Music publishing is split into two royalty types - performance royalties and mechanical royalties.
You can find our guide explaining performance royalties here. This article provides an overview of mechanical royalties.
Mechanical royalties are generated when a musical composition is reproduced.
This includes reproductions through:
Physical formats such as vinyl, CD, and cassette
Digital downloads
Interactive streaming on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music
Whenever your music is copied and distributed in one of these formats, mechanical royalties are generated at the publishing level.
How do Mechanical Royalties work?
If a record label wants to release your music, they must obtain a mechanical licence to reproduce the composition. This licence triggers the payment of mechanical royalties.
Mechanical royalties therefore become an important income stream for writers and rightsholders, particularly where:
Physical releases are sold
Digital downloads occur
High streaming volumes are achieved
Even if a release is limited (for example, a small vinyl pressing), mechanical royalties are still generated.
Who collects Mechanical Royalties?
Unlike performance royalties, which generate separate writer and publisher shares, mechanical royalties do not generate a directly payable writer share. They are collected by a publisher or publishing administrator and then accounted to writers and rightsholders according to agreed splits.
Because mechanical royalties are generated across multiple territories, each with different collection societies and reporting timelines, many rightsholders choose to collect through a publishing administrator.
Publishing administration ensures that:
Works are registered correctly with relevant mechanical collection societies
Usage is tracked across territories
Royalties are identified, collected, and paid through to rightsholders
How can LW Publishing help?
LW Publishing provides publishing administration to ensure mechanical royalties are:
Registered correctly
Actively monitored
Collected globally where applicable
This allows artists, writers, and labels to focus on releasing music, while ensuring publishing income is not left unclaimed.
If you would like to learn more about LW Publishing, please reach out to us on publishing@labelworx.com.