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Publishing royalties are the money owed to the songwriter — the person who wrote the lyrics and composed the music — and most independent Indian artists never collect them. They're separate from the streaming (recording) royalties your distributor pays you, they come from a different system, and if you don't register as a songwriter, this money simply goes unclaimed. If you wrote your own song, you're owed both.
This builds on how music royalties work in India — read that for the recording side.
Recording vs publishing royalties
| Recording royalty | Publishing royalty | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid for | The recording being streamed | The underlying song (lyrics + composition) |
| Paid to | The recording owner (you / your label) | The songwriter and composer |
| Collected by | Your distributor | A rights society or publishing admin |
The two kinds of publishing money
- Performance/communication royalties — earned when your song is played publicly or streamed. In India these are collected by performing-rights organisations such as IPRS (the Indian Performing Right Society), which songwriters and composers can join as members.
- Mechanical royalties — earned from reproductions of the composition (including streams). A publishing-admin service, or a distributor that offers publishing administration, can register your works globally to collect these.
How to start collecting
- Register as a songwriter/composer member with a performing-rights organisation like IPRS to collect performance royalties on your compositions.
- Use a publishing-administration service to register your works and collect mechanical and international royalties.
- Keep accurate songwriter splits for every song (who wrote what), just like you keep recording royalty splits.
Is it worth it?
If you're getting meaningful streams and you wrote your own music, yes — publishing royalties can be a real, recurring income stream that most artists leave on the table. The earlier you register, the more you collect. Curious what the recording side is worth first? See how much Indian artists earn from streaming.