How is streaming revenue typically distributed among rights holders?

How is streaming revenue typically distributed among rights holders?

• A. Streaming revenue is allocated to master rights holders (labels/artists) and to publishing rights holders (songwriters/publishers) through separate streams, with terms varying by agreement.
• B. Streaming revenue is paid only to the master rights holders.
• C. Streaming revenue is paid only to publishing rights holders.
• D. Streaming revenue is pooled and split evenly regardless of rights.

Answer: (A)

Streaming revenue is generated through two separate streams tied to two kinds of rights: the master recording and the underlying song composition. The money from a stream first goes to the owners of the sound recording—the master rights holders, typically labels and the performing artist—through the service or a distributor. Separately, revenue is allocated to the publishing rights holders—the songwriters and publishers—for the musical composition, usually via publishers and performing rights organizations (PROs) for performance royalties and mechanical publishers’ royalties for the composition’s reproduction rights. The exact split depends on contracts and agreements with the streaming platform, so terms can vary. In short, streaming revenue is divided into distinct master and publishing streams, not pooled or paid out as a single, uniform share.

Streaming revenue is generated through two separate streams tied to two kinds of rights: the master recording and the underlying song composition. The money from a stream first goes to the owners of the sound recording—the master rights holders, typically labels and the performing artist—through the service or a distributor. Separately, revenue is allocated to the publishing rights holders—the songwriters and publishers—for the musical composition, usually via publishers and performing rights organizations (PROs) for performance royalties and mechanical publishers’ royalties for the composition’s reproduction rights. The exact split depends on contracts and agreements with the streaming platform, so terms can vary. In short, streaming revenue is divided into distinct master and publishing streams, not pooled or paid out as a single, uniform share.