Some things about songwriter's royalties that many folks might not know or don't consider...


The last few days, I have been listening to a record that I really like.

Jon Pardi's "California Sunrise". I highly recommend this one.

I had not heard Pardi's music prior to this - as far as I know...

This is new, current Country, but has a lot of "that older sound" (sort of makes it a "gateway drug" for modern Country). Some of the songs have that '90s sound and feel, some have today's sound and feel, some a hybrid. All are well-written and produced. A nice variety of styles.

Wikipedia generally has information on artists and record releases that I find interesting - particularly for new music that I like and don't know a lot about. So, I looked this one up.

Now... some numbers... (this all from Wikipedia)

The album (released on June 17, 2016) debuted at No. 1 on the Country Albums chart, selling 24,000 copies in its first week. As of December 2016, the album has sold 87,100 copies in the United States.

This is after a single being released prior to the album release:
"Head Over Boots" - released to radio on September 14, 2015 and has sold 701,000 copies in the United States as of January 2017.
...and one after:
"Dirt on My Boots" - released to radio on September 19, 2016 - has sold 250,000 copies in the United States as of January 2017.


Last week, the album was #12 on the Billboard Country chart.
This week it is #14. It has been on the charts for 31 weeks (and did debut at #1).
Very surprising that these days, a record with these stats has only sold 87,000 records.


So... if you had a cut on this record... how much did you take to the bank (not considering taxes, etc.)?

The current mechanical royalty is 9.1 cents. So the songs on this record (that were not singles) each generated $7,917 ...(87,000 X .091). That is split 50/50 between songwriters and publishers - $3,958. As you can see below, most songs these days (that get cut) have 3 writers (on average).

That's $1,319 for you as 1 of 3 writers.




1. "Out of Style" ...................Lynn Hutton · Jeff Hyde · Neil Mason 5:05
2. "Cowboy Hat" .....................Jon Pardi · Brett Beavers · Bart Butler 3:18
3. "Head Over Boots" ................Pardi · Luke Laird 3:23
4. "Night Shift" ....................Tofer Brown · Phillip LaRue · Billy Montana 2:52
5. "Can’t Turn You Down" ............Randy Montana · Corey Crowder · Jeremy Stover 3:24
6. "Dirt on My Boots" ...............Rhett Akins · Jesse Frasure · Ashley Gorley 3:23
7. "She Ain't In It" ................Clint Daniels · Wynn Varble 3:18
8. "All Time High" ..................Pardi · Butler · Brice Long 3:53
9. "Heartache on the Dance Floor" ...Pardi · Butler · Long 3:25
10. "Paycheck" ......................Pardi · Laird 3:08
11. "Lucky Tonight" .................Pardi · Jim McCormick 3:28
12. "California Sunrise" ............Pardi · Butler · Larry McCoy 4:14


Of course, if you get a cut, the likelihood is that you have a staff writing position - which means you have been getting an advance on future royalties (as your "pay"). That AND half the cost any demos the publisher has done of your song for plugging purposes goes back to the publisher from any royalties you make. You don't see any of that royalty money until you've out-earned what they have paid you.

Now, if you are lucky enough (or, really, GOOD enough) to have writing credit on a single... "Heads Over Boots" (750k sales) generated $34,125 for 2 writers - $17,062 each - (and Luke Laird is his own publisher - so he gets another $17K)

Now, this is peanuts compared to what airplay royalties would be - where the real money is... A #1 radio song can easily generate $1M in royalties for the writers - which they split - and the same for the publishers - which Luke also gets!. (I've seen a couple of writers blow through that in less than a year - some are ill prepared for such a windfall).


Have a listen to the record....


1. "Out of Style" ...............
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmbW2_K7BMA
2. "Cowboy Hat" .................
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us8nErZYtZo
3. "Head Over Boots" ............
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K0akU-Rdv8
4. "Night Shift" ................
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdV5CYTgNfQ
5. "Can’t Turn You Down" ........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNw7VxgcmBQ
6. "Dirt on My Boots" ...........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCxbgqyC2Wg
7. "She Ain't In It" ............
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWjg65iMk-E
8. "All Time High" ..............
9. "Heartache on the Dance Floor"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7RSc3RTYaM
10. "Paycheck" ..................
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiUUcjCY-Wo
11. "Lucky Tonight" .............
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ex25n6tHY4
12. "California Sunrise" ........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYt7-szoRUM

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