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Step 2 of 10 in this module#12 of 1,000

2. Royalty Type 1: The Master Recording Royalty

Part 1 • Two Distinct Royalties Generated by Every Stream (The Gap)

The Master Recording Royalty is generated whenever the specific sound recording is played. This is the money that goes to the owner of the master.

<ul> <li><strong>Source:</strong> Streaming services (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube), digital downloads (iTunes, Bandcamp), physical sales (CDs, vinyl).</li> <li><strong>Collector:</strong> Your distributor (e.g., DistroKid, TuneCore) is responsible for collecting these royalties from the streaming platforms and digital stores.</li> <li><strong>Payout:</strong> Services like DistroKid typically pay 100% of these royalties to you, the artist, after taking their distribution fee (either annual or per-release).</li> </ul> For many independent artists, this is the *only* royalty stream they are actively collecting, which creates the "gap."

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In this module: Two Distinct Royalties Generated by Every Stream (The Gap)10 steps
  1. 1The Dual Copyright: Master Recording vs. Composition
  2. 2Royalty Type 1: The Master Recording Royalty
  3. 3Royalty Type 2: The Publishing Royalty (The Gap)
  4. 4Why DistroKid (and Similar) Don't Collect Publishing Royalties
  5. 5The Financial Impact of the Royalty Gap
  6. 6Who Pays What: A Simplified View
  7. 7The Analogy: A Two-Part Check
  8. 8The Role of PROs and Publishing Administrators
  9. 9The Importance of Songwriter Registration
  10. 10Your Actionable Royalty Gap Strategy