How Do My Songs Make Money - United States

30/8/2020 How Do My Songs Make Money?
- United States
SYNC LICENSING (ONE TIME PAYMENTS)
When you a write a song, it has the potential to be streamed,

downloaded, printed, sampled, pressed, transmitted, re-transmitted,
broadcast, re-broadcast and performed live. Basically, your music can
be used in any which way possible, globally.
That’s a lot of revenue to track that requires a global infrastructure to

monitor.
One basic rule of thumb: the more people that hear your music, the
more money it makes and the harder it becomes to track.
With TuneCore Publishing Administration, we ensure your songs are
registered globally to make sure every single cent that is owed to you is
collected. To help you better understand how your music makes money,
here is a list of the different royalties and potential revenue sources for
ROYALTIES
your songs. EARNED BY YOUR SONGS
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30/8/2020 How Do My Songs Make Money? - United States
A mechanical royalty is paid every time your song is reproduced. Simply

put, every time your song is streamed on an interactive streaming
platform like Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube, downloaded as an mp3 in
a store like iTunes or Amazon, or sold on a physical product like a vinyl
record or CD, your song has been reproduced and is due a mechanical
royalty.
The mechanical royalty rate is a statutory rate set by the Copyright
Royalty Board.
For physical product and permanent digital downloads, it is

currently set at $0.091 (9.1 cents) per song, per unitfor songs 5
minutes of lesswith an additional 0.0175 cents for each additional
minute.
For ringtones it is 0.24 cents.
For interactive streaming the rate varies.
As an example, if a royalty is generated via stream on Spotify, the rate

will differ based on whether it came from a “Premium” or Ad based
subscription; or on Apple Music, the interactive streaming rate will differ
on whether it was done so from a student or family plan vs. an individual
plan.
This formula for payment is based on a percentage of the digital
services revenue less the performance royalty, (which is paid via a
songwriters performance rights organization). In the US the main
mechanical collection society is the Harry Fox Agency (HFA). Individual
writers are unable to join HFA direct and need to work with a publishing
administrator to register those songs with HFA in order to collect their
mechanical revenue.
Of course, TuneCore Publishing Administration can handle that for you.

Examples of mechanical royalty revenue sources are as follows:
SYNC LICENSING
Interactive (ONE
streaming (when TIME
someone PAYMENTS)
chooses to listen to your
song e.g. Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Tidal, Deezer etc.)
Digital Downloads (from iTunes, Amazon)
Physical product such as vinyl, CD’s and cassettes
Ringtones / ringbacks available from AT&T, T Mobile
Cover versions of your songs (when someone else records your
song)
Sample (when someone samples your song you take a piece of
ownership in the new song)
Karaoke (when someone makes a new recording of your song for
Karaoke purposes)
Greeting Cards
MECHANICAL ROYALTIES
On demand jukebox (such as TouchTunes)
Performance royalties are generated every time your song is performed

in public. The scope of public performance royalties is wide and varied.
Three main areas to cover radio, television and live.
They happen all the time – if you play a set at your local venue, or your
song is played on the radio, you hear your song in the background radio
on television or it’s on at the gym, the songwriter earns money. These
SYNC LICENSING
royalties are (ONE rights
collected by a performing TIME PAYMENTS)
organization (PRO) such
as BMI or ASCAP.
The PROs issue a blanket license to any entity who wishes to use their
songs. A blanket license grants the music user wishing to license music
the right to use any song from the catalogue of the associated PRO for
the duration of the license. The PRO then tracks the usage of the songs
and pays through the royalties due from the performance of those
songs.
There are 150 different PROs around the world, TuneCore Publishing
Administration works in tandem with your local PRO in order to maximize
the collection of performance royalties from the majority of these entities
worldwide. TuneCore Publishing Administration does this by registering
your songs directly with these PROs which results in much faster and
accurate payments of your international performance royalties.
Examples of performance royalty revenue sources are:
Interactive streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Tidal, Deezer

etc.)
Radio (AM/FM)
Internet radio (such as BBC, KEXP, KCRW)
Satellite radio/non-interactive streaming (such as Pandora, Sirius
XM)
TV (broadcast royalties paid by the broadcaster of a television
show, film of advertisement – not to be conflated with the
synchronization fee which is a one off license fee paid for the
synchronization of music to moving image)
Restaurants
Bars
Gyms
Live concert venues
Supermarkets
Retail outlets
SYNC
Small LICENSING
businesses (ONE TIME PAYMENTS)
Samples (when someone samples your song you take a piece of
PERFORMANCE ROYALTIES
ownership in the new song)
Print royalties are derived, as the name suggests, from the sale of
printed music materials. Lyrics, musical notation and music tablature all
constitute a print royalty. While companies like Hal Leonard or Alfred
Music Publishing create sheet music, or a company prints t-shirts with
lyrics on them, they are required to pay a print royalty.
There’s no government rate set worldwide, and the rate is typically a fee
for a specific period of time, and/or a percentage of the site’s gross
revenue from paid subscriptions or advertising. TuneCore Publishing
Administration has a team of experienced licensing professionals
working to maximise the value of your catalogue. Examples of print
royalties are as follows:
Physical and digital sheet music

Lyric reprints physical such as liner notes
Lyric reprints digital such as on Spotify or on MusixMatch/Instagram
PRINT
Guitar ROYALTIES
tablature
Sync refers to the synchronization of music with a moving image and

typically payment takes form in a one time fee which grants the licensee
the right to “sync” their compositionwith a moving image.
There is no set rate and determining what an appropriate amount is
takes form in a negotiation between the interested parties. There are
multiple variables to consider when negotiating a sync fee: the type of
media; how the music is being used (is it a theme, end credit,
background instrumental?); the length or portion of the music being
used; how integral the music is to the scene in which its being used; and
if the song also being used for marketing (i.e. in a trailer/promo as well
as the production).
TuneCore Publishing Administration has an experienced sync team who
are able to negotiate these deals on your behalf ensuring the value for
your songs is maximized. Sync deals can be negotiated for the
following:
TV shows
TV commercials
Films
Film trailers
TV promos
Video games
Mobile applications
DVD/Blu Ray
Note: Micro-Sync is an important revenue source derived from

platforms such as YouTube and Tik Tok. Essentially, it’s the same
concept as licensing for film/TV – the synchronization of music to a
moving image – but on a much larger scale. Micro-sync is specifically
referring to the mass use of music in User Generated Content. It is very
important to note that a micro-sync revenue on a platform such as
YouTube generates both mechanical and performance royalties.

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30/8/2020 How Do My Songs Make Money?

SYNC LICENSING (ONE TIME PAYMENTS)

When you a write a song, it has the potential to be streamed,

That’s a lot of revenue to track that requires a global infrastructure to

SYNC LICENSING (ONE TIME PAYMENTS)

A mechanical royalty is paid every time your song is reproduced. Simply

For physical product and permanent digital downloads, it is

As an example, if a royalty is generated via stream on Spotify, the rate

Of course, TuneCore Publishing Administration can handle that for you.

SYNC LICENSING (ONE TIME PAYMENTS)

Performance royalties are generated every time your song is performed

Examples of performance royalty revenue sources are:

Interactive streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Tidal, Deezer

Physical and digital sheet music

Sync refers to the synchronization of music with a moving image and

Note: Micro-Sync is an important revenue source derived from

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