Two Halves of Every Song
Every piece of recorded music has two sides that earn money separately:
- The master recording: the specific audio you release. Distribution royalties from streaming and downloads come from this side, and this is what InterSpace collects for you.
- The composition: the underlying song (melody and lyrics). Money earned from the composition is called publishing.
How Publishing Earns Money
Publishing royalties are generated whenever the composition is used, including:
- Performance royalties when the song is streamed, played on radio, or performed live, collected by Performing Rights Organizations (PROs).
- Mechanical royalties when the song is reproduced, for example in streams and downloads, collected by mechanical societies such as the MLC in the US.
- Synchronisation fees when the song is used in film, TV, games, or adverts.
Why This Matters to You
Your InterSpace distribution royalties are only the master side. If you wrote the song, there is a whole second stream of publishing income you should also be collecting. To do so you generally need to register your songs with a PRO and a mechanical rights society or a publishing administrator.
Learn More
Read Master Recordings vs Publishing Rights: The Difference, What Is a Performing Rights Organization (PRO)?, and What Is the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC)?