Winner CDBaby vs Distrokid Sync Royalties: CDBaby (kinda). Some distributors offer this service as part of their yearly subscription. If the above sounds like you, click here to learn more about getting up and running with Songtrust. If you go with CD Baby, you are going to want to go with the Pro Options as it includes administrative publishing services. But what about performance and songwriting royalties? DistroKid distributes your music to all the major streaming services and digital stores. What Music Distributors Collect Publishing Royalties For Me? Harry Fox Agency collects mechanical royalties from Spotify (and most others), though MRI collects from Amazon. The contract with BMI lasts for two years, whereas ASCAP contracts last one year. You also have the right to collect mechanical royalties on any cover versions recorded and released by other artists. Its worth noting at this point that both CDbaby and Distrokid will distribute your music to virtually every store you could ever hope. With all these services you have to release the song using the distributor in order to access the mechanical and performance royalties unlike Songtrust. Mark majored in finance but his adventures starting a hot sauce company turned him into a creative marketer. With BMI Affiliates, you'll get discounts with FedEx and Berklee online courses. Songwriters Just Got A Raise! Promote Your Music Video With YouTube Ads, CDBaby vs Distrokid: Digital Sales & Streams Commission, Types Of Music Royalties (Beyond Music Distribution), Mechanical Royalties CDBaby vs Distrokid, YouTube Monetization CDBaby vs Distrokid, Performance Rights Royalties- CDBaby vs Distrokid, Non-Interactive Streaming Platform Digital Royalties: SoundExchange, CDBaby vs Distrokid Which Should You Use Conclusion. Today, if you are an independent musician who writes and records your own songs without a publishing company or record label you own 100% of both copyrights. Now with all that information lets break it down. DistroKid vs. TuneCore Thanks for the support. You can easily create Hyperfollow links and when someone clicks one, theyll automatically follow you on Spotify and have your music saved to their library. Well get more into admin publishing later, but it basically means that CD Baby will go out and collect your royalties from more services than Distrokid. You can always change these things, but the initial input automatically sets you up in online communities with similar musicians. I will help you decide by giving you three scenarios. For the Pro fee + a 15% commission, CDbaby will take care of collecting your mechanical royalties for you and pay you just like they pay you the digital sales and streams. However, we only recommend products we believe in and try to provide as much useful information as possible, regardless of affiliation. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. We don't yet offer admin publishing services. If 200 years pass and your great-great-great-grandchildren listen to Spotify on their updated Neuralink chips, your singing or guitar playing will still be there for them to enjoy. Spotify then pays those publishing royalty portions to a performance rights organization (which specific organization depends on where in the world your song was streamed. Instead, DistroKid only collects the money owed from your music's sales on stores and streams from streaming services (Master recording royalties). DistroKid does not collect mechanical royalties. PRS (Performing Right Society) is the biggest collection society for performance rights in the UK and in the USA its Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI). If you have a Musician Plus or Label subscription, youll be able to adjust your releases price on iTunes, and some additional freedoms well go over later. Once you upload your music to Spotify (and other streaming services and online stores) using DistroKid and your music gets streamed, that play generates these royalties: The master recording royalty is for audio file, where the publishing royalty is for the intellectual property (ie: the copyright) of the composition (ie: the songwriting, melody, chords, lyrics, etc). DistroKid only collects reproduction royalties, which are a type of recording royalty. Hey! PROs can be quite costly, however BMI is free if you sign up as a songwriter. But today, ASCAP and BMI do the exact same thing: collect all your public performance royalties, and send that royalty payment to your bank. How and When Do I Get Paid? - DistroKid Help Center Publishing through distrokid? : r/WeAreTheMusicMakers - Reddit Its unclear how effective Wheel of Playlist actually is at getting artists music heard, but the chances of your song getting heard are at least marginally higher if its on the playlist, since the playlist has over 15,000 followers. . Mechanical royalties are 'paid for the right to reproduce a composition through the process of recording, manufacturing, and distributing the work'. Manage Settings PRS and MCPS on the other hand charge a one-time payment of 100 so you should only really consider signing up to these services if you know youre going to get a lot of listeners engaging with your music and earning you royalties. Songtrust vs DistroKid: Music Distribution, Royalties & Publishing Thats a bit vague and lines start to blur a little here, but its not too bad. So. DistroKid is a music distribution company that allows artists to get their music on online stores and streaming services while Songtrust is a publishing administration company that helps artists collect publishing, mechanical, and live performance royalties. DistroKid also includes a hub for artists where you can edit your bio and profile pictures for streaming services all from one place. Then 5% goes to any backup musicians, session musicians or anyone who is featured on the track. Also, Songtrust will help you register with a PRO too. If the above sounds like you, Ive put together a free course called The 6 Secrets To Spotify Success that you can check out to learn how to bump your numbers up all around the globe. Collects the master recording royalties and payments for you (ie: Collects the music publishing royalties for you (ie: performance royalties and mechanical royalties), Signs up you for and allows you to easily submit your music to performance rights organizations around the world, DistroKid does not collect and payout performance royalties for the public broadcasting of your music, DistroKid does not collect and payout mechanical royalties for digital streams and sales that your music makes, Your music is being played all around the world, Your music is being played thousands of times per month, You do not want to sign up and deal with PROs all around the world, You do not want to (or cant) sign a traditional publishing deal or create your own publishing company, Youd prefer a simple way to collect all your music publishing royalties and feel confident you arent leaving any money on the table, Your music is not currently getting very many plays per month, Your music is only being played in 1 or 2 countries. Regardless though, it is good to understand the big picture music industry no matter your situation. DistroKid does not collect any publishing royalties however other music distribution services do. When you purchase through these links we will receive a small commission. DistroKid recommend that you use the global publishing administration Songtrust. Throughout the year, companies report song usage to BMI and ASCAP. When stores send us earnings reports, we send 100% of the earnings allocated to you straight to your DistroKid bank. They are an important source of revenue if you think youll get a lot of streams on something like Sirius XM, or the free version of pandora. DistroKid is not a music publisher. Recording royalties encompass those generated from reproduction rights, synchronization rights, and performance rights. In addition, you can register with HFA and collect mechanical royalties from U.S. sources too. But now that you know everything, you can make an informed decision.