The ToolkitGet paid for your songs
Royalty collection map
Every track is two copyrights, the song and the recording, each collected by different organizations. Here's who collects each royalty and how to sign up. Mark what's set up.
Royalty collection map
The song The composition: words and music. Owned by the songwriters and their publishers.
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Performance royalties, writer's shareWhen the song is played in public: streaming, radio, TV, venues.
- Collected by
- Your PRO (performing rights organization): ASCAP, BMI, SESAC or GMR. SESAC and GMR take writers by invitation, so most independent writers start with ASCAP or BMI.
- How to set it up
- Join one PRO as a writer and register every song, released or not, using the shares on your split sheet.
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Performance royalties, publisher's shareThe other half of the same performance money.
- Collected by
- Your PRO, paid to the song's publisher.
- How to set it up
- No publisher? Ask your PRO how they pay this share. BMI pays it to the writer when no publisher is listed. Some writers set up their own publishing company so they can collect it directly.
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Mechanical royaltiesPaid when the song is reproduced, which in the US includes on-demand streams and downloads.
- Collected by
- The MLC (the Mechanical Licensing Collective) for US streaming, or your publisher or publishing administrator.
- How to set it up
- No publisher or admin? Join The MLC as a self-administered songwriter (opens in a new tab) and register every song. Membership is free.
The recording The master. Usually owned by whoever paid for it, when the paperwork says so.
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Master royaltiesStreams and downloads of your recording.
- Collected by
- Your distributor, which delivers the music to streaming services and stores and pays you.
- How to set it up
- Open a distributor account, add your releases and payout details, and set splits for anyone who shares the master.
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Digital performance royaltiesYour recording on digital radio where listeners can't pick the song, like SiriusXM, Pandora radio and webcasts.
- Collected by
- SoundExchange. By law, half goes to the recording's owner, 45% to the featured artist, and the rest to session players and singers.
- How to set it up
- Register with SoundExchange (opens in a new tab) as the featured artist, and as the rights owner too if you own your masters. They're separate registrations.
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YouTube Content IDMoney from your recording when it's used in other people's videos on YouTube, found by YouTube's Content ID system.
- Collected by
- Your distributor or a rights administrator.
- How to set it up
- Opt in through one service only. Two services claiming the same recording causes disputes that hold up the money.
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Neighboring rightsYour recording played on radio and in public outside the US.
- Collected by
- National societies such as PPL in the UK and GVL in Germany, often through an administrator.
- How to set it up
- Worth it once your music gets real airplay or public play abroad. The US doesn't pay recording owners for AM and FM radio play.
The song and the recording together One license covers both at once.
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Sync feesPaid when your music is used in TV, film, ads and games.
- Paid by
- Whoever licenses it, directly or through a library or agent. Broadcast use also earns performance royalties through your PRO.
- How to set it up
- Have accurate song details (credits, ID codes, owners), instrumental versions, and a yes ready from everyone who owns part of the song or the recording. Keep it per song with the song metadata sheet, or see Sync-Licensing Prep, our paid service that gets songs ready to pitch.
From the free royalty collection map at wellmadeplays.com/toolkit. Checked October 8, 2026.
We check whether the money is reaching you.
We look for songs that were never registered, shares nobody is collecting and artist profiles nobody has claimed. The free royalty scan checks the public record and sends a short written summary within 5 business days.
- Royalty & Revenue Review $297
We go through your accounts, find what isn't set up to pay you, and give you the fixes in order. Not accounting, and not collecting money for you. We never promise a dollar amount.
See what's in it
Not sure what you need? A 30-minute call (opens in a new tab) costs $49, and the fee comes off any project you book within 30 days. Flat fees, never a percentage of what you earn.
Two copyrights in every track
The song, or composition, is the words and music. It belongs to the songwriters and their publishers. The recording, or master, is one specific recorded version of it. It usually belongs to whoever paid for the recording, but only when that is in writing with everyone who made it, so get it in writing with your producer. A cover is a new master of someone else's song; a remix can be a new master of your own.
Each copyright earns its own royalties, and they're collected by different organizations that don't talk to each other. That's why an artist can be paid by their distributor every month and still be missing money from the song side entirely.
Where independent artists most often miss money
- Songs never registered with a PRO, or registered without their co-writers.
- No account with The MLC, so mechanical royalties from US streaming sit unclaimed.
- Not registered with SoundExchange, or registered as the artist but not as the rights owner.
- Splits that don't match from one system to the next.
Questions
Can I join more than one PRO?
As a writer in the US, you belong to one PRO at a time. Co-writers can each be with different PROs; each registers their own share.
What happens to the publisher's share if I don't have a publisher?
Ask your PRO how they handle it. BMI pays the publisher's share to the writer when no publisher is listed. Some writers set up their own publishing company so they can collect it directly and register as a publisher elsewhere.
Do I need a publishing administrator?
Not to start. An administrator registers your songs around the world and collects what you can't reach yourself, for a commission and without owning your songs. It tends to be worth it once you have real streams abroad or a lot of co-written songs.
Does my distributor collect all of this?
No. A distributor collects master royalties from streams and downloads, and some offer YouTube and publishing add-ons. Performance royalties, US streaming mechanical royalties and SoundExchange money all need their own registrations.
Is what I mark here saved?
On this device, in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to Well Made Plays or anyone else.
Last reviewed October 8, 2026