Industry
Independent artistes, musicians struggle to collect royalty from digital platforms; get support from managers, IPRS
Summary
Many independent artistes in India are unaware of how to collect royalty, especially from new-age digital platforms. Experts highlight the importance of tracking and registration with rights management organisations to maximise revenue.
Many artistes and musicians, especially those working outside the realm of film music, are missing out on collecting royalty for their work, especially from relatively new platforms such as audio streaming services and social media.
“Independent artistes today have several avenues to earn royalty, but many might not be fully aware of all the opportunities. Besides traditional revenue streams and live performances, digital platforms have become significant sources," said Rakesh Nigam, CEO of the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS), which collects royalty on behalf of musicians and then distributes them.
Artiste managers and entities such as IPRS are educating artistes on how to track their performance and data on streaming platforms and register with governing bodies to get royalty from radio and live performances, among others.
Nigam said streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube generate sound recording and publishing royalty. Sound recording royalty is paid to the owner of the master recording—this is usually the record label, but for independent artistes who own their masters, this revenue goes directly to them.
Publishing royalty, which is given to the songwriter or composer of a song, is managed through music publishers like IPRS. Publishing royalty is further divided into two categories – performance royalty that is earned whenever a song is publicly performed, either live or via broadcast, and mechanical royalty, which comes from reproductions of a song, such as digital downloads or physical sales.
Lack of awareness
In addition, social media platforms pay royalty for music used in content creation. Sync licensing, where music is used in TV shows, films, advertisements and even video games, is another growing revenue source that is often underutilised by independent artistes.
“For independent artistes to fully capitalise on these revenue streams, they must ensure that all their metadata is accurately registered with the relevant rights management organisations. This ensures that they can claim both sound recording and publishing royalty from multiple platforms and channels," Nigam said.
Lyricist Mayur Puri agreed that it’s imperative for all artistes to learn to track and read data provided by digital platforms to figure out what’s working with audiences and build revenue.
“Plus, registering yourself as a member of IPRS gives you a unique identity, for which there is no gatekeeping," Puri explained.
One of the biggest challenges that independent artistes face is the lack of awareness and education around royalty collection, experts said. Many of them don’t know how royalty is tracked and distributed, or even how to register their work with entities such as IPRS.
This leads to unclaimed royalty, especially from digital platforms. Additionally, incorrect or missing metadata can result in music not linked to the artist, meaning royalty goes uncollected.
Another hurdle is the fragmented nature of the sector, with different collection methods adopted by various platforms and regions, making it difficult for artists to manage without professional support.
Sanujeet Bhujabal, managing director of Universal Music India and South Asia, said one major gap is the low registration rate of creators and their work with registered societies. Proper registration and adherence to metadata standards are fundamental to securing royalty.
According to a 2023 EY report on the music creator economy and music publishing, of over 60,000 creators in India, fewer than 13,500 are registered with IPRS, a concerning statistic that underscores the need for greater awareness.
"Another challenge lies in finding the right partners. It is crucial for artistes to work with progressive labels and aggregators that operate with transparency, robust systems, and an artiste-centric approach," Bhujabal added.
According to the EY report, India consumes more music per capita than the world average but ranks 14th in recorded music revenue and 23rd in publishing revenue due to issues such as the lack of legal clarity and compliance. However, India’s rank is improving due to settlement royalty to IPRS and signing of licensing deals with global platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
“These are opportunities of economic gain and not of loss. If an artiste makes ₹100 on the master side, they can easily make ₹10-12 on the publishing side without having to do anything else other than simply ensuring they’re correctly registered and all paperwork has been shared with the relevant stakeholders," said Aayushman Sinha, founder and CEO of REPRESENT, a talent management agency. “This 10-12% additional revenue continues for a lifetime and more and is the asset they’re able to leave behind for their families. It’s the pension plan for each musician."
