Which rights/royalty orgs and tools should I know (MLC, neighboring rights societies, HFA, royalty portals, split sheets, audits)?
TL;DR - Lock in every revenue stream by registering with one PRO + one mechanical hub + one neighboring-rights society, then use a cloud royalty portal for quarterly audits. Artists who do this often recover 10–25 % “lost” income in the first year.
Case Study — “Riverstone – Royalty Recovery 2024”
• Month 0: registered splits in Songtrust + MLC → $0 → $2.7k mechanicals → backpay cleared in 8 weeks
• Month 1: claimed sound recordings with SoundExchange → +9 % stream revenue → $1.3k annual uplift
• Month 3: neighboring-rights signup via PPL (UK) → +6 % airplay income → $730 found cash
Total recovered in Year 1: $4.7k on a 1M-stream catalogue
1 │ Why This Question Matters
• Different rights (performance, mechanical, neighboring) pay through different pipes; miss one and money gets stuck
• DSP dashboards often show ~75 % of what’s owed; third-party audits surface the rest
2 │ Step-by-Step Framework
Collect song & share data — finalize split sheets (percentages + IPI) before release day
Register compositions — performance with one PRO (ASCAP/BMI/SESAC/SOCAN); mechanicals (US) with the MLC or via Songtrust/HFA
Register sound recordings — neighboring rights with SoundExchange (US digital), plus PPL (UK) / Re:Sound (CA) as relevant
Centralize royalties — pipe all income into one portal (LabelGrid, Vydia, Stem) for a single dashboard
Run semi-annual audits — compare DSP statements to PRO/mechanical payouts; flag gaps > 5 %
Automate splits — use DistroKid Splits, Stem, or TuneCore Splits to auto-disburse earnings
3 │ Metrics & Traffic-Light Guard-Rails
• % songs with split sheet: green 100 % | yellow 75–99 % | red < 75 %
• Registration lag (days): green ≤ 14 | yellow 15–30 | red > 30
• Missing income found (annual): green ≥ 10 % | yellow 5–9 % | red < 5 %
4 │ Rights & Royalty Toolkit
• ASCAP / BMI / SESAC — US performance royalties; join one as songwriter (annual dues, exclusivity)
• MLC — US streaming mechanicals; free direct or via admin (US only)
• Harry Fox Agency (HFA) — mechanical licensing & audits for larger catalogs (commission)
• SoundExchange — US digital performance/neighboring for masters (US-only payouts)
• PPL (UK) / Re:Sound (CA) — neighboring rights collection abroad (paperwork required)
• Songtrust / Sentric — global publishing admin if you need worldwide collection (≈15 % admin fee)
• LabelGrid / Vydia / Stem — royalty portals and split pay (monthly platform cost)
• Audiam / Royalty Review Council — audit services every 2–3 years or before a catalog sale (upfront or % fee)
5 │ Common Pitfalls & Fast Fixes
• No split sheets → lock splits before masters are delivered
• Double registration → cross-check ISRC + ISWC in one master sheet
• US-only collection → use Songtrust or Sentric for global reach
• Ignored neighboring rights → claim masters with SoundExchange and PPL
• One-time audit only → schedule audits every two years; some rights lapse
Key Takeaways
• The PRO + mechanical hub + neighboring-rights trio can lift annual revenue 10–25 %
• Split sheets are the foundation; without them, no society can pay correctly
• One royalty portal = faster tracking and easier gap detection
• Regular audits convert “black-box” money into deposits
How to Use
Complete split sheets for every track
Register in order: performance → mechanical → neighboring
Route all statements into one portal and schedule the first audit six months after release