This famous artist/songwriter then
politely told me again... and this time, with looks of support from his wife... "I have
never received a royalty check in my life!" Wow,
I was totally blown away! If I disclosed all of the many Mega-hits records that he had co-written, you
would be “messed up” like I was. And just so you know, we are probably talking about at least $700,000 in mechanical royalties.
Also - for all you know-it-alls, no, he had not gotten some big publishing advance that left his royalties-due
in recoupment. But somebody was, and definitely still is, getting Big-Bank money. So who's getting'
his money? The Publisher. And this particular publisher probably had him sign over all of the
rights to the songs he co-wrote, and tied it in his Recording Artist Contract. This sometimes happens when
dealing through Production Companies and Labels. Is it wrong? I don't know, is it? ...Actually, it's not
illegal. Is it unethical? Probably. Could it have been avoided? YES! The first thing a new artist
that writes their own material will need to do is set up his or her own music publishing company, and then
get a grip on the basics (at least) of Mechanicals. There are of course many other concerns like Performance rights, but if
you're an Underground act, outside of getting your publishing company name, etc. "What is BMI or ASCAP going to do
for you until you get some type of music broadcasted via radio, movies, TV, etc? Digital Licenses and Sampling issues are
important too, but for now, let's just talk about Mechanical Royalties. Mechanicals are a real touchable income
once you get set up and are selling units. A Mechanical License is an authorization that is issued
by a Publisher (or an Agent of the Publisher like Harry Fox) to a Record Label. This license will give the Record Company
the right to record and make public a specific composition at an agreed-upon fee for each record that is made and sold. The
agreed-upon fee does not have a ceiling price and can vary. But By Law - If the song has been copyrighted and ready for distribution
- the writer is at least entitled to what is called a Compulsory Statutory Mechanical Royalty Rate.
For example, the statutory mechanical
royalty rate (at the time this was written), on a Platinum (one million in sales) selling album - you would be entitled to
$91,000 per song on the release. And if you wrote all the songs on a 15-song release (with no controlled composition clause)
- total take would be about $1,365,000.00 in just Mechanical Royalties alone. That's a lot of Money.
Now, imagine if you had a single release along with this. You could be paid "per side" as it appears on the single.
Songwriters and Publishers must also take in mind that
many songs are sometimes re-released or reissued. And since the Statutory Mechanical rate changes, to compensate for cost
of living & survival you should always...
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