Notes · Platform royalties
Spotify Royalties
A Spotify play can earn recording and songwriting royalties. Notes delivers the recording and registers the composition side. Flat subscription. No royalty cut.
Spotify is the world's largest on-demand music streaming service, with hundreds of millions of paid subscribers and free-tier listeners across more than 180 markets.
Best for Notes. Musicians who release to Spotify and still need the publishing and neighboring-rights sides registered, not only the recording delivery.
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How Notes collects this
Notes ships your sound recordings to Spotify as part of every release, with credits and ISRCs included. Your songwriter credits are registered with PROs and The MLC so the publishing side of every play is paid as well. Recording royalties from Spotify, plus the performance and mechanical royalties behind every play, are reconciled in one place, with no percentage taken. Notes does not take a percentage of royalties.
The two pools
Where this sits on the royalty ring
- Distribution
- Broadcast
- Publishing
- Performance
Each arc is a /learn royalty type. The ring is the same chart as the glossary hub.
By platform type
Which royalties a play can earn
| Platform type | Recording | Mechanical | Performance | Neighboring | Sync |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive streaming (Spotify, Apple Music) | ● | ● | ● | — | — |
| Non-interactive radio (Pandora, SiriusXM, iHeartRadio) | ● | — | ● | ● | — |
| Download / DJ stores (Bandcamp, Beatport) | ● | ● | — | — | — |
| Short-form & social (TikTok, Meta, Snap) | ● | ● | ● | — | ● |
| Fitness, sync & background (Peloton) | ● | — | ● | — | ● |
| Karaoke & sing-along (Singa, WeSing) | — | ● | ● | — | ● |
Interactive streaming (Spotify, Apple Music) pays recording, mechanical, and performance royalties, not neighboring rights, which come from non-interactive radio via SoundExchange. Karaoke also generates a print (lyric) royalty not shown above. ROXi-style on-demand music-video and karaoke TV is audiovisual, so it leans on sync and master-use licensing rather than the statutory mechanical.
Questions
FAQ
- What are Spotify royalties?
- Spotify is the world's largest on-demand music streaming service, with hundreds of millions of paid subscribers and free-tier listeners across more than 180 markets.
- What does a Spotify stream pay?
- A single Spotify play pays on both sides at once: the recording earns streaming royalties for the artist, while the composition earns mechanical and performance royalties for the songwriter, collected separately through The MLC and the PROs. Per-stream rates aren't fixed; each play's value depends on Spotify's revenue, the listener's subscription tier and country, and the period's total streams.
- Does being on Spotify collect my publishing royalties too?
- No. Delivering to Spotify handles the recording (master) side. The publishing side, the mechanical and performance royalties the composition earns, is collected separately through The MLC and the performing-rights organizations, and only if your songs are registered with them. Notes registers both sides so the publishing half of every stream is collected, not just the recording half.
- How do I get my music on Spotify?
- Add your release in Notes and we deliver your sound recordings to Spotify directly as a Spotify partner, with your ISRCs and credits attached.
- Does Notes take a percentage of my Spotify royalties?
- No. Notes is a simple $5/month subscription with no percentages and no hidden fees. The royalties from both the recording and publishing sides are paid to you in full.
Built on the record
Sources
Notes is an independent music distribution and publishing administration service. Named platforms and collection societies are independent organizations. This page is not affiliated with, authorized by, or sponsored by them. Spotify is a registered trademark of Spotify AB. Notes is not affiliated with, authorized by, or sponsored by Spotify.