How to Find Unclaimed Music Royalties
More streaming services mean more places to track down payments. Here’s how to make sure you don’t lose yours.
Being a musician is demanding enough without having to worry about getting paid for your work. But neither is it easy to keep track of all the platforms on which your music may be streaming, making unclaimed music royalties an unfortunately common occurrence. Most chart-topping artists have a huge team working to make sure they get every cent of royalties they’re owed, but smaller artists have to stay vigilant (or pursue automated solutions) on their own behalf.
The near-instant access and distribution afforded by streaming services mean anyone with the creative chops can get their 15 minutes of fame — but it’s also easier than ever to be overlooked as the original author of a composition. Thankfully, the Music Modernization Act was signed into law in 2018 to create a clear and straightforward way to obtain digital music and pay artists their royalties, but it’s still far from an automatic process.
Learn more about every aspect of music finance with Music Finance: The Ultimate Guide.
How music royalties can go unclaimed
Let’s take a hypothetical example. An artist named Saint Vesuvius composes a new lo-fi chillout track called “Volcanowave III,” and they decide to publish it on Spotify, YouTube Music, and a handful of other streaming platforms. An influential curator enjoys Saint Vesuvius’ new track and adds it to their popular historical-disaster-themed playlist, which means the artist should start seeing royalty payments for all those streamed plays.
However, a number of factors may make it harder for Saint Vesuvius to keep track of the payments they’re owed.
The song is named inconsistently on various platforms — “Volcanowave 3” in one spot, “Volcano Wave III” in another.
Some of the platforms Saint Vesuvius submitted the song to go unchecked since the artist doesn't have an automated way to collate their data.
The song never received an International Sound Recording Code, or ISRC.
The unclaimed music royalties from Saint Vesuvius’ new track and the rest of the music industry don’t just disappear. After three years, they get pooled and distributed into the pockets of major publishers and top artists based on market share, such as Imagine Dragons or BTS. Frustratingly, what could have been an encouraging payout for an aspiring artist ends up being parceled out to major acts who were already doing very well. Keeping track of where and how often your songs are played will ensure you (and Saint Vesuvius) get your fair share of that payout instead.
How to find unclaimed music royalties and prevent future ones
First off, it’s always a good policy to head off potential disputes ahead of time by registering your music with a copyright office. In the process of registering you should receive an International Sound Recording Code, which will help organize your songs. An ISRC works like an ISBN for books — it’s a unique, 12-character code which can be used as a reliable way to identify any song. Then you can include that ISRC when you upload your songs to digital platforms, helping to ensure it doesn’t get mixed up with any others and that you get your proper payment.
Even with your ISRC set, it’s still important to make sure the title of your song is consistent across platforms; payouts can be delayed if the song data appears differently in different places. One of the most reliable ways to ensure you get your paid for songs is to sign up with a performance rights organization such as ASCAP or BMI, though that will mean paying the required fees.
Signing up with a PRO isn’t a one-and-done solution for finding unclaimed music royalties, as you’ll need to keep them up to date with any future work you do as well. If your PRO doesn’t know you have new music, it won’t know to collect the royalties for you. They also aren’t guaranteed to catch every performance, especially with the explosion of potential places for music to appear in recent years. Getting your proper payout for all your plays will still take some work, or the right partner.
Make sure music streaming services are working for you
All told, the best way to find unclaimed music royalties is to stay consistent and proactive about your music even after you “finish” it. Making sure all of your forms are properly filled out may be the furthest thing from your mind when you want to share a new track you’re excited about, but it could save you a lot of trouble in the long run. Here’s a quick recap of all the info you should have locked down when it’s time to start publishing your music across platforms.
Consistent song title
Consistent metadata
Registered ISRC
Updated PRO catalog
The more you have set ahead of time, the better position you’ll be in to make sure you get all the royalties you deserve on your music.
Thankfully, you don’t have to go it alone when you’re tracking down unclaimed music royalties. TrqkIQ is an automated platform that helps you track all of your potential revenue sources, and to make sense of reports from your PRO with intuitive visuals that put key info up front. With Trqk on your side, you can focus on making music and know you’ll be perfectly positioned to start collecting those checks once you’re ready. Get in touch with us now to find out more ways Trqk can help you.