All you need to know about Being an Independent Artist, Music Rights, How Royalties are calculated & distributed, the Split between the songwriters, Stream Revenues, etc… Let’s dive into the music industry as an independent artist with leased beats!

If you are not under a contract with an independent or a major record label, you are an independent artist. It means several things:

a lot of freedom but self-management

Responsibilities and duties

You are a businessman/businesswoman

You can manage your music as you want. It means you play both the role of a label and a publisher.

You have to think about:

• Studio recording

• Songs production

• Creation of the covers

• Distribution, planning the releases

• Marketing

• Registering the songs and their authors

• Financial management of the payouts

• Collecting the royalties

• etc.(Unknown Factors of your life)

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Quality matters:

Maximize your studio recording & mixing sessions:

Practice performing your new songs before recording them.

Record your ideas about lead AND back vocals on your phone.

Share your vision with the sound engineer

Constructive criticism is interesting: Let artists, sound engineers, friends, family members, or random people listen to your music and get feedback

Improve what you can as soon as you can

Never stop learning to improve your art

Surround yourself with people who know how to do things you do not master (Producing/Recording/Mixing/Mastering/Graphic Design/Photography/Video Clip…)

Build your audience:

There is an audience for every kind of artist:

• Be yourself & stay authentic!

Develop your own style (voice, flow, storytelling, etc.)

• Find YOUR audience: Do not become an imitation of a famous artist! You will not take his/her seat!

• Show & share your art on social media with Videos, Duets, Reels, Stories, Posts, etc. (TikTok, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter,…)

• Stay consistent: Plan to record and release songs consistently (choose your rhythm as long as it is regular!)

• Communicate with your audience through social media: interact with the people who follow & like your content

• Remember that your main content is music

Develop your branding:

Your voice, your flow & your storytelling define your brand, so YOU are your brand image.

Be different, be yourself, which will make the difference!

Once again, do not become an imitation of another artist.

See yourself as a reel Artist: Assume your style & your vision!

Tell your story

Forge your mindset:

100% motivated: You are dedicated to your project!

Be attentive to every piece of advice:

• For looking for potential improvement

• For stepping out of your comfort zone

• Act like a businesswoman / a businessman:

• Focused on your goals

• Self-managed: maximize your time & money

• Responsible for your actions & your choices

• Respect every people working with you:

• Credit them as much as possible

• Any work deserves to be awarded or paid

• Build a relationship with the producers, beatmakers, sound engineers,…

• Think about this quote: “You are what you do not what you say you’ll do”

Become a businesswoman / a businessman:

Self-management is your new habit for becoming independent

Start to save money for your musical goals

Leasing beats is the cheapest way to find good instrumentals & start your career.

Invest as much as you can: “Scared Money Don’t Make No Money”

Invest in yourself:

Pay for the music you need: Beats on Youtube are not free for commercial use!

Choose the License allowing monetized Audio & Video streams

Pay for a good recording, mixing, and mastering of each song you release

Find ways to promote your songs and gain exposure

Register to a distributor/aggregator (Distrokid, Tunecore,…) and start planning releases

Develop your knowledge about the Music Rights and the Music Business: You play both the role of a label and a publisher

Learn new helpful skills for a music career.

Register to a CMO/PRO for collecting your writers’ share Royalties

Think about registering to a publishing administrator to collect the publishers’ share

Be careful to register properly each songwriter and publisher for every song with your PROs/CMOs.

Networking is essential

You must know what rights and royalties refer to in the music industry and learn how the music industry works.

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Rights:

The word Rights relates to what is allowed to do with your song:

Reproduce the song onto some type of media

Distribute copies of the song, physically or digitally

Streaming the song (like on Spotify, Rhapsody, Tidal… )

Perform the song publicly (Live shows…)

Display the song publicly (on radios…)

Use the song in a video (like on YouTube, Vimeo,… )

Use of the song in audiovisual projects for TV, movies, commercials, Video Games (Note: You need a separated agreement for Synchronization Rights for your song with a leased beat)

When you lease an instrumental, these rights are defined by the License agreement of the beat.

If your song is made with a custom beat or if you bought the exclusive rights of a beat, you have all these rights without limitations.

When you lease an instrumental, these rights are defined by the License agreement of the beat.

Royalties:

The word Royalties relates to the payment made for these rights to use your song. They will be collected and pay to the right holders: the songwriters and their publishers (We will talk about how these royalties are collected and shared later).

There are mainly 4 different types of Royalties:

Mechanical Royalties: They mainly cover the Record sales, digital downloads, and online interactive streams.

Performance/Airplay Royalties: They are generated from cover the radio spins, the Live Venues, the Bars, and also from streaming services.

Micro-Sync Royalties: They refer to the revenues earned from the synchronization of the song with videos on YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok,…

Synchronization Royalties: They cover the revenues from placements in TV shows, Ads, Films, Video Games,…

No matter how the instrumental has been bought, your song can generate these royalties as soon as it is released publicly (on platforms for streaming, for digital sales, etc.).

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Before understanding how these royalties are counted and shared, we need to know that in the music industry, there are always two halves to a song, two copyrights generating royalties/revenues:

The Composition

The Master Recording

In the Music Industry, One Song = the Composition + the Master Recording

1. The Composition

Songwriting and songwriters

The Composition refers to the song as an original creation. In our case, it is my beat + your lyrics + your vocals. The process of creating the beat, the lyrics and the vocal performance is called songwriting.

Songwriting = the process of writing the music and the lyrics of a song

All the persons who have created this original song are called songwriters. In our case, there are two songwriters:

The Producer (me) who composed the music and produced the beat

The Artist (you) who writes the lyrics and performs on the beat

If someone writes the lyrics with you, he/she is also one of the songwriters.

If I use a loop or a sample from another composer, I will credit him/her as a co-writer of the instrumental so he/she will also be a songwriter for this song.

The producers are considered as songwriters when they create their original music.

The artists are considered as songwriters because the melody of their vocals is a part of the music. They are also songwriters when they write their lyrics.

The Split

As the composition is an intellectual property, each songwriter owns a percentage of the ownership of this composition for the songwriting: We call it the Split.

In our case, songwriting will be divided equally between the songwriters (you and me) so the Split will be:

50% (for the lyrics/vocals) to the Artist + 50% (for the beat) to the Producer

Sometimes, this split is modified according to who asks for additional songwriters on the song.

Example 1:

You cannot control the fact I already used an additional musician on a beat, so if I added a musician, I already divided my share for the songwriting (this split is notified in all my lease agreements), and the split is:

50% to You + 25% to Me + 25% to the additional musician

Example 2:

I cannot control the fact you are going to write the lyrics or/and to perform on the beat with someone else, so if you add an author/performer, you will divide your share of the songwriting and the split will be:

25% To You + 25% to the additional author/performer + 50% to Me

Note: Note: Some people want to give random percentages (12%, 7%, 3%,etc.) for the songwriting proportionately to an estimated contribution of the songwriter. It is almost impossible to evaluate the impact of an idea on a final result of a song with numbers. That’s why dividing equally is the best choice.

2. The Master Recording

It refers to the sound recording of the song as the recorded, mixed & mastered version of the music with the vocals. Nowadays, this is a High Quality wav file (at least 44100Hz 24bits).

The Master Recording is the final product from which CDs are made, digital downloads can be done, or your song can be streamed on Spotify, Rhapsody…

Most of the time, the labels own the masters but as an independent artist, you are not signed to an independent or a major label, so you own your masters and you have control over the financial gains from the recordings of the song (physical & digital sales, streams…).

You will keep 100% of the direct revenues from the digital/physical sales and streams with all my Licenses (and I am not talking about the performance and mechanical royalties that are another source of revenues. You will have more info about that in the chapters).

In our case, the only limit of this control is defined in the Lease agreement of the beat (number of streams + sales, airplays,…).

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Music publishing

The composition copyright of a song has also itself two halves:

The songwriting

The publishing

Composition copyright = 50% for the songwriting + 50% for the publishing

As we saw before, songwriting in the composition copyright is about the split of the ownership of the song between its creators (the songwriters).

But creating a song is a first step in the music industry. Then, you need to manage this composition as an intellectual property of the songwriters: This is music publishing!

As an independent artist, unless you signed a publishing deal, as soon as a song is finished, you are a songwriter and your own publisher (we also say “you are self-published”) for this song.

You have to:

Register the song

Make it available to people

Collect the royalties

Manage the agreements

Promote the song

A & R

Etc.

As the traditional publishing deals can encase you with long contracts and a lifetime interest of your copyright, self-publishing is more and more developing.

On the other hand, some songwriters chose to work with publishing administrators to collect and manage:

The publishers share from the PROs/CMOs

The mechanical and the direct licensing royalties that are not collected by the PROs or some CMOs.

With an administrator, you keep the control and 100% of your copyright on each registered song and you are sure to collect the publishing royalties.

(See below for further information about PROs, CMOs, and publishing administrators)

Writers share & Publishers share

The composition copyright royalties are made up of:

the writers’ share

the publishers’ share.

We call the writers share how 50% of the performance royalties are shared between the songwriters. As we speak about the royalties from the songwriting side of the composition, it is the mirror of the split.

We call the publishers share how the other 50% of the performance royalties and all the mechanical royalties are shared between the publishers of the songwriters (as we speak about the royalties from the publishing).

If you are an independent and self-published artist, you will be paid from the writers share and the publishers share (We will see how in the next chapters).

Let me sum up with examples to see how the composition royalties are shared!

Example 1: the most common case when you lease one of my beats

The split is:

50% of the songwriting to the Artist (You)

50% of the songwriting to the Producer (Me)

Songwriting represents 50% of the composition copyright. So the writers’ share will be:

50% of 50% = 25% of the composition copyright royalties to You (the Artist)

50% of 50% = 25% of the composition copyright royalties to Me (the Producer)

Publishing represents the other 50% of the composition copyright

If we are both self-published (no publishing deal), then the publishers’ share will be:

25% of the composition copyright royalties to You (the Artist)

25% of the composition copyright royalties to Me (the Producer)

Example 2: Let’s say I asked a musician (who signed a publishing deal) to compose & play his instrument on a beat you are leasing

The split is:

50% of the songwriting to the Artist (You)

25% of the songwriting to the Producer (Me)

25% of the songwriting to the Musician

Songwriting represents 50% of the composition copyright. So the writers’ share will be:

50% of 50% = 25% of the composition copyright royalties to you (the Artist)

25% of 50% = 12,5% of the composition copyright royalties to me (the Producer)

25% of 50% = 12,5% of the composition copyright royalties to the musician

Publishing represents the other 50% of the composition copyright . You and I are self-published and the musician signed a publishing deal, so the publishers’ share will be:

25% of the composition copyright royalties to You (the Artist)

12,5% of the composition copyright royalties to Me (the Producer)

12,5% of the composition copyright royalties to the musician’s publisher

Note: Some PROs/CMOs such as BMI calculate the share of the royalties with a basis of 200%, it means that Composition copyright royalties represent 200% = the writers share (100%) + the publishers share (100%)

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CMOs, PROs, and MROs are collection societies that track and collect the royalties for their affiliated songwriters and publishers. We mainly talk about CMOs in Europe and PROs in North America for collecting royalties.

Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) like SACEM (France), SIAE (Italy), or GEMA (Germany) license, track, and collect the performance and mechanical royalties.

The CMOs will distribute them to the copyright holders of each registered song: They will pay your writers share to you directly and the publishers’ share will be paid to your publisher or your publishing administrator.

Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) such as ASCAP and BMI (USA), PRS (UK), or KODA (Denmark) are considered CMOs, but they only collect the performance royalties. They also pay the writers and publishers’ shares of these royalties to the copyright holders of each registered song.

Mechanical Rights Organizations (MROs) like the HARRY FOX AGENCY, MEDIANET (USA), or MCPS (UK) are also CMOs that collect specifically the mechanical royalties so they will pay the publishers’ share.

You need to register to at least one collection society to track and collect your royalties from streaming, sales, airplays, all around the world.

Most of the time, songwriters choose the one of their country (it is easier) as most of the PROs and CMOs around the world are connected to redistribute all the royalties.

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Music Distribution & Aggregators

Music Distribution is making your song available to people for buying or streaming. Nowadays, music distribution for independent artists is made by online distribution platforms called aggregators.

They are digital distributors that make your release available (for streams and sales) across numerous digital platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tik Tok, YouTube Music, Napster, Tidal, Shazam, Pandora, etc.

Tunecore, CD Baby, or Distrokid (to name a few) are some of these aggregators that provide different kinds of packages and services with a flat per song/album fee, annual recurring subscription toll, or a percentage-based commission.

Moreover, as you register the song by yourself to an aggregator for digital distribution, you will collect all the Master Recording revenues and you will keep them all, they will be 100% for you! (and again, I am not talking about the performance and mechanical royalties that are another source of revenues).

Publishing Administrators

Publishing administrators have relation with the collection societies to collect the publishers’ share of the composition copyright royalties from the PROs/CMOs and the other Mechanical and Licensing royalties. (Your writers’ share is collected and paid directly by your PRO/CMO).

Under an administration deal (which is not a publishing deal), the songwriter (you) retains 100% ownership and control of her/his songs.

Publishing administrators such as Songtrust or Tunecore Publishing Administration (to name a few) can properly register your songs with collection societies and collecting royalties on your behalf.

Streams revenues & YouTube Monetization

Streams Revenues

For an independent & self-published artist, streams revenues are divided into 3 types:

The master recording payouts; paid via your aggregator

The mechanical royalties; collected by your MRO/CMO and paid via your publishing administrator

The performance royalties; collected by your PRO/CMO and paid to you

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Here is a great visual explanation from songtrust.com:

The following 2018 chart by Statista shows the value of a single stream paid to the labels (the master recording payouts). This is to give you an idea as these data are based on a mid-sized indie label with 200+ albums and over 200m+ streams annually! Damn! 😅

You can upload a song written with one of my beats on YouTube as an audiovisual work (a video). If you want to monetize your music video on your own YouTube channel, you need a PRO or a PRO UNLIMITED license.

With a leased beat, you are not allowed to use the YouTube Content ID system for that song. If you distribute your song through TuneCore, CDBaby, Distrokid, or a similar service, you cannot enable the “YouTube Content ID” option. As mentioned in the License Agreements, the beat has already been tagged for Content Identification (as that term is used in the music industry) by myself as a pre-emptive measure to protect all interested parties (you, all the other artists, and me) in all the New Compositions using the beat.

Keep in mind that we are talking about licenses that grant all the artists Non-Exclusive Rights to use the beat on their songs.

I am pretty sure you would not be happy to receive a copyright claim from another artist on YOUR SONG using one of MY beats that YOU also LEASED! That’s why YouTube Content ID is not allowed and monetization with a leased beat is a bit tricky.

On the other hand, even if you cannot monetize your content at the beginning, YouTube remains an efficient tool to develop your audience.

Note: These are some numbers about YouTube monetization:

YouTube’s thresholds for monetization:

Your channel has a minimum of 1,000 subscribers

Your channel has a minimum of 4,000 hours of watch time within the past 12 months

YouTube can pay from 2$ to 5$ per 1,000 monetized views based on:

Your kind of YouTube channel

Your country

The number of ads

The CPM rate

Etc.

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Be careful to register properly each songwriter and publisher for every song with your PRO/CMO.

Do not forget to credit every songwriter of your song in metadata where possible in addition to the other standard crediting obligations (in liner notes, on the back of albums, in the video descriptions, etc.).

I am not only speaking about me as a producer (with “produced by VJ Wikked”) as it is mentioned in my beat Lease Agreement but also every persons that have contributed to the creation of your song such as additional producers, co-writers, featured artists, back vocalists, musicians, etc.

Lastly, It is always welcome to credit the other persons that have worked on your project such as recording & mixing engineer, mastering engineer, graphic artists, directors,etc. Feel free to credit them in liner notes, on the back of albums, or in the video descriptions (recorded at/by, mixed by, mastering by, Clip directed by, edited by,…)

Crediting is a sign of respect and a work philosophy that will be appreciated in the music industry, Ya DigG! 😎

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This Guide has been made to help my customers as independent artists and every new artist interested in leasing beats and/or becoming independent.

This guide is not intended as legal advice, as I am not an attorney. If you are looking for legal advice, an attorney specializing in the field should be consulted.

Email Us

OR

“The Modern Guide to Music Publishing” – free on songtrust.com

“Music Publishing Tips”- Songtrust blog

“Song Royalties Ownership Explained: Writers vs Publishers share” – Songtrust blog

“Defining Pay Sources: The Difference Between a PRO and CMO” – Songtrust blog

“How do my songs make money?” – tunecore.com

“Music Publishing 101” – tunecore.com

“Music Sampling and Beat Licensing 101” – tunecore.com

“The Mechanics of Music Distribution” – Soundcharts blog

“Streaming payouts 2020” – Soundcharts blog

“What does it mean to own your Masters in Music” by Amanda Prahl on popsugar.co.uk

“Primer for Artists & Music Managers: Streams of Revenue for the Recording Artist” and “How do Songwriters and Producers get paid?” by Karl Fowkles on medium.com

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