How are songwriting royalties calculated?

Outside of North America there are broadcast mechanicals which are royalties for use of music in television programs and royalties for use of music in movie theaters. Generally one needs to use sub publishers in foreign territories to collect these royalties.

Mostly in Europe; songwriter royalties / music publishing royalties are primarily calculated on a point per second basis. Depending on what kind of deal the local PRO has with Radio/tv, live, streaming platforms etc. they take the yearly commission received divided by seconds (or streams) of music detected (fingerprinting or reporting) and will pay out per play, there are thresholds and each country does have its own rules, so this is generally speaking. Mechanical income is easier, paid per units sold against a rate set every couple of years 9+% depending on country and license sort. Synch licenses are directly negotiated with licensor and paid directly to licensee (songwriter or its music publisher). These are the main 3 royalty types.

The main categories of musical work income on which songwriter royalties are based include: - Small Performance License Fees paid directly to songwriters and composers by the performance rights society with which a writer registers (e.g., ASCAP or BMI in the USA, MCPS in the UK) - Earnings collected from a publisher, not directly from a society: - Reproduction Royalties (e.g., "mechanicals" in the USA) - Synchronization use and other derivative work licenses (e.g., film, commercial, game licenses) - Display (print or orchestra rental) income - Small Performance Licenses for dramatized uses

In the USA we call reproduction royalties "mechanicals" and we do not have mechanicals for audio visual uses, only audio uses, and we also do not have "broadcast mechanicals" or "performance mechanicals" for ephemeral copies made to enable broadcasts, unlike the much of rest of the world. In the USA, record companies are liable to publishers for mechanical royalties for physical distributions as well as downloads. However, mechanical reproduction royalties for streaming are paid by streaming services, usually to The MLC, which distributes mechanical royalties to publishers, which, in turn, are liable to songwriters for mechanical royalties.

On the "Classical" genre Music streaming platform IDAGIO they pay artists royalties based on how many seconds the music was played by the user and not how many cycles (From start to finish). This is very important for the Classical genre music as they can be somewhat not as short as most of the pop, RnB, etc... genres. This seems to be a very artist based platform to have your music on and a Classical Music genre recording artist.

Calculating songwriting royalties is complex, influenced by contracts, ownership percentages, licensing types, payment rates, fees, and market trends. However, in almost all cases, music writers have made zero dollars. The music industry is highly corrupt, with songwriters often left uncompensated despite their crucial contributions. Royalties can be categorized into mechanical (reproduction), performance (public plays), sync (visual media), print music, and streaming royalties. Despite these, funds often go to composers or touring artists. This results from the industry's opaque nature, where few songwriters contribute to top-charting songs. Corruption and questionable practices further complicate fair compensation within the industry.

Artists' health is critical, impacted by financial disputes and touring demands. Despite challenges, some, like Taylor Swift, support their teams financially. Several factors affect royalties: contracts, ownership percentages, licensing types, payment methods, and intermediary fees. Streaming platforms, radio stations, and live venues have different payment structures, reducing total royalties. Intermediaries charge fees, cutting net earnings. Market trends and fluctuations also impact earnings. Addressing these issues requires transparency, fair contracts, and efficient royalty collection. Only then can songwriters receive fair recognition and compensation.

A major factor affecting this is the use of Metadata. Checking metadata for hygiene makes sure you don't lose a penny from your royalties. Check credits all the time and all the platforms for spellings alias names and role.