How Music Royalties Work

A single song can involve several different rights and several different royalty streams.

This infographic explains the two principal copyrights associated with music: the master recording and the musical composition or publishing rights. These rights may be owned or controlled by different people or organizations and each can generate income in different ways.

It also breaks down several common royalty categories, including:

• Master royalties

• Publishing royalties

• Performance royalties

• Mechanical royalties

• Synchronization royalties

• Digital performance royalties

The infographic also shows how revenue can flow from listeners and streaming platforms through distributors, publishers, performing rights organizations and other intermediaries before reaching artists, songwriters and other rights holders.

Music royalties can be complex, but the underlying principle is straightforward: different uses of a song can involve different rights and those rights may generate different forms of compensation.

Source: Rap School infographic