Understanding Mechanical vs. Performance Royalties
Understanding Mechanical vs. Performance Royalties
If you write songs, you earn royalties — but the two main types come from completely different sources and are collected by different organizations. Confusing them is one of the most common (and costly) mistakes independent artists make.
Performance Royalties
What they are: Money owed to a songwriter and publisher when their music is performed publicly — that includes radio play, streaming on Spotify/Apple Music, live concerts, TV broadcasts, and even restaurants and retail stores.
Who collects them: Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) — ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC in the US. You register your songs with a PRO, and they track public performances and pay you directly.
Key point: Performance royalties are split between the songwriter share and the publisher share. If you don't have a publisher, you can register as your own publisher and collect both halves.
Mechanical Royalties
What they are: Money owed to the songwriter (and publisher) every time a song is reproduced — that includes physical sales (CDs, vinyl), digital downloads, and interactive streams. A stream on Spotify generates a mechanical royalty because the platform is making a temporary reproduction of your composition.
Who collects them: In the US, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) handles blanket mechanical licenses for streaming and downloads. If you're signed to a label or publisher, they typically collect and pass through your share. If you're independent, you should register your songs with the MLC directly.
Key point: The statutory mechanical rate is set by law (the Copyright Royalty Board). As of 2026, the rate is a percentage of service revenue per stream for interactive streaming, and a fixed rate per physical/download copy.
The Quick Comparison
| | Performance Royalties | Mechanical Royalties | |---|---|---| | Triggered by | Public performance | Reproduction of the song | | Collected by | PRO (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) | MLC (US) or publisher | | Covers | Radio, streaming, live, TV | Streams, downloads, physical | | You register with | One PRO | The MLC |
What You Should Do
- Register with a PRO — ASCAP and BMI are open to all; SESAC and GMR are invitation-only.
- Register with the MLC — free for independent songwriters.
- Register your songs with both — not just your writer profile. Each composition needs to be listed.
- Make sure your splits are correct — if you co-wrote a track, each writer registers their own percentage.
Don't Leave Money on the Table
Many independent artists earn streaming revenue but never collect their mechanical or performance royalties because they don't know to register. These are separate from the recording revenue your distributor pays — they're owed to the songwriter, not just the recording artist. If you wrote the song, you're owed both.
This article is for educational purposes and not legal advice. For specific royalty questions, consult a music attorney or your PRO representative.
Was this article helpful?