Your Music Is Streaming. So Why Aren’t All the Royalties Reaching You?

You released the music. It is available on streaming platforms. People are listening.

So why might some of the royalties still not be reaching the right people?

Getting music onto a streaming service is only the beginning of the royalty journey. Before money reaches a songwriter, artist, publisher, label, or another rightsholder, usage must be reported, recordings must be connected to compositions, ownership must be confirmed, and payments must be directed to the correct parties.

When the information required to complete that journey is missing or inconsistent, royalties can be delayed, misallocated, or left unmatched.

One song, two separate copyrights

A recorded song generally involves two distinct copyrights:

• The musical composition: the underlying music and lyrics written by the songwriter or songwriters.

• The sound recording: the specific recorded performance of that composition, sometimes called the master.

Each side generates its own royalties and may have different owners, administrators, collection organizations, and payment processes.

A songwriter who also performs and releases their own music may own interests in both copyrights. However, that does not mean all revenue flows through a single company—or that distributing the recording automatically registers the composition everywhere it needs to be registered.

This distinction is one of the most common sources of royalty confusion.

Distribution does not necessarily collect everything

A distributor usually delivers sound recordings and release information to streaming platforms. It may also collect revenue generated on the recording side.

But songwriters can earn separate royalties related to the underlying composition, including performance and mechanical royalties. Those royalties may flow through performing rights organizations, The Mechanical Licensing Collective, publishers, administrators, and other organizations depending on the type of use and territory.

This means a song can be successfully delivered to streaming services while important composition information remains missing, incomplete, or incorrectly registered.

The music is available. The streams are happening. But the systems responsible for paying composition royalties may not have everything they need to identify the correct owner.

Where the royalty process commonly breaks down

1. Songwriter splits were never finalized

Collaborators may agree informally on ownership percentages during a writing session but never document the final splits.

If the writers later submit conflicting ownership information—or if the total shares do not equal 100%—registrations can become delayed or disputed.

A signed split sheet completed close to the writing session can help prevent confusion later.

2. The song information is inconsistent

Even small differences can make matching more difficult.

The title delivered by a distributor might not match the title registered with a collection organization. A songwriter might use a stage name in one system and a legal name in another. Featured artists, alternate versions, remixes, and punctuation can create additional variations.

Consistency across systems gives a recording and its underlying composition a better chance of being matched correctly.

3. Important identifiers are missing

Music-industry identifiers help distinguish between people, recordings, compositions, releases, and organizations.

Common examples include:

• ISRC for a sound recording

• ISWC for a musical composition

• IPI or CAE number for a songwriter or publisher

• UPC for a release

An identifier alone will not fix incorrect ownership information, but accurate identifiers make it easier for different systems to connect the right data.

4. The composition was not properly registered

Uploading a recording through a distributor is not the same as registering the underlying composition with the appropriate organizations.

Self-administered songwriters and independent publishers need to understand which registrations are their responsibility. If nobody completes them—or if everyone assumes someone else did—the associated royalties may not reach the intended rightsholders.

5. Ownership changes were not communicated

Catalogs do not remain static. Songs may move to a new publisher or administrator, agreements may end, and ownership interests may be transferred.

If updated information is not delivered accurately and consistently, different organizations may hold conflicting versions of the same ownership record.

6. Nobody is reviewing the results

Registration is not always a one-time task.

Rightsholders should periodically review their catalog data, investigate unexpected payment changes, reconcile statements, and confirm that new releases have been properly incorporated into their royalty systems.

The absence of an error message does not necessarily mean everything is working as intended.

A simple royalty health check

If you are unsure whether your catalog information is complete, begin with these questions:

• Are all songwriter names and ownership percentages documented?

• Do the ownership shares total 100%?

• Is the same song title used across your distributor, PRO, publisher, administrator, and other relevant systems?

• Are legal names, professional names, affiliations, and identifiers accurate?

• Have both the recording and the composition been addressed?

• Is it clear who is responsible for every registration?

• Can you trace payments back to the applicable song, usage period, and agreement?

• Does someone regularly review unmatched, rejected, suspended, or conflicting data?

If any answer is “I’m not sure,” there may be a gap worth investigating.

Better royalty outcomes start with better operations

Royalty problems are often treated as payment problems. In reality, many begin much earlier—with incomplete metadata, unclear ownership, inconsistent registrations, or workflows that were never designed to scale.

The good news is that these issues can often be reduced through clear responsibilities, consistent data, documented processes, and regular reconciliation.

Creators should be able to focus on making music. The systems supporting them should make sure the work that happens afterward is handled with equal care.

Tsila Rights helps creators and music businesses bring clarity to complex rights, royalty, reporting, and operational workflows. If your music is being used but you are uncertain whether the royalty process is working as it should, contact us at hello@tsilarights.com.