Frequently Asked Questions

A common misunderstanding in the music business is thinking that being part of a performing rights organization (PRO) like ASCAP, or BMI makes a publishing administrator unnecessary.

However, this is far from true. The fact is, PROs and publishing administrators are different and have distinct tasks, but they both work together to ensure songwriters get paid. Both are essential for a songwriter's career.

Before we continue, it's important to know that PROs like BMI ASCAP operate as collection societies. Collection societies are broken up into three categories:

Performing Rights Organisation (PRO)
Collective Management Organisation (CMO)
Mechanical Rights Organisation (MRO)

It's important to know that publishing income comes from various royalty streams, and different organisations collect these royalties. A PRO collects performance royalties, while an MRO collects mechanical royalties, and a CMO collects both performance and mechanical royalties.

Collection societies are vital because they handle the process of collecting these royalties in each country. Each territory has its own society, like BMI ASCAP in the USA, SACEM in France and GEMA in Germany, and many others worldwide. Unlike most countries, it has multiple PROs and MROs, such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR, MLC, HFA, and MRI.

A publishing administrator like Master Publishing works with these societies to maximize your royalties globally and collect revenue from various sources, including mechanical royalties.

Without a publishing administrator, the process of receiving royalties can be slow and complicated, with money often getting lost along the way. It could take 18 months to several years for the royalties to reach you, if at all.

Master Publishing, alongside his partners, world-leading Rights App Technology, ensures that your songs are registered with the relevant societies worldwide, so you receive your money as quickly as possible. They handle the micropayments from various countries and make sure you get what you rightfully earned from the use of your songs.

If you're a songwriter in USA, yes, we would definitely recommend for you to be a member of BMI/ASCAP. BMI ASCAP issues you with an IPI number which you'll need to sign up to our service. We don't replace everything your performing rights society collects for you as a songwriter. As your Publishing Administrator, we work together with them (and digital sources) to make sure your compositions are registered correctly. The difference is that you won't need to register individual tracks with BMI/ASCAP - Master Publishing will be able to register your songs with collection societies all around the world, including BMI/ASCAP on your behalf.

Being a member of BMI/ASCAP has huge member benefits including special access to awards, grants, resource, assistance and writing camps. It is also often the case that when someone is looking to license music (TV, Digital, Radio) they will only do so once they can see that all shares are represented by a society and publisher as it will mean there are already blanket licenses in place to cover the usage or there is a licensing party that can be dealt with for clearance etc. Often music won't be used on TV if anyone who's written the song is not a society member. Master Publishing also doesn't collect the writer's portion of live performance royalties e.g. the royalty that is paid to writers when your song is performed in public. It's important you keep your BMI/ASCAP membership and submit your live performance returns to collect this royalty.

What is a Performing Rights Organization (PRO)?
A PRO such as BMI/ASCAP is a separate entity from a Publishing Administrator such as Master Publishing, but both work to ensure songwriters get paid. They play important roles in a songwriter's career.

Why should I be affiliated with a PRO?
We recommend affiliating with a PRO as you'll need to enter your CAE/IPI number during the registration process with Master Publishing. You can only get this from your PRO. We also recommend affiliating as a writer because they pay the writer's share of public performances directly to the composer. Master Publishing service handles your publishing share, but you need to affiliate with a PRO to receive the writer's share income, which is an additional revenue source.

What if I am not affiliated with a PRO?
If you are not affiliated with a PRO, we will automatically register your compositions with PROs as publishers, but we can't register you as a songwriter. If you're an artist in the USA, you can join BMI/ASCAP. We would recommend doing this first, before you sign up to Master Publishing. If from elsewhere, we would recommend joining the collection society in your country of origin. Affiliating with a PRO is essential for receiving your writer's share.

Master Publishing would not be able to represent these specific compositions until the term of any pre-existing agreements has ended. This means that if you already have a publishing or publishing administration agreement in place with another entity, we cannot collect the royalties for the composition. In the meantime, we are happy to represent any other of your compositions that are not subject to their agreement.

You'll get statements for your writer's share directly from your local PRO like BMI/ASCAP. But for your publisher share, Master Publishing takes care of it. We handle registrations with your local PRO and many other sources worldwide. You keep full ownership and control of your rights. So, Master Publishing acts as your administrator, making things easier for you.

A composition has two sets of rights: the writer's share, which belongs to the songwriter/composer, and the publisher's share, which can be managed by a publishing administrator like Master Publishing.

As a songwriter, you own both shares, but you can transfer the rights in the publisher's share through a publishing deal. In a publishing deal, the publisher is authorised to issue licenses and collect royalties for the compositions covered by the agreement. However, in a Publishing Administration agreement, ownership isn't transferred; only the right to administer the songs is given.

By attributing the publisher's share to a publishing administrator, like Master Publishing, you maximise potential royalties for the writer's share. This happens because the administrator directly registers the songs with your local PRO and hundreds of other income sources worldwide, ensuring a more efficient royalty collection process.

For example, let's take the song 'Cruel Summer' performed by Taylor Swift, co-written by Taylor, Annie Clark and Jack Antonoff. Jack has an administration agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). With this arrangement, UMPG takes care of registering his works with various income sources globally, including ASCAP (the local PRO), and collects the publisher's share. Jack continues to be paid directly by ASCAP for his writer's share.

By handing over the administration of his songs to UMPG, Jack can focus on writing music instead of worrying about registration and royalty collection.

Sometimes, you might be able to get royalties that were not claimed before. However, Master Publishing can't guarantee success with this process. It depends on the rules of the collection societies and income sources worldwide.

If you had a previous publishing deal, it might affect Master Publishing's ability to collect retroactively. However, in some cases, unclaimed royalties can still be collected for up to 2 - 3 years after they were earned.

To increase the chances of claiming historical royalties, make sure you submit all the necessary song information, like co-writer names, shares, ISRC codes, and recording details such as artist name. Unclaimed income usually appears 2 - 3 quarters after you join Master Publishing Administration and receive your first distribution.

Yes, registering now ensures that when you release your music, your songwriter royalties come directly to you. This way, nobody can claim they didn't know the music was yours and give it to someone else.

Remember, even though your compositions will be registered, you won't receive royalties until you release your music. Once your music is out and you start getting sales and streams, the publishing royalties will start coming to you.

Master Publishing receives publishing royalties from many societies, and each society has its own schedule for distributing payments. Usually, they follow a quarterly basis. So, Master Publishing processes and pays out royalties 45 days after each calendar quarter ends. Here's the schedule:

Q1 (January - March): Payout in mid-May
Q2 (April - June): Payout in mid-August
Q3 (July - September): Payout in mid-November
Q4 (October - December): Payout in mid-February of the following year

It takes around 9-12 months to receive your first royalty payment. For foreign societies, it might take even longer, around 12-18 months. This may seem like a long time, but it's standard for any publisher. The process involves registering songs globally, processing writer and song information, and then making payments.

Yes, you can receive royalties if you create a new arrangement of a song that is in the public domain. A song becomes public domain if its lyrics and music were published more than 100 years ago, which means its copyright has expired.

If you arrange a public domain work, you can add it to your Composition Manager and receive royalties as the arranger. However, make sure the song you're arranging truly qualifies as public domain.

For instance, if you create an arrangement of the traditional song 'Happy Birthday' you can register it as the arranger but not the composer/author. Keep in mind that not all income sources will pay the full amount of royalties due to arrangers. For example, some might only pay 20% of the full performance royalty for arrangements of public domain works.

Performer refers to the artist or band that is actually performing the song

Songwriter refers to the individual(s) who actually wrote the lyrics and melody

You can make money from your compositions in several ways, which fall into four main groups:

Mechanical Royalties: Earned from interactive/on-demand streaming, digital downloads, physical products (like vinyl and CDs), and ringtones. The streaming services pay a small percentage of each stream directly to PROs/ collecting societies.

Public Performance and Broadcast Royalties: Earned from interactive/on-demand streaming, digital radio, radio, TV, live concerts, and venues like bars, restaurants, and gyms.

Synchronization Licensing Fees: Earned from licensing your music for use in TV shows, films, commercials, video games, and other media.

Print Royalties: Earned from sheet music sales (both online and physical) and songbooks.

Yes, royalties from streams are the fastest-growing source of income for songwriters.

Depending on whether the streaming service is Interactive or Non-Interactive, there may be 1 or 2 royalty streams payable.

Interactive Streaming Service: Users can freely choose songs, create playlists, and have full control, e.g. Spotify & Apple Music. This generates 2 royalty streams: (1) a performance royalty collected by your PRO or global rights performing society, and (2) a mechanical streaming royalty collected by Master Publishing.

Non-Interactive Streaming Service: Users can't choose songs or create playlists, similar to traditional radio, e.g. Pandora and iHeartRadio. This generates only 1 royalty stream: a performance royalty collected by your PRO in your registered territory or by Master Publishing for the rest of the world.

No, you can only submit your own original compositions. If a composition was written by someone else, their copyright and ownership control it.

A composition is a musical work, with or without lyrics, that has been created by a songwriter/composer.

A sound recording, often also referred to as a 'master', is the recording of a performance of the underlying composition. This includes beats, percussion, bass, guitar, vocals, etc.

A single composition or musical work may have multiple recordings, e.g. remixes, radio edits, or other versions.

Registering your compositions correctly is vital for faster and more efficient collection of your publishing revenue. Accurate data ensures accurate payments, and although dealing with all the information might seem overwhelming, registering with Master Publishing is easy.

CAE and IPI numbers are the same, and they are international identification numbers given to songwriters and publishers to uniquely identify rights holders. These numbers, typically 9-11 digits long, are assigned when a songwriter joins a performing rights organization (PRO) such as BMI/ASCAP. The IPI system replaced the CAE system in 2001.

To register for Master Publishing, it is a requirement to have an IPI/CAE number issued to you first as you'll need to input it during the registration process. It's crucial to provide your IPI/CAE number to Master Publishing administration for accurate song registration and payments. This number links you to the songs you've written, ensuring you get paid correctly. You can get your IPI/CAE number from your PRO (such as BMI/ASCAP, by logging into your PRO account, or contacting them.

This information is only about MasterStreams Master Publishing Administration service. For information on Mastersplits, visit the Payment Splits tile in your artist dashboard.

Your share refers to how much of the copyright you own for a composition. If you wrote the whole song, your share is 100%.

If you collaborate with others, you divide the ownership percentage into shares. It's up to you to negotiate with your co-writers, producers, or band members. For example, a 50/50 share could be split between the lyricist and the composer.

It's essential to have written agreements with your collaborators for clarity. If shares change, you can contact MasterStreams Artist Support with the email associated with your account, the composition you need to change, and the new share percentages.

Yes, you can use copyrighted works in your music, but only if you obtain the proper license for it. There are different types of licenses you might need, such as mechanical, sample, or beat licenses.

Mechanical License: You need this when you cover or re-record someone else's copyright and distribute it. You can get this license from easysonglicensing.com. To find out who controls the original composition rights, you can check public repertories like songfile.com, songdex.com, or ASCAP/BMI's public repertory.

Sample License: Depending on how you use the original recording of another composition (by interpolating, re-recording, or sampling), you may need a sample license from both the master owner and the owner/publisher of the composition. You can research the original composition's rights ownership using public repositories like HFA, SongDex, or ASCAP/BMI.

Beat Licenses: If you get beats from platforms like BeatStars, Airbit, or Soundee, they may be eligible for publishing administration. Check if the license is exclusive or non-exclusive, and be aware of any usage restrictions on terms, plays, views, and streams. Copyright ownership should be credited to the original publisher.

Remember, obtaining the proper licenses is crucial to avoid copyright infringement issues.

If you distribute songs you've written, using Master Publishing for publishing administration ensures you don't miss out on any income. It's a comprehensive solution for independent songwriters and artists, giving you total control of your songs.

With Master Publishing, you keep 100% ownership of your songs, and you can register as many songs as you want for free via your own publishing dashboard. It provides faster royalty collections from various sources globally, cutting out delays by directly collecting from the paying market.

Your songs will also be eligible for sync licensing in film, TV, and advertising, giving your music more exposure.

The publishing dashboard is powered by world-leading Rights App Technology, making it easy to register your songs with thousands of income sources, including your local PRO. Unlike traditional publishers who pay twice a year, Master Publishing pays you publishing royalties four times a year.

The deal length is flexible, and you can cancel anytime after one year. The cost includes a one-time registration fee of $49 US and a 15% royalty commission.

In comparison to competitors, Master Publishing offers a comprehensive and efficient publishing solution for independent artists, ensuring you get the most out of your music.

Compositions falling into the following categories won't be accepted for administration because they don't qualify as musical works eligible for royalties:

1. Sound Effects/Sound Design: Nature sounds, car horns, ringing noises, etc.
2. Ringtones: Accepted only if they contain an original music composition created by you.
3. Spoken Word Compositions: Accepted if backed by an original musical composition by you. Famous speeches require a license from the copyright holder.
4. Royalty-Free Music: You cannot submit royalty-free music or music composed for royalty-free purposes.
5. Binaural/Meditation Sounds: No hypnosis therapy, self-help compositions, or relaxation works unless they fall under accepted spoken word categories.
6. Public Domain Works: Unless they are new and unique arrangements disclosed during signup.

No, they must be your original compositions. We DO NOT accept compositions that you did not create under our Publishing Administration agreement because the original copyright is owned and/or controlled by another songwriter & publisher.

You can only submit original compositions, which are compositions that contain music & lyrics composed by you, the songwriter.

You can however submit compositions with co-writes, but we'll only collect your individual share. Please provide the names and shares of your co-writers so we can credit and register them correctly. Your co-writers can also join our service if they don't have a Publishing Administrator.

The Composition Registration status in Composition Manager shows the status of your compositions' worldwide registration process. Here are the different statuses:

1. Submitted: Works are being validated and prepared for submission to societies.
2. Processed: Works have been registered.
3. Terminated: Works have been terminated from Master Publishing.
4. Ineligible: Works have not met the requirements for submission, please contact MasterStreams Support for more info

Please note that works are submitted for registration with societies on a weekly basis, but processing times vary among societies. This may cause a delay in your work showing up at your local society, even if they have been submitted by masterStreams. It's also common for societies to not notify us right away, even after they have ingested your works into their systems. Registration of songs takes time and can differ from one society to another.

When a song is written and recorded, two different copyrights are created: the sound recording and the underlying composition.

The composition is the musical work created by a songwriter/composer, with or without lyrics, including rhythm, chords, lyrics, and melody.

The sound recording, also known as a 'master,' is the recording of a performance of the composition.

For licensed uses of musical compositions, songwriters and composers get paid, usually collected by a publishing administrator like Master Publishing.

For licensed uses of sound recordings, performers/artists get paid, and the money is usually collected by a record label or distributor, like MasterStreams distribution service.

Yes! If your song is not distributed through MasterStreams or is available on multiple releases (like through a label or as a cover song), you can still sign up for MasterStreams. Just go to your Publishing Dashboard, click '+ Add New Song,' and fill out the form that appears.

It's important to include key data like the Performing Artist, Album Name, ISRC Number, and Release Date. This information increases the chances of matching your songs with various societies, which means more royalties. If your songs are distributed through MasterStreams, these key data points are automatically included in your song registrations.

There are multiple royalties that Master Publishing collects including Mechanical, Print, Sync and Micro-Sync. For many songwriters nowadays, this makes up the majority of their publishing income. Some examples of this revenue include:

Mechanical

Interactive streaming (when someone chooses to listen to your song e.g. Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Tidal, Deezer etc.)
Digital Downloads (from iTunes, Amazon)
Physical product such as vinyl, CDs and cassettes
Ringtones / ringbacks available from mobile phone companies
Cover versions of your songs (when someone else records your song)
Sample (when someone samples your song, you take a piece of ownership in the new song)
Karaoke (when someone makes a new recording of your song for Karaoke purposes)
Greeting Cards
On demand jukebox
Print

Physical and digital sheet music
Lyric reprints physical such as liner notes
Lyric reprints digital such as on Spotify or on MusixMatch/Instagram
Guitar tablature
Sync

TV shows
TV commercials
Films
Film trailers
TV promos
Video games
Mobile applications
DVD/Blu Ray
Micro-Sync

YouTube, TikTok, etc It is very important to note that a micro-sync revenue on a platform such as YouTube generates both mechanical and performance royalties.

Performance (publisher’s share)

Interactive streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Tidal, Deezer etc.)
Radio (AM/FM)
Internet radio
Satellite radio/non-interactive streaming (such as Pandora, Sirius XM)
TV (broadcast royalties paid by the broadcaster of a television show, film or advertisement – not to be conflated with the synchronization fee which is a one-off license fee paid for the synchronization of music to moving image)
Restaurants
Bars
Gyms
Live concert venues
Supermarkets
Retail outlets
Small businesses
Samples (when someone samples your song, you take a piece of ownership in the new song)

Master Publishing Administration registers your information with global mechanical rights societies and digital sources to ensure you get paid. Master Publishing registers your works worldwide to ensure you receive the publisher's share of mechanical royalties due to you.

In certain territories, especially in Europe and South America, synchronization fees for TV shows are licensed by mechanical rights societies under a 'blanket agreement.' Master Publishing would collect these fees on your behalf, but some publishers and writers may opt out of this agreement, usually reserved for well-known artists.

Every songwriter needs their own Master Publishing account and to pay the Master Publishing setup fee separately. This is because each songwriter needs to agree to the terms individually. This account is where your royalty information and payments will be posted.

**Remember, adding co-writer shares for a composition doesn't sign up those co-writers for Master Publishing. If you're collecting royalties on behalf of other co-writers, then they do not need to create a separate MasterStreams, account and pay the Master Publishing fee.

Every songwriter needs their own MasterStreams account and to pay the Master Publishing setup fee separately. This is because each songwriter needs to agree to the terms individually. This account is where your royalty information and payments will be posted.

**Remember, adding co-writer shares for a composition doesn't sign up those co-writers for Master Publishing. If you're collecting royalties on behalf of other co-writers, then they do not need to create a separate MasterStreams account and pay the Master Publishing fee.

Your Master Publishing agreement lasts for one year from the date you pay for the service. After the first year, it automatically renews every quarter without extra cost.

If you want to end the agreement, you can do so after the first year. Send us an email to support through your dashboard to request a termination.

TO END THE AGREEMENT:

When we get your request, we'll send you an email confirming the cancellation.

If you ask to end it at least 45 days before the quarter ends, the end date will be the same as that quarter's end. If it's less than 45 days before, the end date will be the end of the next quarter.

Quarters are:

January 1st - March 31st
April 1st - June 30th
July 1st - September 30th
October 1st - December 31st
For example, if you end on March 23rd, the end date is June 30th. If it's June 15th, the end date is October 1st.

Remember that Master Publishing can still collect income made during the agreement for 12 months after it ends (Post Term Collection rights).

Also, it's your job or your new publishing administrator's job to tell the collection societies about the change. Master Publishing gives a termination letter for you or your new admin to send out.

Every songwriter needs their own MasterStremas Publishing Administration account. They have to agree to the Master Publishing terms and pay the setup fee.

So, if you're in a band, each member should make a MasterStremas account (even if they're not the account putting out music). We'll use these accounts to pay each songwriter who isn't distributing their music.

**Remember, just putting co-writer shares in doesn't sign up that co-writer for Master Publishing. If you're collecting on behalf of your other band members, they do not need to create a separate account.

Below is a list of territories and digital sources we currently collect from.

Of course, you can add as many compositions as you want – whenever you want. Please login to your MasterStreams Account, click the Master Publishing tile, select the compositions you wish to add and enter your individual writer share of each composition. If you have compositions that are not distributed through MasterStreams you can add them here.

Our Publishing Administration retains a 15% commission from the royalties that we collect from the exploitation and broadcast of compositions written or controlled by you.

*Please note that there is a 40% commission on any earnings related to Synchronization (audio-visual licenses)

Master Publishing charges $49 US per writer to cover setup and administrative costs*. Master Publishing also retains a 15% commission from the royalties that we collect on your behalf. Please note MasterStreams only collects the publisher’s share, the writer’s share is paid directly by your local Performing Rights Organization (“PRO”).

Please note that there is a 40% commission on any earnings related to Synchronization (audio-visual licenses)

You can sign up for Master Publishing Administration by logging into your account and clicking the Master Publishing tile, and follow the checkout process.

We register your tracks at collection societies around the world. The rights are split 50/50. If you are a member of a collection society, you get 50% of your royalties directly and we receive the other 50%. We pay out the remainder of the royalties you are owed from the 50% we’ve collected on your behalf, ensuring you get your full 85%.

A song may be marked ineligible and not accepted for certain reasons. These include:

Not Original Song: The song must be something you created. We can't accept songs made by others because they might own the rights to them.

Uncleared Sample: If you use parts of someone else's music that they haven't given permission for, we can't accept your song unless they agree.

Public Domain Song: If you just slightly change a very old song that anyone can use, we can't accept it. But if you make a unique version of an old song, that could be okay.

Certain Types of Songs: Some types of songs aren't eligible for special rights under the law. These include songs that are only sound effects, ringtones from existing songs (unless you make your own music), and songs that are only spoken words (unless there's music with them).

Royalty Free Music: You can't use music that's free for anyone to use and say it's your own. And you can't make music just to be used for free and then say it's yours.

Binaural/Meditation Sounds: We can't accept songs made for hypnosis or self-help, unless they're in the spoken word categories like speeches or with calming music. This also includes massage or relaxation work.

If you're in the USA, we'd recommend signing up to BMI/ASCAP. For a full list of PROs for the rest of the world, visit this link here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_copyright_collection_societies