Within the Music Industry as a singer, songwriter or composer you will always be entitled to receive royalties due to the exploitation of your musical work. Therefore, every time your music is played you should make money, their is a handful of ways to make money from music like the following:
- Synchronisation Royalties – When your works are used in TV, Film, Advertisements, Video Games, online streaming, and any other type of visual media.
- Mechanical Royalties – They are generated for the physical or digital reproduction and general distribution of copyrighted works. This applies to all music formats such as vinyl, CD, cassette, digital downloads, and streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music and Soundcloud.
- Public Performance Royalties – These royalties generated for copyrighted works Performed, Recorded, Played and or Streamed in public. This also includes Radio, TV, Bars, Restaurants, Clubs, Live Concerts, Music Streaming Services, and anywhere else where music plays in public.
- Print Music Royalties – They are not a very common form of payment a owner can receive. This applies to the copyrighted music transcribed to a print piece such as sheet music and then distributed amongst musicians. Additionally, these fees are often paid out to the owner which is determined upon the number of copies made of the printed piece itself.
In the UK there are four collection societies, all in their own ways vary from the other and here are the societies below:
MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) – This society collects where Mechanical Royalties are payable, Record Companies must distribute details of all copies made each month to the collection society, the record companies will pay the MCPS quarterly and in return the MCPS enables the payment of royalties to the writers and or publishers of the music produced. They are a non-profit organisation which is funded by the commission it levies on the licence revenue it receives.
When going to apply as a musician, there is a one-off fee of £100, when you have joined as a ‘writer’ they will collect your royalties for you. When you have joined you eventually appoint them as the agent of your rights whereas when you join the PRS you assign your rights to them. They collect where your royalties are due for you on a monthly basis, however they will charge you admin rates for their service, this will ensure that the MCPS receive a small profit for their services, their admin rate is the lowest for collecting societies across Europe and the UK, charging around about 10% out of your royalties this is totally dependant on what type of royalties they are receiving from you.
As an MCPS member, they act on your behalf administering the rights to the following:
- Copies of your work, pressing CDs and creating digital downloads.
- Issuing copies of your work for sale and or promotion
- Renting or lending your work to the public.
PRS – Better known as the Performing Rights Society sell blanket licences to venues that play and or broadcast music to the public for a profit through enjoyment.
As a Musician and or Composer you are entitled to royalties every time you perform your music for entertainment purposes and every time your music is played at any form of profitable establishment and business such as; shops, music venues, clubs.
When you have a Blanket Licence it means as a venue, under one annual fee relevant to the venue, can now play and allow performance of all music under the licence without a limit to use under the one year agreement fee.Â
Keep in mind that you’re only entitled to royalties if you have a PRS Licence, to join the PRS as a ‘writer’ there is a one-off fee of £100, just like the MCPS. PRS collect your royalties as and when your music is
played in public, this also includes live performance, Radio and TV broadcasts, films and adverts, streaming and downloading, ringtones and hold music for phones. They can then monitor any kind of music use and then they can collect any due royalties.Â
PPL – the Phonographic Performance Limited Collect royalties for the copyright and sound/recording, they now sell a licence called “TheMusicLicence”. This enables businesses to play music for their customers/employees from the TV, Radio and any other digital devices or possible live performances.
This licence allows businesses to play music and to re-ensure that the musicians obtain their royalties when their music is played. There are many determining factors to how much a “MusicLicence” will cost here are the following:
- The type of venue.
- What circumstances you use music for on a daily basis.
- If it is being used for background music or specifically for entertainment purposes only.
VPL – the Video Performance Limited collect royalties for all forms of videos this would come in to play massively during our modern day and age especially when it comes to YouTube and or any other media platforms.
They specifically deal with the licensing of music videos when they are played or broadcasted on TV. The VPL have a database you can search to track information on music videos. VPL are within the same building as PPL so generally if you need to inquire about gaining royalties from a music video you will contact the PPL as those terms fall under TheMusiciansLicence.
Ellie Thornton Music 