Publishing Administration Royalties

Our partner, Songtrust, collects from a myriad of revenue sources, with each source paying out on its 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, Songtrust will then begin to receive and process payments from 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 are paid out faster.

Also, remember 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 number of streams and don't think you are receiving the correct royalties, please contact Sontrust directly via your Songtrust account, and they will look into this further.

You collect your royalties on Songtrust 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. You are paid royalties when you are owed a minimum of $5.00.

Standard Royalty Quarters and Payments for Songtrust

Q1: Jan-March
Q2: April-June
Q3: July-Sept
Q4: Oct-Dec

Payment schedule from Songtrust

Types of royalties collected by Songtrust

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 performances, and 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. 

Publishing Royalties

Your publishing royalties are divided into two shares:

1. Publisher’s Share: 50% of performance royalties + 100% of mechanical royalties.
2. Writer’s Share: The “other” 50% of performance royalties.

In many cases, songwriters operate without a publisher, leaving them unable to collect the publisher's share of royalties. This is where our role as your publishing administrator can be crucial.

Songtrust will collect the publisher's share of your royalties on your behalf. Legally, your writer's share is protected and must be directly distributed to you without intervention from any other parties.

For more in-depth information on Songtrust royalties, click here.

Will Symphonic collect my Publishing royalties if I don't enroll in the Publishing Administration service?

No. To access this additional revenue, you must enroll in our Publishing Administration service. Publishing Administration is not included in your distribution deal; you must sign up for it separately. Please note that this service is exclusively available to songwriters.