Yes, for many songwriters and artists this is the majority of revenue earned from their compositions. It is important to remember there are multiple revenue streams to be collected from streaming activity. There are two categories to consider for audio only streaming:
Interactive Streaming aka On-demand
Examples: Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Tidal, Rhapsody
An interactive Streaming Service means the user can choose his/her songs, stop, go backwards, go forward, create customer playlists, etc., with no restrictions. This type of service will generate 3 different royalty streams:
- A performance royalty, collected by your PRO*
- A mechanical streaming royalty, collected by TuneCore Publishing Administration
- A sound recording royalty, collected by TuneCore for the albums you distribute
Non-interactive aka Internet Radio
Examples: Pandora, Sirius XM, Slacker, TuneIn Radio
A Non-Interactive Streaming Service means the user cannot pick songs, create playlists, go backwards, see what song is playing next, etc. Think of it like traditional radio. This type of service will generate 2 royalty streams:
- A performance royalty for the composition which is collected by your PRO*
- A performance royalty for the sound recording, which is collected by Sound Exchange and paid direct to artists
For more information on how your music makes money from streaming:
*Performance royalties are split in two two categories: the writer’s share and the publisher’s share. Performance royalties are collected by Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) such as ASCAP and BMI. While the writer’s share is always paid to artists direct, some PROs do not pay through the publisher’s share to songwriters direct. PROs also have reciprocal agreements with many PROs around the World. When your song generates royalties outside of the United States, monies are exchanged between PROs pursuant to these reciprocal agreements. These agreements do not ensure that all of your performance royalties will be collected. By signing up with TuneCore Pub, you are directly connected with the hundreds of PROs, CMOs, MROs around the World. This ensures you are not leaving any money on the table.