How Do Royalties from Streaming Platforms Actually Work?

Types of Royalties from Streaming

Royalty Type	Who Gets Paid	Collected By
Master Royalties	Artist / Label (Recording)	Distributor (e.g., DistroKid)
Performance Royalties	Songwriter / Publisher (Composition)	PROs (e.g., ASCAP, BMI)
Mechanical Royalties	Songwriter / Publisher (Composition)	MLC (U.S.), publishers
Digital Performance Royalties	Performers (non-interactive streams)	SoundExchange (U.S. only)

 How the Money Flows (Simplified)

1. User streams a song
2. Streaming service pays:
• ~70% to rights holders (recording + publishing)
• ~30% kept by the platform
3. The 70% is split:
• Most goes to master rights owner (artist/label)
• A smaller portion goes to songwriters & publishers

 What You Must Do to Get Paid

Action	Pays You For…	Sign Up/Register With…
Distribute your song	Master royalties (artist)	DistroKid, TuneCore, etc.
Register with a PRO	Performance royalties	ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, etc.
Register with the MLC	Mechanical royalties	The MLC
Use an admin publisher (optional)	Global collections	Songtrust, Sentric, etc.

 Typical Royalty Estimates (per stream)

Platform	Approx. Per-Stream Rate
Spotify	$0.003 – $0.005
Apple Music	$0.007 – $0.01
Amazon Music	$0.004 – $0.006
YouTube Music	$0.001 – $0.003

These rates vary based on region, user type (free/premium), and pro rata payout models.

 Pro Tips

• You must register as both a writer and a publisher (or use an admin service) to collect everything you’re owed.
• Don’t assume your distributor collects publishing royalties—they only collect for the recording.
• If you’re not registered properly, you leave money on the table.

Bottom Line:
Streaming royalties are split between the artist (via the master recording) and the songwriter (via publishing). To get your full cut, make sure your music is registered with all the right organizations.