Music Publishing Royalties Explained for Independent Artists
- 09 Nov 2026
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Every streamed song earns money in two separate streams: one for the recording and one for the song itself. Your distributor collects the first. The second, publishing royalties, goes to songwriters and publishers, and many independent artists never collect it.
Two copyrights in every song
- The sound recording (master). The specific recording. Royalties are collected by your distributor and paid to you as the master owner.
- The composition. The melody and lyrics, owned by the songwriters. Royalties are collected by collecting societies and publishers.
If you write and record your own songs, you own both and should be collecting both.
The main types of publishing royalties
- Performance royalties are earned when a song is performed in public: radio, TV, live venues, bars, shops and streaming. They are collected by performing rights organisations such as PRS for Music in the UK, ASCAP and BMI in the US, GEMA in Germany and SACEM in France.
- Mechanical royalties are earned when a song is reproduced: streams, downloads and physical copies. They are collected by mechanical societies, for example The MLC for US streaming, and MCPS in the UK.
- Sync fees are paid when a song is licensed for film, TV, ads or games. See how to get sync placements.
Writer share and publisher share
Performance royalties are split into a writer share and a publisher share. The writer share is always paid to the songwriter through their society. At most societies, if a song has no publisher, the writer receives the full performance royalty. Setting up as your own publisher or using a publishing administrator matters mainly for collecting mechanical royalties, such as from The MLC, and royalties from other countries.
How to start collecting
- Join a performing rights organisation in your country as a songwriter.
- Register every song with its title, all writers and their shares. See how to register songs with a PRO.
- Collect mechanical royalties through your country's mechanical society, or through The MLC if your music streams in the US.
- Consider a publishing administrator if your songs are streamed in many countries. Administrators register your songs worldwide and take a commission, without taking ownership.
Split sheets prevent problems
Write down who wrote what, with percentages that add up to 100%, on the day you write the song. Both your collecting society registration and your release credits should match the split sheet. Distributor royalty splits are a separate agreement for master earnings: see royalty splits explained.
Why the credits on your release matter
The composer and lyricist names you enter when you create a release are used to match your recordings to your registered songs. That is why stores require legal first and last names, not stage names. If the names differ, the money may sit unmatched.
Your distributor and your collecting society do different jobs, and you need both. Release with SpaceMedia for the master side, and register your songs for the publishing side.
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Register on SpaceMedia
Begin your music publishing journey by signing up and creating a free account on SpaceMedia.
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Choose the plan that suits you best
Select from a variety of membership options to find the one that aligns perfectly with your music distribution needs.
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Submit your music for distribution
Create a new release and upload your tracks to have them distributed across various platforms.
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Quick Review
Our team promptly evaluates your uploaded tracks, ensuring they meet our quality standards before distribution.
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Get Paid
Once your music is distributed and gains traction, we ensure timely compensation for your creative work.
SpaceMedia delivers music to a broad and changing network of streaming, download, social, and music-identification platforms. This can include major services such as Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, SoundCloud, Tidal, Pandora, Boomplay, Anghami, iHeart, JioSaavn, KKBOX, NetEase Cloud Music, Tencent, Qobuz, and other supported partners.
The exact network can change as platforms update territories, rules, and delivery requirements. SpaceMedia gives you access to supported distribution channels, but no distributor can guarantee that every platform will accept every release in every country.
Most major streaming services do not let every artist upload music directly. A distributor like SpaceMedia delivers your audio, artwork, metadata, and rights information to supported platforms so your release can appear on services such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, TikTok, and others.
Create an account, choose the plan that fits your needs, upload the final release files, review the details, and submit. SpaceMedia reviews Free submissions within 5 business days, Premium submissions within 2 business days, and Label submissions within 1 to 2 business days. Store publishing happens afterwards.
You can monetize eligible music on supported video platforms through Content ID when your plan includes it. Content ID is currently included with Premium and Label, and it is not included with the Free plan.
Only submit music you fully control for Content ID. Tracks with uncleared samples, non-exclusive beats, royalty-free loops used by many creators, public-domain recordings, or disputed rights may be rejected or may cause claims that need to be resolved.
Submit your release through SpaceMedia and choose distribution to social music platforms where available. Eligible releases can be delivered to platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and other supported social or short-form music services.
Once delivered, each platform decides how the music appears, how long processing takes, and which features are available in each territory. Use accurate metadata and clean audio to reduce avoidable delivery issues.
Independent music distribution lets artists release music to streaming, download, and social platforms without signing to a traditional record label. You stay in control of your music while using a distributor to deliver it to supported services.
With SpaceMedia, you can manage releases, artist details, earnings, and payout information from your account. All standard plans let users keep 100% of standard DSP royalties.
The Free plan lets artists release music without an upfront distribution fee and keep 100% of standard DSP royalties.
This gives new artists a way to start releasing music before paying for a yearly plan. Premium and Label add more primary-artist capacity and tools. All standard plans include 100% of standard DSP royalties.
Yes. In many cases you can transfer existing releases to SpaceMedia while keeping them live, as long as you submit the same metadata, audio, artwork, UPC, and ISRCs where available.
Keep the old release live until the SpaceMedia delivery is live and matched correctly. Removing the old version too early can interrupt availability or make stores treat the transfer as a new release instead of matching it to the existing one.