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Free Guide
62% of independent artists are missing royalties. Most do not know where to register, which codes to get, or how to claim money sitting in international collection societies. This guide fixes that.
62%
of indie artists are missing royalties they are owed
4 types
of royalties — most artists only collect one
3-5 years
lookback window to claim uncollected international royalties
Free
this guide is free for every plan including free users
Most artists only earn from streaming. But there are four separate royalty streams: performance, mechanical, sync, and master. Missing any one of them means real money going uncollected. This guide walks you through all of them.
What is covered
Each section builds on the last. Work through them in order or jump to the section most relevant to where you are right now.
Before registering anywhere, know which royalties you are entitled to. Most artists only collect one or two and miss the rest.
4 steps
A PRO collects performance royalties from broadcasters, streaming services, and public venues on your behalf. You need to join one as both a songwriter and a publisher.
4 steps
An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a unique 12-character identifier for every recording you make. It is how royalty collection societies and DSPs track your music globally.
4 steps
Publishing admin services register your songs internationally and collect mechanical and performance royalties from collection societies worldwide on your behalf.
4 steps
Metadata errors are the most common reason royalties are misdirected or go uncollected. Fix these now before your next release.
5 steps
Many artists have royalties sitting in foreign collection societies that were never claimed. Some of these can be recovered retroactively.
4 steps
The full guide
The whole guide is below, free and with nothing held back. An account only adds progress tracking, so you can tick items off and pick up where you left off.
Before registering anywhere, know which royalties you are entitled to. Most artists only collect one or two and miss the rest.
Paid when your song is played on radio, TV, streaming platforms, or in public venues. Collected by your PRO (ASCAP, BMI, PRS, COSON, etc.) and split between the songwriter and the publisher.
These are the most commonly uncollected royalties. A missed PRO registration means this money goes into a black box.
Paid every time your song is reproduced: streamed on Spotify/Apple Music, downloaded, or pressed onto physical media. In the US, the rate is set by law (currently 9.1 cents per copy). Globally, rates vary.
If you distribute through DistroKid, TuneCore, or CD Baby, they typically collect mechanical royalties on your behalf domestically. International mechanicals often require a publisher or publishing admin.
Paid when your music is licensed for use in film, TV, ads, games, or YouTube videos. Two payments are involved: a sync fee (master side) and a sync license fee (publishing side).
Sync placements can be worth more than months of streaming. You must own or control your master recording and publishing rights to license your music.
Paid to the owner of the master recording when the song is streamed, downloaded, or licensed. If you self-release, you own the master. If you are signed to a label, the label often owns the master.
Owning your masters is one of the most important decisions in your career. Always read contracts carefully before signing over master rights.
A PRO collects performance royalties from broadcasters, streaming services, and public venues on your behalf. You need to join one as both a songwriter and a publisher.
Nigeria: COSON or MCSN. US: ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. UK: PRS for Music. Ghana: GHAMRO. South Africa: SAMRO. Kenya: MCSK. Canada: SOCAN. Australia: APRA AMCOS. You can only join one PRO per country as a songwriter.
If you are Nigerian-based but releasing internationally, COSON handles your Nigerian performance royalties. Register with ASCAP or BMI as well if you are actively pursuing the US market.
Sign up on your PRO's website. You will need your full legal name, date of birth, address, and sometimes a government-issued ID. Most registrations are free for songwriters.
To collect the publisher's share of performance royalties, you need a publishing entity registered with your PRO. You can create a simple DBA (doing business as) name or use a publishing admin service like Songtrust, DistroKid's publishing, or TuneCore Publishing.
The publisher's share is typically 50% of performance royalties. If you do not register a publishing entity, this share sits uncollected.
After joining, log into your PRO account and register each song individually with: song title, ISRC code, co-writers and their PRO affiliations, percentage splits, and recording date.
Many artists join a PRO but never register their songs. Royalties cannot be paid if the song is not in the database.
An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a unique 12-character identifier for every recording you make. It is how royalty collection societies and DSPs track your music globally.
Format: CC-XXX-YY-NNNNN. CC = country code, XXX = registrant code, YY = year, NNNNN = track number. Each unique recording needs its own ISRC — a remix or live version needs a separate code from the studio version.
If you upload to DistroKid or TuneCore, they auto-assign an ISRC. You can also get your own registrant code from your country's ISRC agency and assign your own.
Apply through your country's national ISRC agency: in the US, apply via the RIAA; in the UK, via PPL; in Nigeria, through COSON or a distributor. Having your own registrant code means you own those ISRCs regardless of which distributor you use.
If your distributor assigns ISRCs, always save them. You will need them when registering songs with your PRO and publishing admin.
Keep a spreadsheet with: song title, album/EP, ISRC, UPC (for the release), release date, collaborators, and percentage splits. This is your master rights document.
Losing track of your ISRCs is a common mistake. One central spreadsheet protects you when switching distributors or registering with new collection societies.
Use software like Mp3tag (Windows) or MusicBrainz Picard (Mac/Windows) to embed the ISRC directly into the audio file's ID3 tags before delivering to your distributor.
Publishing admin services register your songs internationally and collect mechanical and performance royalties from collection societies worldwide on your behalf.
Your PRO collects performance royalties domestically. But your music earns mechanical royalties internationally in every country it is streamed. A publishing admin (or publisher) registers your songs with societies in those countries to collect that money.
Without a publishing admin, international mechanical royalties go uncollected. Songs with millions of international streams often have thousands of dollars sitting in foreign collection societies.
Options include: Songtrust (registers in 60+ countries, one-time fee), DistroKid's publishing add-on, TuneCore Publishing, CD Baby Pro. Compare fees — Songtrust charges a registration fee plus a percentage of collected royalties.
Songtrust is the most widely recommended independent option. TuneCore Publishing integrates seamlessly if you already distribute through TuneCore.
When you set up your publishing admin account, register every song you have ever released, not just new releases. Royalties can be collected retroactively for recent plays even if the song was registered late.
Most collection societies have a lookback window of 2-3 years. Songs registered late can still recover significant royalties from recent streaming activity.
Song titles, writer names, and ISRC codes must be identical across your PRO registration, publishing admin, and distributor records. Mismatches are the number one cause of royalty misdirection.
Metadata errors are the most common reason royalties are misdirected or go uncollected. Fix these now before your next release.
Your artist name must be identical on your distributor account, PRO registration, and publishing admin. Variations like "DJ Ayo" vs. "Ayo" vs. "Ayo Official" create mismatches.
Pick one spelling and use it everywhere. If you have already released under variations, contact your PRO to link them.
Every co-writer must be credited on your distributor upload and PRO registration with their legal name and PRO affiliation. Missing a co-writer delays or blocks royalty splits for everyone.
Splits agreed verbally often become disputes later. Document master splits (who owns the recording) and publishing splits (who wrote what) separately. A split sheet is the safest way to record this.
Use the ArtistePilot Split Sheet Generator to create a downloadable PDF record of all collaborator agreements.
Format: Primary Artist feat. Featured Artist. The featured artist should also be credited in the composer/songwriter fields if they wrote or performed original parts of the song.
Typos in song titles on your distributor upload cannot easily be corrected after release. Match the title exactly to what is registered with your PRO.
Many artists have royalties sitting in foreign collection societies that were never claimed. Some of these can be recovered retroactively.
SoundExchange collects digital performance royalties for non-interactive streaming in the US (Pandora, SiriusXM, iHeart Radio). Any recording artist whose music has been played on these services may have uncollected funds.
SoundExchange is separate from ASCAP/BMI. Many artists are registered with a PRO but have never claimed their SoundExchange balance. Search for yourself on their database.
If your music is on YouTube and you are not enrolled in Content ID, ad revenue from your music (including user-generated videos using your songs) goes to YouTube. Sign up through your distributor (most offer Content ID) or a service like Audiam.
Content ID is retroactive for some distributors. DistroKid's YouTube Money add-on, for example, can claim revenue from existing videos.
Neighboring rights are performance royalties paid to the recording artist (not the songwriter) when a song is played on broadcast radio or TV internationally. In the EU, UK, Canada, and many African countries, these are collected by societies like PPL (UK), ABRAMUS (Brazil), or GVL (Germany).
If your music is being played internationally on radio or TV, register with PPL if you are UK-based, or use a neighboring rights administrator like Orfium or AWAL's neighboring rights service.
Every quarter, log into your PRO, publishing admin, distributor, and SoundExchange accounts and check for new payments or unclaimed funds. Set a calendar reminder so this becomes routine.
Royalties often arrive months after the streams occur. Some societies have a 3-5 year claims window. Regular audits ensure you catch everything before it expires.
A free account remembers which of the 25 steps you have completed, so you can work through it over weeks instead of trying to do it all in one sitting.
Track my progressWho this is for
You have released music but never registered with a PRO
Your distributor assigned you ISRCs but you do not know what to do with them
You are earning streams but your PRO account shows nothing
You have co-written songs but never documented the splits
You suspect royalties are sitting uncollected internationally
You want a clear, actionable system — not vague advice
FAQ
A PRO (Performing Rights Organisation) is the body that collects performance royalties on your behalf when your music is played on radio, TV, streaming platforms, or in public venues. Without registering, those royalties are collected but never paid to you. In Nigeria the PRO is COSON; in the US it is ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC; in the UK it is PRS for Music.
An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a unique 12-character identifier assigned to each of your recorded tracks. It is how streaming platforms, broadcasters, and collection societies track and attribute plays to the correct recording. Your distributor typically assigns ISRCs automatically at distribution. You can also get them directly through your national ISRC agency.
The four main royalty types are: performance royalties (paid when your music is publicly performed or broadcast, collected by PROs), mechanical royalties (paid when your music is reproduced on streaming or physical formats, collected by organisations like the MLC), sync royalties (paid when your music is licensed for film, TV, ads, or games), and master royalties (paid to the owner of the recording, often the artist or their label).
Yes. Most collection societies allow you to claim back royalties from the past 3 to 5 years. If your music has been played and you were not registered, those royalties are held in a pool. Registering now and filing a backdated claim can recover money already earned.
No. Distributors handle master royalties from streaming, but they do not register you with PROs or collect performance and mechanical royalties from international collection societies. You still need to register separately with a PRO, a publishing administrator, and SoundExchange (for digital performance royalties in the US) to capture all four royalty streams.
Yes. The Royalty Registration Guide and the interactive checklist in the dashboard are completely free on ArtistePilot. No upgrade required. Create a free account to save your progress and track which steps you have completed.
Generate a pitch email and one-sheet for film, TV, ads, YouTube, games, and podcasts — track-specific sync pitches that music supervisors actually read
One link for all streaming platforms — Spotify, Apple Music, Audiomack, Boomplay, and more
Create a professional Electronic Press Kit with bio, streaming links, press quotes, and a shareable URL
PRO registrations, ISRC codes, publishing deals, and how to make sure you collect everything you have earned. Practical advice for independent artists.
ArtistePilot
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