Get paid everywhere your song plays.
A song earns money in more than one place, and each place pays through a different door. These are the registrations that open them, with the official link for each one.
One track, two rights
Every release is two things at once. The song is the words and the melody. The recording is the audio file. They earn separately and they are collected separately.
ASCAP or BMI
Your performing rights organization
- What it collects
- Performance royalties for the song: radio, TV, bars, venues and the performance side of streaming.
- Who registers
- Everyone who wrote part of the song. You join one of them, not both.
- What it costs
- ASCAP: free to join as a writer. $50 if you join only as a publisher, waived when you join as writer and publisher together. BMI: its writer fee has changed more than once, so check the join page for today's price.
- Have this ready
- Legal name, address and tax ID (SSN, ITIN or EIN)
- Bank details for direct deposit
- Song titles and each co-writer's percentage
Performance royalties come in two halves: the writer's share and the publisher's share. If you publish yourself, ask your PRO how to collect both.
The MLC
Mechanical royalties from U.S. streaming
- What it collects
- The mechanical royalty that U.S. streaming and download services owe the songwriter. It is separate from what your PRO pays.
- Who registers
- Songwriters who administer their own songs. If you have a publisher or an administrator, they do this for you.
- What it costs
- Free to join.
- Have this ready
- Song titles, writers and their shares
- The ISRC of every recording of each song
- Your IPI number, which your PRO gives you
SoundExchange
Digital radio, paid on the recording
- What it collects
- Royalties for the recording when it plays on digital radio in the U.S.: internet radio, satellite radio and similar services. This money does not come through your distributor.
- Who registers
- Featured artists and whoever owns the master. If you are both, register as both.
- What it costs
- Free to register. An administrative fee comes out of what they collect.
- Have this ready
- Government ID and tax form
- Bank details
- Your list of recordings with their ISRCs
Each payment is split 45% to the featured artist, 50% to the owner of the recording and 5% to a fund for session players.
Songtrust
A publishing administrator, if you want one
- What it collects
- Your publishing royalties outside the U.S. A publishing administrator registers your songs with collection societies around the world so you do not have to join each one.
- Who registers
- Songwriters without a publisher whose music is being played in other countries.
- What it costs
- $100 one time per songwriter, plus a commission on what they collect: 15% of performance royalties and 20% of the rest.
- Have this ready
- Your PRO membership and IPI number
- Song titles, co-writers and shares
- Links or ISRCs for each recording
Songtrust is one option among several, not a recommendation. You keep your rights, but read the term and how to cancel before you sign. An administrator usually handles The MLC for you, so confirm that before registering there yourself.
ISRC & UPC
The codes every payment follows
- What it collects
- Nothing on their own. They are how every other system on this page knows a play belongs to you. The ISRC identifies one recording; the UPC identifies one release.
- Who registers
- Every release needs them. Your distributor usually assigns both when you deliver the music.
- What it costs
- Usually included with distribution.
- Have this ready
- One ISRC per recording: a remix, an acoustic or a live version each get their own
- One UPC per single, EP or album
- A file where you keep them all, next to the song titles
Artist profiles
Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists
- What it collects
- No royalties. They give you control of your photo and bio, and the data on who is listening and where.
- Who registers
- Every artist with music on the platforms.
- What it costs
- Free.
- Have this ready
- A release that is live or already delivered
- Artist photo and a short bio
- Your social accounts, to verify it is you
Do it in this order
- 01Join ASCAP or BMIYou get your IPI number, which other registrations ask for.
- 02Deliver the release to your distributorYou get the ISRC of each recording and the UPC of the release.
- 03Register each song at your PROTitles, co-writers and shares, agreed in writing first.
- 04Join The MLC and add the same songsMatch each song to its recordings with the ISRC.
- 05Register at SoundExchangeAs featured artist, and as rights owner if the master is yours.
- 06Claim your artist profilesBefore release day, so the song lands on a profile that is ready.
- 07Consider a publishing administratorOnly if your music is already being played outside the U.S.
Join the performing rights society of your own country instead of ASCAP or BMI: SACM in Mexico, SAYCO in Colombia, SADAIC in Argentina, SGAE in Spain. Societies pay each other across borders, so you normally belong to just one. The MLC and SoundExchange still apply to what your music earns inside the U.S.
This is general information about how the music industry works, not legal or tax advice. Vanta Label distributes your recordings; these registrations are yours to make and we do not file them for you. The names and sites on this page belong to their owners, and Vanta Label is not affiliated with them. Fees checked on the official sites in October 2026; confirm them before you pay anything.
Registered. Now release it.
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