Royalty Collection

  • Assistance with collecting royalties from the major royalty organizations based in the United States. 

  • Assistance registering with the relevant royalty organizations, if needed.

  • Ongoing support registering music with the royalty organizations as you release new music.

 
 

Contact us to learn more. Free initial consultation for all potential clients.

 
 

More Info

  • Assistance collecting musical composition monies and sound recording performance monies from the following U.S.-based music industry royalty organizations: The PROs (e.g., ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR); The Harry Fox Agency; The MLC; Music Reports; SoundExchange; and The AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund.

  • Help creating accounts with each such royalty organization, if needed.

  • Unlimited scheduled phone/video meetings to discuss any questions or comments in connection with royalty collection from such organizations. 

  • Assistance registering your existing catalog of music (if needed) and new music with such organizations.

  • Quarterly audits of your catalog to ensure proper registration with such organizations.

Fees

  • Attorney will collect and retain a percentage of royalties earned from the relevant music industry royalty organizations.  Schedule an initial inquiry meeting for additional information. 

  • There is a one-time upfront fee for this service that covers onboarding and an initial catalog audit. Schedule an initial inquiry meeting for additional information. 

  • In addition to the legal fees described above, there may be additional fees to create accounts with each royalty organization, if needed. 

  • The total price of legal fees and any account creation fees will be discussed and agreed upon in advance.

  • You do not need a membership with Music Law Pro for this service

Why don’t you provide all of your services on a percentage-basis? Why is there also an upfront fee?  The upfront fee allows us to provide initial services personalized for you and your catalog to ensure you’re set-up for success. The initial services covered by the upfront fee include the following: 

  • (1) A music industry background/foundation meeting to provide you with the basics on how to collect all of your music royalties, how best to protect your rights, and touch base on the status of your existing catalog (if applicable). 

  • (2) An audit to confirm which songs in your released catalog are registered with such royalty organizations and whether your music is properly protected.

  • (3) A follow-up email summarizing the royalty collection organizations discussed during the music industry background/foundation meeting, as well as a summary of the results of our audit. 

  • (4) Assistance registering accounts with the relevant royalty collection organizations if needed.

How much is the upfront fee?  Everyone’s catalog is different. The upfront fee is dependent on a number of factors, including, the size of your catalog, whether you are already registered with any royalty organizations, the metadata you currently have, and other relevant factors so we can properly onboard clients and develop a personalized strategy for royalty collection. Schedule an initial inquiry meeting for additional information.

Why should I work with Music Law Pro to collect my royalties rather than doing it myself or working with a third party administrator?

  • Be truly independent. Registering with the relevant royalty collection organizations allows you to act as your own record label and publisher, thus making you a truly independent artist and/or entity. Embrace that independence with full confidence knowing that you have a team supporting you on the backend.

  • Peace of mind. We stay up-to-date with the requirements of each applicable royalty organization so you don’t have to. Let us take care of account set-up and song registration, so you can focus on your music with peace of mind knowing that registrations are being done properly.

  • Free up your money.  Don’t miss out on potential revenue because you are missing accounts, have missing or incorrect registrations, or are missing revenue streams that you weren’t even aware of.  Let us guide you through the process and do all the heavy lifting for you to ensure you aren’t missing out on any royalties.

  • Advice from a qualified attorney.  Many existing administration services cannot give legal advice.  As part of Music Law Pro’s service, you’ll have an initial discussion meeting with a qualified attorney right out of the gates to answer any of your legal questions in connection with royalty collection. Then for all ongoing royalty collection services, our qualified attorneys supervise our knowledgeable team and are available to step in if legal needs arise.

FAQs

  • Which royalty organizations are covered under the royalty collection service?  There are a number of royalty organizations around the world, however Music Law Pro’s service focuses on the major royalty organizations based in the U.S. that specialize in  collecting musical composition monies and sound recording performance monies.  Such organizations include: U.S.-based performing rights organizations (e.g., ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR), the Harry Fox Agency, The MLC, Music Reports, SoundExchange, and the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund. Please note that this service does not include registration and collection of income in connection with self-service distribution companies (e.g., DistroKid).

  • Does the royalty collection service extend to foreign royalty organizations? No. Although certain foreign royalties may be collected through the U.S. royalty organizations (which may be further discussed as part of our services), Music Law Pro does not directly register with any royalty organizations based outside of the U.S.

  • What are the quarterly audits? The quarterly audits are a quarterly check of your catalog to ensure that all of your works (including, but not limited to, your existing catalog, new works, features, etc.) have been properly registered for your shares with the various royalty organizations. If we find that any works have not been registered or if any registrations have been done incorrectly, then we will assist with registering and/or correcting such registrations as part of our service.

  • If I don’t know certain metadata or am missing contracts, will you help find such metadata and negotiate such contracts?  While we may ask for certain contracts and other paperwork to confirm your rights prior to registration, we are unable to draft, review, or negotiate such contracts as part of the royalty collection service.  If you need assistance with contract drafting, review, or negotiation, please see our available contract services.  If you are missing metadata, we will do our best to assist you in recovering such information as needed for each registration. 

  • Do I need to have contracts with third parties in order to use your royalty collection services?  No.  While we encourage having contracts and a clean paper trail of each party's rights, having a formal agreement with collaborators is not a requirement to utilize our services.  If you do not have formal agreements, a member of our team will further discuss your rights and potential legal implications as it relates to royalty collection.

  • Do I have to be an artist to utilize the royalty collection service?  No.  Anyone who is entitled to royalties may utilize our royalty collection services.  Whether you are an independent artist, producer, record label, publisher, or an heir to a music catalog, we are here to help.