Music royalties are (intentionally) setup to be confusing AF! It’s overly complicated, with antiquated laws and structures that are not setup for the modern music and technology era we’re in now. Download my free Royalties Flowchart and learn about all things royalties: aristake.io/SVjoYZ
I stumbled across Ari’s content and happily dove head first down a rabbit hole. This is some of the most helpful, thoughtful, and thorough information for independent artists I have encountered. I really appreciate the work you are doing, sir. THANK YOU, SO MUCH!! 👏🏿
I've been breaking this down for literally 6 years and you're always more detailed and perfect at explaining everything... #heavensent THANKS ARI GOING ON 6 YEARS STRONG when you barely had a website ;)
This is without a doubt the clearest, most informative video I have watched on navigating through this musc business madness. Thank you. I liked, subscribed, shared and preordered your book.
I think I hit the "Subscribed" button a freaking million times! 2 years trying to make sense of all this! This was one of the most valuable videos I have ever seen on the Tube! I still need to know which I should do: Join ASCAP as both Publisher & Writer then join MLC?
Hi Ari! Thank you so much for this video- it’s be been helpful. Especially with the charts, I am a visual learner and that helped me so much. I do have a question for you that I’m having a really hard time finding an answer for as an independent artist anywhere on google. I am about to use distrokid for the first time to upload some music on to Spotify. I’m excited about the teams option- however- When I put my producer on the split- is that percent from the net sales? I’m wanting to give him 20% of net and I’m not sure if that’s what I should be putting in the split. Thanks again Ari!
So I have Sony Music Publishing, does that mean they collect my sync royalties? And I have a question about sync to.. Is sync fees same as sync royalties? are they different ? And I know that Sony will collect 30% after a certain time in the contract.. and if they take 30% does that mean it’s off of the fees or royalties?
Is a producer considered an artist on the sound recording side or can they set in their terms that not only do they want 50% of the pub they also want 50% of the artist share in the sound recording since they made the beat and exported it into a digital product aka master (not just came up with the idea (the melody & sounds) but hand made it from scratch)?
Hi, I just stumbled to this great video and I just want to verify something. If your working with a band having all members registered to our PRO here in Australia which is APRA AMCOS, is it ideal that all members also have their individual songtrust account or can we just use one registered account to enlist all our members to get their splits accordingly? Another thing is that, incase we register our songs to these entities, are we suppose to upload it both on our PRO account and songtrust account?
What if you purchased a beat offline, wrote all the lyrics, recorded the lyrics and released the song (via distrokid)? Also you're independent performing artist and the producer wrote back that you can keep all the royalties. Would the producer still get 50% of writer's share or publishing share? Do I own the masters to the song (with my lyrics and his beat/instrumental).
I'd say HFA is much better than MLC. Because if you represent yourself as a songwriter, why not just represent yourself as a publisher? And then get ab HFA? Looks more pro and it doesn't limit you.
Hi Ari, I’ve come across your channel, excellent walkthrough. Very easy and simple to follow. Is it possible to get a copy of the deck you shared? I cannot see the link for materials
Thanks for all the info Ari. One question I have. Is there a website that tracks the life of a song after its initial placement and upfront fee? Meaning when it goes into syndication. I have had a few placements on network TV a few years ago that I have never seen a dime from my Pro on the backend?
What if I didn't make the beat but is leasing it and my contract says I get 100% of my Mechanical and performance royalties and I will be writing the song. The only thing I can't do is sync it with film or gaming. What category would I fall under and what would be the percentage for publishing? I will be releasing all my music myself on songtrust.
My friend is considered a ( vanishing publisher company) I just plug him into ascap , how do I make sure he’s getting his splits cand correct pay? I need a video specifically to learn how publishers like him are set up to get paid also
Hi Ari, thank you so much for helping songwriters with all of this. Quick question if we aleady have songtrust does that mean we cant sign up for the MLC? Ari, I see you have songtrust admin so do you have MLC?
@@ArisTake thank you. 😊 Quick question Ari, which companies are you affiliated with to get all your Mechanical and Performance Royalties? Ascap, songtrust, hfa, music reports, etc...???
@@NATTYNAT ASCAP and Songtrust. That's all I need for performance and mechanicals. HFA and Music Reports don't handle mechanical royalties anymore. The MLC took over from them.
❓ I played drums on an album that has been sold and streamed since the mid 90's. The artist died, and his vanity publishing company no longer exists. How can I start receiving royalties on current sales (maybe past sales too?) Thank you
Hi dear Ari unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it back to the states iam stuck in paris but not from the music world so here the equivalent of ascap is la Sacem they collect your royalties worldwide but you need a thousand views so before la Sacem I copyrighted my songs with music start they are affiliated to la Sacem Handy I will listen again and again until it gets inside my head my point is could I become a ascap member if iam French anyway thanks Ari
What should I do if I am a foreign artist registered with a CMO such as SUISA, SIAE, GEMA (which collects in addition to public performance royalties also mechanical royalties) but does not see his works registered in the MLC database? Should I join MLC ?
I just stared sign up for The MLC, the first thing that happens is; "Your account verification is in progress". How long does that usually take? Then what comes next? Should I do something now, or do I wait until the verification process is complete?
Hi dear Ari thanks am the composer the song writer and the singer so the artist I feel like this isn’t my century I have copyrighted all my songs with an agency online affiliated to la Sacem the later collects your royalties for you in tue world but to become a member of pa Sacem the equivalent is ascap you need to have a thousand views on a social media app so in between I am scared to put my music out and then once at la Sacem iam going to have to get a digital distributor
What about being the songwriter and artist who has the music done by work to hire. You are saying although I paid for the track the person who i play the tract own 50% of my song?
Can non-US resident's sign up for Sound-Exchange? If so, why would they need to sign up with their countries Neighbouring Rights Organization? Is it a payment/tax thing? If so, what about sync agencies/sag/aftra/distributers/adim pub - how do they all pay a non-US resident?
So I am debating: should I be my own publisher? or hire a publishing admin? I am hearing countless scenarios where Songtrust and other administrators are not registering their songs with the proper agencies/orgs This is ridiculous! If they don’t even sign your song up with the MLC… Then I would literally get 0% of my mechanical royalties?? I’m starting to think that the only way that I will get 100% of monies owed is to do it myself… You can easily find out who pays what for each country… If someone has to painstakingly go through the whole payment pipeline just to find out if your admin is “doing their job correctly”….. It might benefit independent song writers: to just get the job done on your own!
Great explanation, Ari. Lindsay came across to me as someone not very authentic though, strictly business, very corporate and distant. Just wanted to share my feedback about her because her personality clashes with yours, Ari, and with the style of people your audience connects with.
What kind of copyright should i get if i wrote the song and also performed it so im the sole owner; do i just do a SR copyright ? Or one SR and a PERFORMING copyrights both?
3:55 there is a key bit of information that you left out. In order to record a cover song, an artist needs permission from the songwriting copyright owner. If one records a song without the songwriting copyright owners permission, legal action can be taken by the owner of the registered copyright to send a cease and desist order to whomsoever recorded the work without permission.
you actually do not need permission to record a cover song. under copyright law once the first use of the song has been approved by the original songwriters anyone can cover the song without permission. the platform streaming the recording just needs a mechanical license - which all DSPs have. the DSP (Spotify, Apple Music, etc) then pays the publisher the royalties.
@@ArisTake thank you for the reply! Could you please provide the specific law so that I can read it? I would like to read it for myself. I'm interested to see what the definition of "first use" is. Furthermore, the whole point to registering a copyright with the US Copyright Office is exactly so that people cannot use your IP without your permission. I can think of many Disney specific examples where cease and desist orders were made, and all works of the cover artist (recordings AND score arrangements) were seized/confiscated. Disney has many great case studies where their IP is veraciously protected. Thank you for your reply. To be clear, I'm just seeking knowledge and information. My intent is not to be argumentative or to purposefully negate anything you say.
@@ArisTake in Malaysia, in order to record cover song we need to seek for Reproduction clearance from the music publishers. Does this "first use" covers in US only?
This is actually no longer accurate, you do not need permission, all that the rightsholder holds rights to is to receive any due royalties from the publishing side i.e. Mechanical royalties aka cover song licenses.
Music royalties are (intentionally) setup to be confusing AF! It’s overly complicated, with antiquated laws and structures that are not setup for the modern music and technology era we’re in now. Download my free Royalties Flowchart and learn about all things royalties: aristake.io/SVjoYZ
I stumbled across Ari’s content and happily dove head first down a rabbit hole. This is some of the most helpful, thoughtful, and thorough information for independent artists I have encountered. I really appreciate the work you are doing, sir. THANK YOU, SO MUCH!! 👏🏿
After many years, clarity. Thanks
This is one of the best videos I’ve ever watched on TH-cam
That was incredible! So glad I stumbled upon you in my rabbit hole of trying to track down old royalties and relaunch my music career.
You’ve inspired me so much! I’m about to record a video today to post to my channel. Thank you for the inspiration 🙏🏾💕
I've been breaking this down for literally 6 years and you're always more detailed and perfect at explaining everything... #heavensent THANKS ARI GOING ON 6 YEARS STRONG when you barely had a website ;)
MANY LEVELS KING
Nothing but good brother! Thank you!! Who else didn’t know about The MLC?
I've watched this several times and it'a ALWAYS so very helpful!
This was so awesome. So many of my questions were answered. Thanks, Ari! I'll be buying your book.
This provided so much CLARITY for understanding the various work flows… I feel great. Thank you so much!!
Thanks for breaking it all down for us, Ari! You are truly a great musician, author and teacher!
-Trey:)
This video is pure gold, thank you Ari 💙
This is without a doubt the clearest, most informative video I have watched on navigating through this musc business madness. Thank you. I liked, subscribed, shared and preordered your book.
Thank you so much! I understand so much more now.
I think I hit the "Subscribed" button a freaking million times! 2 years trying to make sense of all this! This was one of the most valuable videos I have ever seen on the Tube! I still need to know which I should do: Join ASCAP as both Publisher & Writer then join MLC?
Thank you Ari! Very informative as always
Just found your channel Ari - you’re a complete boss. Thank you for the amazing content
This is exactly what I have been looking for!! Thank you so much for breaking this down so simply!! You rock 🤘🏼
happy to help!
Thank you so much for this clear explanation! This video is so informative.❤
Nice videos and the chart too
Thanks Ari!
Hi Ari! Thank you so much for this video- it’s be been helpful. Especially with the charts, I am a visual learner and that helped me so much.
I do have a question for you that I’m having a really hard time finding an answer for as an independent artist anywhere on google.
I am about to use distrokid for the first time to upload some music on to Spotify.
I’m excited about the teams option- however-
When I put my producer on the split- is that percent from the net sales?
I’m wanting to give him 20% of net and I’m not sure if that’s what I should be putting in the split.
Thanks again Ari!
thanks for sharing knowledge.
Thank you 🙏🏾
So I have Sony Music Publishing, does that mean they collect my sync royalties?
And I have a question about sync to.. Is sync fees same as sync royalties?
are they different ? And I know that Sony will collect 30% after a certain time in the contract.. and if they take 30% does that mean it’s off of the fees or royalties?
Yes
Good information 👍
Your amazing
Is a producer considered an artist on the sound recording side or can they set in their terms that not only do they want 50% of the pub they also want 50% of the artist share in the sound recording since they made the beat and exported it into a digital product aka master (not just came up with the idea (the melody & sounds) but hand made it from scratch)?
Hi, I just stumbled to this great video and I just want to verify something. If your working with a band having all members registered to our PRO here in Australia which is APRA AMCOS, is it ideal that all members also have their individual songtrust account or can we just use one registered account to enlist all our members to get their splits accordingly? Another thing is that, incase we register our songs to these entities, are we suppose to upload it both on our PRO account and songtrust account?
Thanks ❤🎉
What if you purchased a beat offline, wrote all the lyrics, recorded the lyrics and released the song (via distrokid)? Also you're independent performing artist and the producer wrote back that you can keep all the royalties. Would the producer still get 50% of writer's share or publishing share? Do I own the masters to the song (with my lyrics and his beat/instrumental).
When you register at the mlc do you give your birth name of artist name
Did I just waste money on HFA. I signed up a month ago. I have MLC, but did I waste money on HFA?
I'd say HFA is much better than MLC. Because if you represent yourself as a songwriter, why not just represent yourself as a publisher? And then get ab HFA? Looks more pro and it doesn't limit you.
Hi Ari, I’ve come across your channel, excellent walkthrough. Very easy and simple to follow. Is it possible to get a copy of the deck you shared? I cannot see the link for materials
had a question what is songtrust good for nothing if the mlc is the only place that collects now ?
mlc is collecting for US territorial only. correct me if im wrong.
Thanks for all the info Ari. One question I have. Is there a website that tracks the life of a song after its initial placement and upfront fee? Meaning when it goes into syndication. I have had a few placements on network TV a few years ago that I have never seen a dime from my Pro on the backend?
Your PRO should have this information. Hit them up (ASCAP, BMI, etc)
@@ArisTake I smiled when I noticed that you are the author of the book behind. I bought it last year. It's full of amazing content. Shout out👌👌👌
What about just for artist that wrote just the lyrics only and recorded it?
On top of the beat / song.
Hey I’m Ari too
What if I didn't make the beat but is leasing it and my contract says I get 100% of my Mechanical and performance royalties and I will be writing the song. The only thing I can't do is sync it with film or gaming. What category would I fall under and what would be the percentage for publishing? I will be releasing all my music myself on songtrust.
My friend is considered a ( vanishing publisher company) I just plug him into ascap , how do I make sure he’s getting his splits cand correct pay? I need a video specifically to learn how publishers like him are set up to get paid also
I missed this but how can I reach you to ask some questions about royalties ?
Hi Ari, thank you so much for helping songwriters with all of this. Quick question if we aleady have songtrust does that mean we cant sign up for the MLC? Ari, I see you have songtrust admin so do you have MLC?
you do not need to signup for the MLC if you have Songtrust (or any publisher).
@@ArisTake thank you. 😊 Quick question Ari, which companies are you affiliated with to get all your Mechanical and Performance Royalties? Ascap, songtrust, hfa, music reports, etc...???
@@NATTYNAT ASCAP and Songtrust. That's all I need for performance and mechanicals. HFA and Music Reports don't handle mechanical royalties anymore. The MLC took over from them.
❓ I played drums on an album that has been sold and streamed since the mid 90's. The artist died, and his vanity publishing company no longer exists. How can I start receiving royalties on current sales (maybe past sales too?)
Thank you
Everything that I needed to hear. You're HIRED. 🤣
hi, should i sing with the copyright office before signining in with any other publisher company
Did you create an LLC or DBA and open a business checking account for your "vanity" publishing company? Is that even necessary?
Hi dear Ari unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it back to the states iam stuck in paris but not from the music world so here the equivalent of ascap is la Sacem they collect your royalties worldwide but you need a thousand views so before la Sacem I copyrighted my songs with music start they are affiliated to la Sacem Handy I will listen again and again until it gets inside my head my point is could I become a ascap member if iam French anyway thanks Ari
What about sound exchange?
What should I do if I am a foreign artist registered with a CMO such as SUISA, SIAE, GEMA (which collects in addition to public performance royalties also mechanical royalties) but does not see his works registered in the MLC database? Should I join MLC ?
Would love to know this as well
I just stared sign up for The MLC, the first thing that happens is; "Your account verification is in progress". How long does that usually take? Then what comes next? Should I do something now, or do I wait until the verification process is complete?
Can anyone refer me to some other PRO companies besides the traditional three. I need some other options,don't wanna go wrong.
Hi dear Ari thanks am the composer the song writer and the singer so the artist I feel like this isn’t my century I have copyrighted all my songs with an agency online affiliated to la Sacem the later collects your royalties for you in tue world but to become a member of pa Sacem the equivalent is ascap you need to have a thousand views on a social media app so in between I am scared to put my music out and then once at la Sacem iam going to have to get a digital distributor
What about the MLC ?
They collect digital mechanical royalties ( from DSP’s like Spotify,Apple music etc…)
if you find the melody of a song you also considerate as a music composer right ? so what copyright goes to music composer of the melody?
Composition
3 Years ago
What about being the songwriter and artist who has the music done by work to hire. You are saying although I paid for the track the person who i play the tract own 50% of my song?
If you buy a beat/production, make sure it’s in writing what rights you’re buying or licensing.
Hi can you become of lMC from France ?
Can non-US resident's sign up for Sound-Exchange? If so, why would they need to sign up with their countries Neighbouring Rights Organization? Is it a payment/tax thing? If so, what about sync agencies/sag/aftra/distributers/adim pub - how do they all pay a non-US resident?
🙏🏾🖤💫
So I am debating:
should I be my own publisher?
or hire a publishing
admin?
I am hearing countless scenarios where Songtrust and other administrators are not registering their songs with the proper agencies/orgs
This is ridiculous!
If they don’t even sign your song up with the MLC…
Then I would literally get 0% of my mechanical royalties??
I’m starting to think that the only way that I will get 100% of monies owed is to do it myself…
You can easily find out who pays what for each country…
If someone has to painstakingly go through the whole payment pipeline just to find out if your admin is “doing their job correctly”…..
It might benefit independent song writers:
to just get the job done on your own!
1:20
Is it just me, or does Ari look like Pauley Shore?
Great explanation, Ari. Lindsay came across to me as someone not very authentic though, strictly business, very corporate and distant. Just wanted to share my feedback about her because her personality clashes with yours, Ari, and with the style of people your audience connects with.
What kind of copyright should i get if i wrote the song and also performed it so im the sole owner; do i just do a SR copyright ? Or one SR and a PERFORMING copyrights both?
3:55 there is a key bit of information that you left out. In order to record a cover song, an artist needs permission from the songwriting copyright owner. If one records a song without the songwriting copyright owners permission, legal action can be taken by the owner of the registered copyright to send a cease and desist order to whomsoever recorded the work without permission.
you actually do not need permission to record a cover song. under copyright law once the first use of the song has been approved by the original songwriters anyone can cover the song without permission. the platform streaming the recording just needs a mechanical license - which all DSPs have. the DSP (Spotify, Apple Music, etc) then pays the publisher the royalties.
@@ArisTake thank you for the reply! Could you please provide the specific law so that I can read it? I would like to read it for myself. I'm interested to see what the definition of "first use" is. Furthermore, the whole point to registering a copyright with the US Copyright Office is exactly so that people cannot use your IP without your permission.
I can think of many Disney specific examples where cease and desist orders were made, and all works of the cover artist (recordings AND score arrangements) were seized/confiscated.
Disney has many great case studies where their IP is veraciously protected.
Thank you for your reply. To be clear, I'm just seeking knowledge and information. My intent is not to be argumentative or to purposefully negate anything you say.
@@ArisTake in Malaysia, in order to record cover song we need to seek for Reproduction clearance from the music publishers. Does this "first use" covers in US only?
This is actually no longer accurate, you do not need permission, all that the rightsholder holds rights to is to receive any due royalties from the publishing side i.e. Mechanical royalties aka cover song licenses.
Every single person tgat says the wana be a rapper, how is there only 46k views on dis video
Everyone’s missing out on half their royalties
So if you have song trust no need for MLC
CHECK OUT HRDRV FOR DISTRIBUTION😉