VerseOne

What are mechanical Royalties?

The term ‘mechanical royalties’ initially referred to royalties paid whenever a song was reproduced by a mechanical device (remember one of a copyright owner’s exclusive rights is the right to authorize the reproduction of their work).

The term ‘mechanical royalties’ was applied to the reproduction of songs in music boxes, player pianos rolls and, later, phonograph records. This term is still used and ‘mechanical royalties’ now refers to royalties paid for the reproduction of songs on CD, DAT, audiocassette, flexi-discs, musical greeting cards, and other devices sold on a “per unit” basis. Partners pay and take care of mechanical royalties on behalf of labels by deducting them from each sale.

These deductions are not always paid to you or us as a company directly but instead paid out to a Performing Rights Organization. If you are not registered with a specific PRO, money will be held by a PRO until claimed by the original songwriter/artist. We also provide publishing to artists if you wish to claim your royalties from the U.K., U.S. and other regions.

NOTE: Beatport and streaming companies in particular will withhold a piece of any transaction made outside of the USA and will report directly to the Performing Rights Organization within the country however, if we have a direct deal with a Beatport and/or Traxsource to pay the mechanicals directly to us, we will account them on the report following month that it is being reported in.

Was it helpful?

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars
Loading...

Related to this topic

YouTube Composition are publishing royalties for the use of your content on YouTube and its affiliated brands.

Read more

Although 9 – 12 months is a long time, this is a realistic timeline for setting up a publishing agreement, registering your titles worldwide, the societies processing your information, and finally, having our royalties department processing your payment. If you sign up with any publisher, this timeline is standard. See how the quarterly royalties schedule […]

Read more

For the sake of this post, other services are considered: Publishing Administration, Neighboring Rights, Soundcloud Monetization, STEMS, Physical, Sample Packs, Music Video Distribution and more. We report royalties for other services at the same time of our quarterly statement postings. We only report once we have received payment for the said service and of course, […]

Read more

The term ‘mechanical royalties’ initially referred to royalties paid whenever a song was reproduced by a mechanical device (remember one of a copyright owner’s exclusive rights is the right to authorize the reproduction of their work). The term ‘mechanical royalties’ was applied to the reproduction of songs in music boxes, player pianos rolls and, later, phonograph […]

Read more

What is Publishing? In the music industry, Publishing refers to the ownership, control, and commercial exploitation of musical compositions. It further refers to the collection of all royalties ensuing from the usage of musical compositions.  Music publishing is the business of songwriters, composers and publishers. Why Choose Verse One For Your Publishing Administration? In order […]

Read more

Do you still have any questions?

Contact Us