If you're not sure how to get your music on the most popular streaming platforms, or if you're unsure how to collect royalties (i.e., get paid) for your streams, here are a few essential steps you'll want to take:
COPYRIGHTS
Before putting your music out there, you’ll want to protect it in the unlikely event that someone plagiarizes it. You can do this by securing copyrights for your work with The United States Copyright Office, which is a part of the Library of Congress.
You’re going to need two kinds of copyrights: the Form PA, for the composition (i.e., the music and lyrics), and the Form SR, for the recording. If you’re claiming both, you can use the SR form to register both copyrights.
DISTRIBUTORS
To get your music on the most popular streaming platforms (and gain easy access to music licensing opportunities), you’ll want to use a distributor like CD Baby, DistroKid, or Tunecore. These services will also collect specific types of royalties for you automatically and pay you out accordingly. In some cases––for an additional fee––they’ll collect all the royalties you’re due by registering your music with additional royalty collection organizations. Or, you could avoid these extra costs and register with them yourself. Continue reading to learn about the convoluted world of publishing and royalty collection.
PUBLISHING To collect all the royalties your music earns, you’ll need to join a performing rights organization (or PRO). A PRO collects royalties whenever a song is performed, which includes when a recording of your song is played at a restaurant, bar, grocery store, sporting arena, etc. The two most popular PROs are ASCAP and BMI. After you join, you’ll register your songs with your chosen PRO. Like your copyright, you’ll register the composition and recording. But you’ll have to take additional steps to collect all your royalties. When your music is streamed in the United States, your distributor will collect the royalties for the recording and pay you accordingly. But you’ll need to sign up with an organization like The Mechanical Licensing Collective to receive “mechanical” royalties for the composition. Similarly, when your music is played on “non- interactive” services (e.g., services where you are not actively choosing the song you listen to), a “digital performance” royalty will be generated. To collect these royalties, register with an organization like SoundExchange.
In short, copyright your songs and register them with a PRO like ASCAP or BMI before distributing them. You can then pay an additional fee to have your distributor collect all remaining royalties. Or, you could avoid the additional costs and register your songs with the other royalty collection organizations yourself.
(This blog post is excerpted from my guide, 7 Steps For Making Your Release Successful.)
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