Our partner Songtrust collects from a myriad of revenue sources, with each source paying out on their own timeline.
When first signing up with Songtrust, it will take an average of 9-12 months once your songs are registered before you will see your first royalty payment. This is because, on average, it will take around 9-12 months before your catalog is fully registered globally. Once this step is complete, we then begin to receive and process payments from the various societies around the world. Once Songtrust receives royalties for your registered musical works, you will receive these earnings at the end of that quarter, so long as you accumulate enough royalties to make the $5 minimum payout.
It is important to note that some societies prioritize based on total earnings--so the higher earners will be paid out faster.
Also, don't forget to add ISRCs to your songs--this is very important, especially for collecting mechanical royalties, and can greatly speed up the collection process.
If you have a significant amount of streams and don't think you are receiving the correct amount of royalties, just send Songtrust a message on the Songtrust chatbox on your account, and we'll be happy to look into your catalog further.
You collect your royalties on Songtrust.com after your account has been created (following your approval on our end). Songtrust receives royalties according to individual societies' distribution schedules. Songtrust processes these royalties, and distributes them to your account on a quarterly basis.
Standard Royalty Quarters and Payments to Songtrust:
1Q: Jan-March
2Q: April-June
3Q: July-Sept
4Q: Oct-Dec
Payment schedule from Songtrust:
*It typically takes 9-12 months to receive your first royalty payment.
Although 9 - 12 months is a long time, this is a realistic timeline for setting up a publishing agreement, registering your titles worldwide, the societies processing your information, and finally, having our royalties department processing your payment.
If you sign up with any publisher, this timeline is standard. See how the quarterly royalties schedule works here.
You are paid royalties when you are owed a minimum of $5.00, which is the least amount societies and Songtrust pay out.
*BMI payments are only received 3 quarters of the year.
*Some royalties, such as those for audiovisual uses, are subject to separate distribution cycles (occur less frequently).
*Account adjustments do occur in some cases.
Types of royalties we'll collect
Here’s a brief description of the main royalty types we and our partner Songtrust will be collecting:
Mechanical Royalties – Digital downloads (outside of the USA), streaming services and physical products
Performance Royalties – Interactive and non-interactive streaming, radio plays, TV plays, live performance, downloads (outside of the USA)
Print – If your music is ever put to print (songbooks, physical and digital sheet music), you’ll earn royalties based on the sales.
Your publishing royalties are divided into two shares:
1) Publisher’s Share: 50% of performance royalties + 100% of mechanical royalties. [What we collect for you from societies worldwide.]
2) Writer’s Share: The “other” 50% of performance royalties. [What you collect to your home address from your PRO.]
Obviously, most songwriters these days do not have a publisher and have no way of collecting the publisher’s share of their royalties – and that’s where we as your publishing administrator come in.
We will be collecting the publisher’s share of your publishing royalties. By law, your writer’s share cannot be touched by another entity and must be sent directly to your home address.
Will Symphonic Distribution collect royalties if I don't sign up to the Publishing Administration service?
No. You would need to sign up to our Publishing Administration service (in partnership with Songtrust) in order to get this additional revenue. Being a a distribution client will not collect the royalties from a PRO. The service is open to songwriters only.
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