is generally equal to 9.1 cents per reproduced copy or 1.75 cents per minute for compositions over five minutes in length (regardless of whether those albums or singles are sold). This is true whether another artist is covering your song or if you’re recording them yourself.
Performance royalties:
As a songwriter/publisher, you are owed a royalty whenever your compositions are performed “in public.” This includes:
- Plays on terrestrial and satellite radio
- Usage on network and cable TV
- Plays on internet radio
- Online music streaming (Spotify, Tidal, iTunes, Pandora, etc.)
- Performance in live venues
Licenses for synchronization:
When a recording is used as the soundtrack for a TV show, film, commercial, video game, presentation, or YouTube video, a fee is owed to the songwriter, the publisher, AND the copyright owner of the master recording. In industry language, we say that a recording is “synced” with a moving image, thus the term sync licensing.
Licenses for sampling:
Both copyright holders (the owner of the master recording and the owner of the composition) are owed money when another artist uses a sample from one of your recorded songs.
Print rights for sheet music:
As the songwriter/publisher, you are paid whenever your composition is duplicated in print form, including sheet music, lead sheets, fake books, etc.
That said, it is noteworthy that there are multiple steps to ensuring that a composer is covered for royalty collection. One of the most vital steps is to affiliate themselves with their home collection societies which allow them to officially register their compositions for royalty collection.
Read Music Publishing (PART TWO): The Most Important Player In The Music Industry
