Royalties
Streaming Royalties
Streaming royalties are everything a single stream pays out — split across the recording (the master) and the composition (mechanical + performance).
One stream is not one royalty. The platform pays the recording side — the master, collected by your distributor — and, separately, the composition side: a mechanical royalty (via The MLC in the US) and a performance royalty (via a PRO) for the songwriter.
Each piece is a fraction of a cent, calculated from the platform's licensing deals, and each is collected by a different organization — which is exactly why streaming money goes uncollected. Notes registers and reconciles all of them in one account.
Here's the part that surprises people: most services pay pro-rata — they pool all subscription and ad revenue, then divide it by each track's share of total streams. So your per-stream rate isn't a fixed number; it shifts with the whole platform's activity. A few services use a user-centric (fan-powered) model that pays from each listener's own subscription instead.
Good to know
Streaming Royalties: common questions
- Why is one stream paid by several organizations?
- Because a stream uses two copyrights at once — the recording and the composition — and the composition's mechanical and performance royalties are collected separately from the recording revenue. Notes pulls them all together.
- Does my distributor collect all of my streaming royalties?
- No — a distributor collects the recording side. The composition's mechanical and performance royalties need a publishing administrator and PRO. Notes does both.