How do artists get royalties from radio?

benthedrum

Senior Member
Hello to my friends on DW.

Considering that radio is a free medium, how do artists get royalties from their music being played?
 
Every song played by the station (or iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, etc.) is logged & reported to BMI or ASCAP. BMI/ASCAP invoice the radio station owners for the royalites, then distribute the royalties to the artists associated with the song. This includes the writers, producers and anyone else authorized to receive royalties in the recording contract.

Therefore, to receive royalties you must first be registered with BMI or ASCAP.
 
Every song played by the station (or iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, etc.) is logged & reported to BMI or ASCAP. BMI/ASCAP invoice the radio station owners for the royalites, then distribute the royalties to the artists associated with the song. This includes the writers, producers and anyone else authorized to receive royalties in the recording contract.

Therefore, to receive royalties you must first be registered with BMI or ASCAP.

So is the BMI or ASCAP a global enterprise?

Is there different procedures based on the country that the radio station is based?
 
In Australia APRA monitors each radio (and TV) station randomly several times a year, looks at ratings and extrapolates total airplay and assigns royalties to the songwriters or copyright owners. The radio stations pay license fees based on how many people are listening, and how much music is played. So do shopping centres and places that play the radio out loud to the public.

APRA also collects license fees from theatres and major venues to pay royalties for large live performances, especially touring acts, musicals, etc.

APRA (Australian Performing Rights Assoc) is affiliated with similar bodies in other countries, and they forward royalties back and forth to pay overseas artists. Songwriters register their new songs with APRA so they can be paid.
 
Radio is free to you and I, but sponsors pay tons for their ads to run on these stations. Just as you would spend money to pay for a streaming service not to have those ads.
The record label makes money per play and a percentage is paid down to the artist(s). anyone in this country playing music for public consumption must pay for the service. Companies that own juke boxes
must have a certificate posted on each device in order to legally play that device.
 
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It's actually quite an involved process. Thanks for the feedback on my query guys.
 
The record label makes money per play and a percentage is paid down to the artist(s).

That's incorrect-- fees are paid to performance rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI, which then pay royalties directly to the artists they represent-- composers and lyricists, not instrumentalists.

Companies that own juke boxes
must have a certificate posted on each device in order to legally play that device.

Mechanical royalties for things like juke boxes are paid by a different system, through the Harry Fox office.
 
So I just heard, on the radio, that Queen has not seen a penny of the $900,000,000+ the movie Bohemian Rhapsody has made so far. Does ASCAP and such cover this also? Seems like a shame if not.
 
So I just heard, on the radio, that Queen has not seen a penny of the $900,000,000+ the movie Bohemian Rhapsody has made so far. Does ASCAP and such cover this also? Seems like a shame if not.

Weren’t they offered a deal on a “realistic” biography by Shasha Baron Cohen but declined?
 
Weren’t they offered a deal on a “realistic” biography by Shasha Baron Cohen but declined?

I have no idea. In sticking with the topic though, the public that watches the movie (in the theatre) is hearing songs by Queen. I would think this would qualify for royalties.

When I was gigging we used to play at a venue that had a strict no covers policy. The owner didn't have an ASCAP license or whatever. There were no cover songs signs everywhere. We had brought Monstrosity to town, and they do a cover of Slayers "Angel of Death". As soon as they started to play it the venue owner killed the power.
 
So I just heard, on the radio, that Queen has not seen a penny of the $900,000,000+ the movie Bohemian Rhapsody has made so far. Does ASCAP and such cover this also? Seems like a shame if not.

I'm pretty sure that Brian May and Roger Taylor were executive producers. If that's the case, I'd be relaxed that Queen will get whatever is due.
 
Bohemian Rhapsody is a 2018 biographical film about Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the British rock band Queen. It follows the singer's life from just before he joins the band in 1970 to their 1985 Live Aid performance at the original Wembley Stadium in London. It was directed by Bryan Singer from a screenplay by Anthony McCarten, and produced by Graham King and Queen manager Jim Beach. It stars Rami Malek as Mercury, with Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander, Allen Leech, and Mike Myers in supporting roles. Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor served as consultants. A British-American venture, the film was produced by 20th Century Fox, Regency Enterprises, GK Films, and Queen Films, with Fox serving as distributor.


From Wiki
 
What's even more interesting is that they also attempt to keep track of live performances of copyright songs as well. Not each one, but if a bar/venue wants to legally have performances of cover songs or even for something like open mic night covers there's a fee that is supposed to get paid. Now, on that, I don't think individual artists really see anything, it's probably all one big bucket that gets divided into billions of shares.
 
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