How Royalties Are Calculated

When BeatStars provides your royalty estimate, several factors are taken into account. Similar to other royalty calculators, we calculate the total earnings from both your US-based mechanical royalties.

As part of the process, you’ll have the opportunity to input your ownership percentage in the designated field. Using that information, we’ll divide the mechanical royalties you’ve earned by your ownership percentage. If you’re unsure of your ownership percentage, list 100% ownership for the calculation’s purpose. However, please note that the estimates we provide may not be entirely accurate, as your percentage is likely shared with collaborators.

Below, we’ve outlined definitions for mechanical royalties, and the PROs responsible for paying out those royalties.

What are mechanical royalties?

Consider this the side of publishing that generates royalties that come from streaming platforms – Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Soundcloud, etc. 

Essentially, if a listener makes the effort of choosing a song and physically pushing play on their computer to listen to the song, then you’re entitled to mechanical royalties. 

What are performance oyalties?

Let’s say you walk into a bar, club or restaurant, a mall, an arena or a retail establishment and you hear music playing. Since you or someone else did not physically push play to listen to the song, it generates a performance royalty. Those royalties are then collected by a Performing Rights Organization (more on that below), and paid to the songwriters, composers, and music publishers who own the original work.

What is a PRO? 

A Performing Rights Organization (PRO) represents the copyrighted musical works of songwriters, composers, and music publishers. In the U.S., the main PROs are BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC. 

These organizations are responsible for collecting performance royalties from businesses and entities that use music publicly, such as bars, clubs, restaurants, malls, streaming platforms, radio stations, and live performance venues. They then distribute these royalties to the rightful copyright holders.

Sign up for a PRO for free with BeatStars Publishing and get paid

Signing up to a PRO is fairly simple. The selection of PROs depends on the country you live in. For our purposes, we’ll use U.S. PROs as examples. 

Your PRO will send you an IPI number, which is basically your “fingerprint” within the publishing world. It’s a number that is unique to you that you will have for the duration of your career. Once you have your IPI number from your PRO, you can sign up with BeatStars Publishing! 

‍Here is a list of all of the PROs and societies we support around the world. 

Heads up! If you do not have an IPI number, BeatStars has partnered with IMRO to generate and process IPI numbers immediately and for free. During your BeatStars Publishing onboarding process, you will be guided through an IMRO set-up process. By default, IMRO members are affiliated with ASCAP for U.S. representation. However, if you choose to register their works differently, opting for SESAC or BMI, your representation will be adjusted accordingly.

When registering your tracks, you only need to register them once time with BeatStars Publishing. Your registrations are ingested into the Sony Score system, and are sent out to all the PROs and Societies worldwide. On top of that, your registrations are sent to your home PRO and registered, saving you the time to register them yourselves. Your PRO will still pay you for their collection of performance royalties, but we also have streamlined the process for you.