How to Collect All the Music Royalties You're Owed

Learn how to make sure you're collecting all the music royalties you're owed, including performance, mechanical, sync, and print royalties, as well as how to audit your music catalog for missing income.

How to Collect Performance Royalties

If you wrote a song or own a publishing share, you earn a performance royalty every time it plays in public. This includes radio, streaming services, TV, and businesses such as bars, restaurants, coffee shops, malls, and gyms.

To collect performance royalties, you have to sign up with a Performing Rights Organization (PRO). These organizations collect licensing fees from businesses for the right to play the songs they represent.

Businesses usually get separate licenses for each PRO, as popular playlists include songs represented by different organizations. The PROs then distribute those fees to the songwriters and publishers whose songs were played.

To collect all the performance royalties you’re entitled to, you may need to register with more than one organization:

If you wrote or co-wrote the song: Join a PRO and register your songs. In the U.S., you can choose ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, or GMR. ASCAP and BMI are open to anyone, while SESAC and GMR are invite-only. You can only belong to one at a time.
If you own the publishing: Register as a publisher with your PRO to collect the publisher’s share in addition to your writer’s share.
If you performed on the recording or own the master: Register with SoundExchange to collect digital performance royalties from services like SiriusXM and Pandora.

Additionally, if your music is being played outside the U.S., your PRO will collect those royalties through agreements with international societies, such as PRS in the UK and SOCAN in Canada. Your PRO will then pay you in accordance with its distribution schedule.

How to Collect Mechanical Royalties

Mechanical royalties are owed to songwriters and their publishers whenever a song is streamed or downloaded on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and similar platforms.

To collect mechanical royalties, you (or your publishing administrator) have to sign up with the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC). It’s the only organization designated under U.S. copyright law that can collect and pay digital mechanical royalties to songwriters and publishers.

The collection process varies slightly depending on whether you're a publishing administrator or self-published.

If you’re self-published:

Look up your songs in the MLC's public database: If a co-writer or publisher already registered the songs, they will show up in the search. However, you can only receive your payments by creating an account and claiming your share.
Sign up with the MLC for free: You’ll need to verify your identity, add tax information, and set up your payment details.
Claim any registered songs or add new ones with complete metadata: For songs already in the database, use the Claiming Tool to connect your account to your share. For new songs, include the title and any alternate titles, every writer and their splits, your publisher information, and the ISRC codes of the recordings. The MLC uses this data to match streams to your songs. There are three ways to register your works.
Search for any unmatched royalties: If your music was streamed before you registered, these royalties may be sitting in the MLC's unmatched pool. You can claim them using its free Matching Tool after registering your songs.

If you have a publishing administrator:

Your administrator typically handles MLC registration and collection, so you should already be receiving your mechanical royalty payments.
Search the MLC's free public database to confirm your songs are registered. Let your administrator know if any metadata is missing or incomplete. Don’t register the songs again, as this can freeze your payments.
You can also use the MLC's free Songwriter Hub to export your catalog and submit corrections to the MLC.

How to Collect Synchronization Royalties

Synchronization royalties are payments made to songwriters and rights holders when a song gets 'synced' to picture, such as a movie, video game, TV show, or commercial.

Unlike performance and mechanical royalties, there's no ongoing payment called a 'sync royalty.' Instead, you get paid an upfront fee for the placement, then earn performance royalties every time the content airs.

To collect your ongoing performance royalties from a sync placement, follow these steps:

Sign up with the PRO of your choice if you haven’t already. BMI and ASCAP are free to join as a songwriter or composer (you can only belong to one at a time). However, if you need to set up a publishing entity, BMI charges a one-time fee starting around $150-$175. ASCAP is free for publishers if you join as a writer and publisher at the same time, or $50 for publisher-only accounts.
Make sure your song is registered before the content airs. Productions submit “cue sheets” to PROs that list every song used. This is how the PRO matches the song and pays you.

Note: If the song is already registered with a PRO, you're covered. Don't create a separate registration because it was used in a sync placement.

How to Collect Print Royalties

Print royalties are payments made to songwriters and rights holders when sheet music, songbooks, or other printed versions of a song are sold or licensed.

Unlike performance and mechanical royalties, print royalties are generally collected through a music publisher or licensing agreement, not a PRO.

To collect your print royalties, follow these steps:

Make sure you own or control the publishing rights to the song. You can only collect print royalties if you own the copyright or have the appropriate publishing rights.
Register your song with a publisher or publishing administrator that collects print royalties. If you're self-published, you may need to license your music directly to companies that print or distribute it.
Make sure your publishing agreement covers print royalties. The agreement should specify how print royalties are collected, what percentage you receive, and when you’ll get paid.
Track where your music is printed or sold. Search platforms like Musicnotes and Sheet Music Plus for your songs, and check your royalty statements for a print royalty line. If your song is for sale but the income never appears on a statement, reach out to your publisher.

What Uncollected Royalties Can Cost You

At Royalty Exchange, we've seen it all: missing MLC claims, unregistered splits, and inconsistent metadata.

So what does this mean for you? Money you could be leaving on the table today and a catalog that may be worth less in the future. If you ever want to sell part of your royalties or get an advance, buyers look at your catalog’s earning history. Buyers can’t see royalty income you haven’t collected, so it won’t count toward your catalog’s value until you claim it.

How to Audit Your Music Catalog

To make sure you’re collecting all your royalties, we recommend auditing your music catalog. This process involves reviewing your songs, copyrights, ownership, registrations, agreements, and royalty history. Whether you’re preparing to sell your catalog or just want to make sure everything is in order, it helps to think about your catalog the way a buyer would.

Start with ownership. Check your split sheets, contracts, and copyright records. Then:

Make sure all your songs are registered with the royalty organizations that apply to you, such as a PRO, the MLC, and/or SoundExchange. If your music earns royalties overseas, confirm that your administrator is collecting them.
Make sure your information matches everywhere you're registered. Mismatched metadata is one of the most common reasons why royalties go unmatched.
Confirm your song registrations list the correct writers, publishers, and ownership percentages.
Review your publishing agreements. Make sure you know who controls and collects your rights.
Review your royalty statements. Make sure your songs are generating the income you expect and that the splits look right.
Flag any ownership disputes or missing paperwork. These can create problems if you plan to sell your catalog later or receive an advance.

What to Do With Your Royalty Income Once It's Flowing

Once your royalties are flowing, you get to decide what to do with that income. For example, you can hold onto it, reinvest it into your career, or turn some of your future royalties into upfront cash.

If you want to explore the last option, Royalty Exchange lets creators sell a portion of their royalty income on a marketplace where qualified buyers make offers. You choose what royalties to sell, without losing ownership of your songs. You also have full control over the process, meaning the deal won’t close without your approval.

To put how this works into perspective: a songwriter listed their songwriter royalties from two Chris Brown songs, "Under The Influence" and "Lower Body," on our marketplace. After four offers, the seller accepted $233,001 upfront, and the buyer collects those royalties until they receive a fixed amount of $292,200. The seller kept ownership of the copyrights, all their other royalty income, and the option to repay the remaining balance early at any time. You can browse more past deals on our marketplace to see what other catalogs have sold for.

And if you're curious what your music catalog could be worth, start with a free valuation.