Music Royalties in African Music – Part II
In the previous article, we discussed the concept of royalties and listed the different types of royalties.
- Mechanical Royalties;
- Public Performance Royalties;
- Synchronisation Royalties;
- Neighbouring Rights Royalties;
- Streaming royalties;
- Digital Royalties;
- Sampling Royalties; and
- Print Royalties.
In this article, we shall briefly explain some of the different royalties you need to know.
Mechanical Royalties are gotten whenever the composition of a musical work is reproduced and distributed physically or digitally. Mechanical royalties were previously gotten whenever the composition was mechanically reproduced through printing, on a blank vinyl disc to sell the record (hence the name “Mechanical Royalties”). The development of digital space has meant that sales are now digitally.
So, mechanical royalties are earned whenever the work is reproduced digitally, either through downloads or streaming. The bulk of mechanical royalties today are generated by digital streaming platforms such as Spotify, iTunes etc. Mechanical royalties are due to the composition copyright holder of a musical work.
Public Performance Royalties are generated whenever a musical work is being performed, played, recorded or streamed publicly, in a commercial environment. Public performance includes an artist performing a musical work personally and being played through the internet, radio, and CDs. The music being played in your barbing salon and bars is being publicly performed and generates royalties for the right holders. This royalty is collected by the Performance Right Organisation (PROs) such as BMI, ASCAP, and PRS, also called Collective Management Organisation (CMOS). In Africa, this royalty is collected by CMOs like COSON in Nigeria, and SAMRO in South Africa. Public Performance royalties are due to the composition/publishing copyright holder of a musical work.
Neighbouring Rights Royalties are similar to public performance royalties. They are generated whenever there is a public performance of the musical work but are paid to the sound recording copyright holder (e.g. the record label). Neighbouring Rights Royalties are often misunderstood and sometimes overlooked, but they are quite simple. Remember that a song has two copyrights embedded in it. The Public Performance royalty is for the composition/publishing, and the Neighbouring Rights royalty is for the sound recording. Not all countries pay this royalty, e.g. the U.S.
Synchronisation Royalties are gotten whenever a musical work is added to an audio-visual media such as TV commercial, movies, video games etc. This includes the musical works you hear in your favourite movies, e.g. Red Right Hand by Nick Cave which was used throughout the peaky blinders series on Netflix. Synchronisation Royalties are gotten on either the composition/publishing copyright or the sound recording. A song (the lyrics and sound recording) is synced with a movie; the user pays for two licenses – sync and master use license. Through this, royalties are made on both copyrights.
However, should only the lyrics be used, and another person sings a cover of the song, the artist will only get paid for the composition. An example is Netflix series Bridgerton, where Ariana Grande’s composition of “Thank u, next”, was used.
Streaming Royalties are gotten digitally, whenever the song is played on any digital platform such as Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Before streaming, music was primarily monetised by sales. Streaming has however changed this. Users can now consume music digitally without having to buy the record physically.
The idea of streaming royalties was to ensure that artist earn from the digital usage of their copyright. Streaming royalties are a mix of mechanical royalties and public performance royalties. The royalties are paid for both copyrights in the musical work.
Music Royalties are essential, as they can be an excellent way for rightsholders to earn extra money, even years after the song has was released. Mariah Carey has made about $60 million from her song “All I Want For Christmas Is You” in the US alone. If Mr Eazi’s follows through with his plans, those who invest stand a chance to partake in the numerous streams of royalties he earns.
Lastly, stay up to date with all you need to know about African music at SOA, right here.
I am a Nigerian qualified lawyer with over 3 years of post-qualification experience. I’m an alumnus of the University of Lagos and the Queen Mary University of London where I completed a master’s degree in corporate commercial law with a distinction. I’m also a drummer, a lover of dogs and an avid gamer.
Over the years, I have offered corporate and commercial services to companies, businesses and start-ups and provided advisory services to artists and record labels. I currently work with Laude London, a music management consultancy firm which offers publishing, sync placement, branding, and A&R services to artists.
Music Royalties in African Music
