One play on a streaming service starts a chain of payments that most artists never see. This page follows that chain stop by stop, names who holds the money at each stop, and shows where independent artists usually lose part of it. Nothing here is a promise; it describes how the system usually works.
Stop 1 — the listener pays the platform
Subscriptions and advertising form a pool of money at each platform for each country and month. The platform keeps its share and splits the rest between recording rights (the master) and song rights (composition and lyrics).
The exact split varies by platform, country and deal; what matters for you is that two separate streams of money leave the platform: one for the recording, one for the song.
Stop 2 — the recording money goes to the distributor
The recording share is paid to whoever delivered the recording: a label or a distributor. The distributor deducts what the written agreement says and pays the artist or label on its payout cycle.
This is the stop most artists watch. It is also where the clearest losses happen: wrong ISRC, duplicate releases, or a distributor that holds payouts behind thresholds and fees.
Stop 3 — the song money goes to societies and the MLC
The song share is paid to collecting societies (performance) and, for the United States, to The MLC (mechanical). They match the money to registered works and pay publishers and writers.
If the song was never registered, or the writer credits were incomplete, the money sits unmatched and is eventually distributed to others. This is the largest silent leak for independent artists.
Stop 4 — neighbouring rights for performers and producers
Radio, television, shops and venues pay neighbouring-rights societies for the use of recordings. That money goes to the recording owner and to the performers, through societies such as PPL in the UK, SoundExchange in the US and their partners abroad.
Artists in countries without a functioning society can usually still register through a foreign society that accepts international members.
Stop 5 — platforms that use your recording in videos
When someone uses your recording in a video, a fingerprint system can claim the video and route advertising money to the rights holder. Without a claim, the money goes to the uploader.
A claim needs a reference delivered by a distributor or label, correct ownership data, and someone watching for unclaimed uses.
- Reference delivered: the platform can recognise your recording.
- Ownership complete: the claim is not disputed or released.
- Monitoring: new uses are found and claimed.
Where money is usually lost
- Unregistered songs: performance and mechanical money never matched to you.
- Missing performer registration: neighbouring rights paid to nobody.
- Metadata errors: wrong ISRC, wrong name spelling, two profiles for one artist.
- Distributor terms: thresholds, fees and holds in the written agreement.
- Unclaimed video uses: advertising money paid to uploaders instead of you.
- Withholding tax without the right form: part of the payout withheld at source.
What to do this week
- Register every song you wrote with a performing-rights society, and with The MLC if you have US streams.
- Register as a performer with a neighbouring-rights society that accepts you.
- Check that every release has one ISRC per recording and one spelling of your name.
- Read the payout section of your distribution agreement: thresholds, fees, holds.
- Run the free lost-royalties audit on this site if you want a second pair of eyes.
Questions
Does the artist get all of the recording money?
No. The platform keeps its share first, then the distributor or label applies the written agreement, then the artist is paid. The exact figures are in those agreements.
Why do song royalties take so long?
Societies and The MLC pay on quarterly or half-yearly cycles after matching usage to registrations; unregistered works wait until someone claims them, if ever.
Can Mazufa collect song royalties for me?
Mazufa distributes recordings and documents writer credits. Song royalties are collected by societies and publishers; the publishing page explains what Mazufa does and does not do today.