💰How to Collect All Your Music Money

For Independent Artists, Producers & Label Owners

🎯 What You Need to Know First

When your music makes money, it pays out in two main categories:

💿 Royalties (Master Side)	📝 Publishing (Songwriting Side)
Based on the recording of your song	Based on the lyrics and composition
Paid to artists, producers, and labels	Paid to songwriters, composers, publishers

To collect everything you’re owed, you need to set up accounts on both sides.

💿 Royalties (Master Side)

The “master” refers to the original recorded version of a song—the final mix that gets uploaded to Spotify, Apple Music, or sent to radio. Whoever owns the master recording (usually the label or independent artist) controls how it’s distributed and licensed.

📌 If you’re independent, you own the master—and the royalties tied to it—unless you’ve signed it away in a contract.

🟩 Who gets paid:

• Artist (rapper/singer who performs)

• Producer (beatmaker or track producer)

• Label (or yourself, if you're indie)

  
  

🟧 How to collect royalties:

Type	What It Covers	What To Do
Streaming Royalties	Spotify, Apple Music, etc.	Sign up with a distributor (DistroKid, TuneCore, Amuse, UnitedMasters)
Sales Royalties	iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play,etc.	Distributor collects this too
SoundExchange	Non-interactive radio (Pandora, SiriusXM)	Create a free account at soundexchange.com
Producer Points	Backend % from master revenue	Artist must file a Letter of Direction (LOD) with SoundExchange or label

✅ If you don’t have a distributor yet, you aren’t getting paid from Spotify/Apple. Set that up first

📝 Publishing (Songwriting Side)

🟩 Who gets paid:

• Songwriters (anyone who wrote lyrics or melody)

• Producers (if they co-wrote the beat or instrumental)

• Publishers (often yourself unless assigned elsewhere)

  
  

🟧 How to collect publishing:

Type	What It Covers	What To Do
Performance Royalties	Radio, live shows, TV, clubs	Register with ASCAP or BMI (pick one)
Mechanical Royalties	Paid from digital and physical streams/sales	Register with The MLC (free at themlc.com)
Admin Publishing	Collects worldwide royalties + sync	Use Songtrust, Sentric, or TuneCore Publishing

Producer Publishing Rights

In most standard industry deals, producers are entitled to up to 50% of the songwriting (publishing) side, which is then split among all production collaborators. The other 50% typically goes to the top-liners (lyricists and melody writers). This means:

• If you’re the sole producer, you should receive 50% of the total songwriting split

• If there are multiple producers, that 50% is divided equally or based on contributions

• These splits must be agreed upon, documented (Split Sheet), and registered with your PRO and publisher/admin

  
  

✅ Many producers miss this publishing income simply by not registering properly.

📦 For Producers (Specific Notes)

• If you produced the track but didn’t perform vocals, you don’t get artist royalties unless you have a backend deal (points)

• You must get a Letter of Direction (LOD) from the artist to get paid from SoundExchange

• Register with ASCAP/BMI, The MLC, and an admin like Songtrust to claim your songwriting share

  
  

Full Setup: A-to-Z Checklist for New Creators

Step	Task	Where to Do It
1	Release your song to all platforms	DistroKid, Amuse, TuneCore, etc.
2	Register with a PRO	ASCAP.com or BMI.com
3	Register with The MLC	themlc.com
4	Set up admin publishing (optional but powerful)	Songtrust.com or Sentric
5	Register with SoundExchange as artist & rights owner	soundexchange.com
6	Have producer and artist agree on backend splits	Use a Split Sheet + LOD
7	Keep all metadata clean and consistent	Same titles, names, and splits everywhere

🧠 Final Notes

• No distributor? No income from Spotify, Apple, or TikTok.

• No PRO or MLC account? You’re missing your publishing money.

• No SoundExchange? You’re missing digital radio royalties.

• No LOD? Producers don’t get backend performance royalties.

• No Split Sheet? Your share of the song may not be honored.

  
  

Set this all up once—and you’ll collect every check your music earns for life.

🔗 Need Help?

DMG offers direct support to help you:

• Set up all your accounts

• Collect missing royalties

• Handle split sheets and publishing admin

  
  

👉 Tap into the DMG Creator Portal to schedule a royalty setup session or publishing audit.

Let me know if you'd like this designed as a PDF or one-sheet for onboarding artists, producers, or new label partners.