What Are Mechanical Royalties?

When Mechanical Royalties Are Earned

Format or Use

Triggers Mechanical Royalties

Digital downloads (iTunes)

✅

On-demand streams (Spotify, Apple Music)

✅

Physical sales (CDs, vinyl)

✅

Ringtones

✅

Interactive apps using full songs

✅


 Note: Non-interactive streams (like Pandora’s free radio) do not trigger mechanicals—they pay performance royalties instead.


 How Much Do You Earn?

  • In the U.S., the statutory rate is 9.1¢ per copy (for songs up to 5 minutes).
  • For streaming, the rate is a portion of platform revenue, divided among all rights holders (payouts are much lower per stream).


 Who Pays Mechanical Royalties?

Role

Example

Royalty Collected By

Digital Services

Spotify, Apple Music

MLC (U.S.)

Physical Distributors

Labels, stores

Publishers or admin services

Download Stores

iTunes, Amazon MP3

Publishers or MLC



 How to Collect Your Mechanical Royalties

  1. Register with the MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective) – if you’re a U.S.-based songwriter or publisher.
  2. If you're not using a publisher, consider an admin service like Songtrust or TuneCore Publishing to collect on your behalf globally.
  3. Make sure your songs have accurate metadata (title, writers, splits).


 Pro Tips

  • Mechanical royalties are often under-collected—register early!
  • You can still earn mechanicals without performing or releasing music yourself, as long as your composition is used.
  • Every stream and download counts over time—build a catalog.


Bottom Line:
Mechanical royalties are a core income stream for songwriters, paid whenever your song is copied or streamed on-demand. Register with the MLC and stay on top of your catalog to make sure you get paid.

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