Step 1 — Someone listens to your music
Platform / DSP
Spotify · Apple Music · BBC Radio · TV · Venue
Listener pays (subscription, ad revenue, licence fee)
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One play triggers up to THREE separate royalty flows
Publishing side — you wrote the song
① Performance royalty
PRS for Music
Performing Right Society
Collects from DSPs, broadcasters (BBC etc.), venues with a blanket licence
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Publisher share
~50% to your publisher
Writer share
~50% paid directly to you by PRS — bypasses publisher
② Mechanical royalty
MCPS
Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society
Administered by PRS for Music. Collects when your song is reproduced — streams, downloads, physical CDs/vinyl
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Publisher
Controls full mechanical in UK (no direct writer share at source)
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You (songwriter)
Paid by publisher per your deal
Master / recording side — you recorded the track
③ Master royalty (from sales & streams)
Distributor
DistroKid · TuneCore · Believe · major label in-house
Collects sales revenue from DSPs, takes ~10–20% fee, passes the rest to the master owner
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If signed: Record label
Recoups advance + recording + marketing costs first. Artist typically gets 15–25% after recoupment.
If indie: You
Keep ~85–100% of master income (minus small distributor fee)
③b Neighbouring rights (broadcast / public play of the recording)
PPL — Phonographic Performance Limited
Collects when your recording is broadcast on radio/TV or played in public venues
Splits 50% to master owner (label or you) + 50% to featured performer. Register as both if you own your masters. GVL (Germany) is PPL's reciprocal partner — they send UK PPL members their German neighbouring rights.
Sync — film, TV, ads, games
Sync licence
Negotiated directly: separate one-time fee for composition (your publisher or you) + master (label or you). Potentially the biggest single payday in music.
UK checklist: who to register with
PRS for Music — performance royalties as a songwriter (prsformusic.com)
MCPS — mechanical royalties; opt in during PRS membership (same portal)
PPL — neighbouring rights as a performer and/or master owner (ppluk.com)
PPL PRS Ltd — joint venture simplifies venue licensing since 2018
If you're also played in Germany, GEMA reciprocates with PRS for your publishing royalties, and GVL reciprocates with PPL for neighbouring rights.
Step 1 — Someone listens to your music
Platform / DSP
Spotify · Apple Music · ARD · ZDF radio · Venues
Listener pays (subscription, ad revenue, broadcast licence fee)
↓
One play triggers up to THREE separate royalty flows
Publishing side — you wrote the song
GEMA
Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte
GEMA is a single society that collects BOTH performance royalties (like PRS) AND mechanical royalties (like MCPS) in one place. It has a legal monopoly in Germany — membership is exclusive. Distributes quarterly (streaming now quarterly since 2024).
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GEMA splits the income between writers and publishers
You (songwriter)
Writer's share paid directly by GEMA. For mechanicals: GEMA pays 60% to authors, 40% to publishers — unlike the Anglo-American model.
Publisher
Publisher share from GEMA. Performance: ~50%. Mechanical: ~40%.
🇩🇪 Key Germany difference: GEMA collects both performance AND mechanical rights in one place. There is no separate MLC or MCPS equivalent — you only need to register once with GEMA. The mechanical writer's share is also paid directly to you (unlike in the UK, where your publisher controls it fully).
Master / recording side — you recorded the track
③ Master royalty (from sales & streams)
Distributor
DistroKid · TuneCore · Believe · Sony/Universal/Warner in-house
Same as UK: collects from DSPs, takes fee (~10–20%), passes remainder to label or indie artist
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If signed: Record label
Recoups costs first. Artist gets 15–25% after recoupment. Label also pays GEMA a mechanical licence fee for physical/download releases.
If indie: You
Keep ~85–100% of master income minus distributor fee
③b Neighbouring rights (broadcast / public play of the recording)
GVL — Gesellschaft zur Verwertung von Leistungsschutzrechten
Collects when your recording is broadcast on radio/TV or played publicly since 1959
Splits between master owner (label or you) + performer directly. If you own your masters AND perform on them, register as both. PPL (UK) is GVL's reciprocal partner — GVL sends German royalties to UK-registered artists.
Sync — film, TV, ads, games
Sync licence
Negotiated directly. GEMA handles composition clearance; master is cleared with you or your label. Germany is a major market for sync — especially advertising.
Germany checklist: who to register with
GEMA — performance + mechanical royalties as a songwriter (gema.de). Legal monopoly; membership is exclusive. Register works in the GEMA online portal with ISRC codes.
GVL — neighbouring rights as a performer and/or master owner (gvl.de)
If you're also played in the UK, PPL reciprocates with GVL for neighbouring rights, and PRS reciprocates with GEMA for publishing.