Performance Royalties
Royalties earned when a musical composition is performed publicly, broadcast, or streamed.
What it means
Performance royalties are payments made to songwriters, composers, and publishers whenever their musical compositions are performed publicly. This includes live performances at venues, radio broadcasts (terrestrial, satellite, and internet), television broadcasts, streaming on interactive platforms like Spotify, background music in businesses, and any other public use of a composition. Performance royalties are collected and distributed by Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) such as ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC in the United States, PRS for Music in the UK, and GEMA in Germany. These organizations negotiate blanket licenses with music users (radio stations, streaming services, venues, etc.) and then distribute the collected fees to their songwriter and publisher members based on usage data. For ambient and meditation music producers, performance royalties can be a surprisingly robust income stream. Music played in yoga studios, wellness centers, spa facilities, and through meditation apps all qualifies as public performance. Additionally, ambient music playlists on streaming platforms tend to have long average listening times, which can result in higher performance royalty accumulation per listener session compared to genres with shorter track lengths.
Technical details
Performance royalties are split between the writer's share (paid directly to the songwriter by the PRO) and the publisher's share (paid to the publisher or, in the case of self-published writers, also to the songwriter). The typical split is 50/50 between writer and publisher shares. PROs use various methods to track performances: digital watermarking, direct reporting from streaming services, sample-based monitoring of radio broadcasts, and census reporting from major broadcasters. Streaming platforms pay both a performance royalty (to the PRO) and a mechanical royalty (to the MLC/publisher) for each stream. PRO distribution cycles typically occur quarterly, with a 6-9 month lag from the date of performance to payment.
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