How to Register Publishing Royalties (And Collect the Money You're Already Owed)

Before you register anything, be clear on what you own.

As a beat producer, you typically own:

• The master recording - the actual audio file you created
• The composition copyright - the underlying melody, harmony, and arrangement

You own the composition copyright the moment you create it. You don't need to file paperwork for copyright to exist. But you do need to register to collect royalties.

A PRO collects performance royalties on your behalf - every time your music is streamed, broadcast on radio, played on TV, or performed live in a public venue.

When you register with a PRO, you register as both a songwriter and a publisher (if you're self-publishing, which most independent producers are). Registering as a publisher is important - PROs split each royalty payment into a writer's share (50%) and a publisher's share (50%). If there's no publisher listed, the publisher's share sits uncollected.

Once registered, you'll need to register each of your compositions (beats) individually. This includes the title, your IPI/CAE number (assigned when you join), and any co-writers if applicable.

In the United States, mechanical royalties from streaming are collected separately from performance royalties. The MLC is a non-profit organisation that collects mechanical royalties from streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.) and distributes them to publishers.

To collect streaming mechanical royalties in the US, you need to either:

• 1.Register directly with the MLC as a self-publisher, or
• 2.Work with a publishing administrator who is already registered with the MLC

Outside the US, mechanical and performance royalties are often handled by the same organisation (APRA AMCOS in Australia handles both, for example).

Once you're registered with a PRO and the MLC (or a publishing administrator), you need to register each beat individually. This is where most producers stall - the manual registration process for a large catalog is genuinely time-consuming.

For each beat, you'll typically need:

• Song title - must match the title on the released recording exactly
• ISRC code - a unique identifier assigned to the recording by your distributor
• Your IPI/CAE number - assigned when you joined your PRO
• Co-writer information - if the beat was co-produced, each producer's details and their percentage split
• Publisher information - your publishing entity name and IPI number
• Release date and distributor

Your beats earn royalties in every country they're streamed. Each country has its own collection society, and those societies have reciprocal agreements with each other. In theory, if you're registered with your home country's PRO, international royalties should flow back to you.

In practice, this works reasonably well for large markets (US, UK, Germany, Australia) but can be unreliable for smaller markets. A publishing administrator with international reach can help ensure royalties are collected globally.

Registering as your own publisher means you collect both the writer's share and the publisher's share of every royalty payment - effectively doubling what you'd receive if no publisher is registered.

Setting up a publishing entity typically involves:

• Choosing a publishing company name (must be unique - check with your PRO)
• Registering the company with your PRO as a publisher
• Registering the company with the MLC (US) as a self-publisher

Some producers skip this step. It means they only collect 50% of available performance royalties (the writer's share). The publisher's share sits uncollected until it expires.