# Music royalties

Also known as: Royalties, Music royalty

> Music royalties are payments made to rights holders for the use of their music. Because every recorded song carries two copyrights, royalties flow in two streams: composition royalties — performance, mechanical, sync and print — paid to songwriters and publishers, and master royalties — sales, streams, master licensing and digital performance — paid to recording owners and performers.

Source: https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/music-royalties · Category: Royalties and collection · Last reviewed: 2026-10-02 · License: CC BY 4.0

## Key facts

- **Composition side:** Performance, mechanical, sync, print
- **Recording side:** Sales and streams, master use, digital performance, neighboring rights
- **Matched by:** [ISRC (recordings), ISWC (works)](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/isrc)
- **Reported in:** Distributor and society statements

## Two streams of income

Every royalty traces back to one of the two copyrights in a recorded song, each with its own exclusive rights.[1] Income for the **composition** goes to its writers and [publishers](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/music-publishing); income for the **recording** goes to the owner of the [master](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/master-recording) and, in some cases, its performers. The same stream on a streaming service therefore generates two separate payments, through two separate chains, often months apart.

## Types of royalty

| Royalty | Side | Triggered by | Typically collected by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Performance | Composition | Radio, TV, venues, streaming | [Performing rights organizations](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/performing-rights-organization) |
| Mechanical | Composition | Copies, downloads, interactive streams | Publishers; the [MLC](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/mechanical-licensing-collective) for US streaming |
| Sync | Composition and master | Use with moving images | Negotiated directly ([sync license](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/synchronization-license)) |
| Print | Composition | Sheet music and lyric reproduction | Publishers |
| Sales and streams | Master | Downloads, physical sales, streams | Distributors and labels |
| Digital performance | Master | US non-interactive digital radio | [SoundExchange](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/soundexchange) |
| Neighboring rights | Master | Broadcast and public performance abroad | [Neighboring rights](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/neighboring-rights) societies |

## Statements and matching

Each payer issues its own statement, in its own format, on its own schedule. A distributor reports streams by store, territory and [ISRC](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/isrc); a society reports performances by work and [ISWC](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/iswc). Reconciling them — matching every line to a recording or work, then dividing it by the [split sheet](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/split-sheet) — is the core of royalty accounting. Industry formats such as [DDEX](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/ddex) sales reports exist to make this less manual.

## In practice at SNVRKOTICS

SNVRKOTICS imports statements from every distributor, matches each line to its recording by ISRC, and produces a consolidated report as a workbook of live formulas, so every figure can be traced back to its statement line.

## Questions

### What are the main types of music royalties?

On the composition side: performance, mechanical, sync and print royalties. On the recording side: sales and streaming income, master licensing fees, digital performance royalties and neighboring rights.

### Why do I get paid twice for one stream?

A stream uses both the recording and the song. The recording's income reaches the master owner through a distributor or label; the song's income reaches writers and publishers through PROs, mechanical collectives and publishers.

### Why are my royalties late?

Each chain has its own reporting lag, and composition royalties usually pass through more hands. Missing or mismatched identifiers and unregistered works delay payment further.

## References

1. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. "17 U.S. Code § 106 — Exclusive rights in copyrighted works." https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/106

## Related

- [Performing rights organization](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/performing-rights-organization): A performing rights organization licenses the public performance of songs and pays the royalties to their songwriters and publishers.
- [Mechanical license](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/mechanical-license): A mechanical license permits the reproduction and distribution of a composition in recordings — physical copies, downloads and interactive streams.
- [SoundExchange](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/soundexchange): SoundExchange is the US nonprofit that collects and distributes digital performance royalties for sound recordings under the statutory license.
- [Neighboring rights](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/neighboring-rights): Neighboring rights pay performers and recording owners when sound recordings are broadcast or played in public, in countries that recognize them.
- [Split sheet](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/split-sheet): A split sheet is a signed record of who owns what percentage of a song or recording, agreed by every contributor and totaling 100%.
- [International Standard Recording Code](https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/isrc): The ISRC is a 12-character code, defined by ISO 3901, that identifies one specific sound recording or music video recording.

---
Cite as: "Music royalties." SNVRKOTICS Wiki, 2026-10-02. https://wiki.snvrkotics.com/music-royalties