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Most songs are co-written at least 2 ways and often 3 and the royalties for record sales are a stinking 9.1 cents per copy. So, on a 2 way write the writers get only about $24,500.00 each for a song on a PLATINUM ALBUM! That doesn't buy a mansion for any of them!!


which prompts me to wonder who gets the rest, since a platinum album generates FAR more revenue than $24k per song

This is why I like the internet. To at least SOME extent, it has enabled talented people to sell their original songs without forcing them into a really bad deal with music sharks who get more from the artist's work than the artist does.

As far as I can tell, its the sharks who are doing most of the squealing about lost revenue. The artists, especially once they've made a name for themselves, can sell their stuff online and get 100% of the profits for themselves

As an added benefit, they aren't pushed to meet corporate deadlines for the next CD... they can take as long as they want to get the songs the way they want, retaining all the creative control of the product.

As time goes on, we've seen (and will continue to see) success stories of talented people who do their own legwork to stir interest in their songs online. Marketing and distribution is the main service provided by the sharks, but IMHO, to keep 9 cents for yourself and pay 91 cents for marketing would be totally unacceptable in any other business. Yet musicians stand in line to sign these recording contracts.

Go figure.



A couple of things Pat.

As for who gets the rest of the money, from PUBLISHING royalties...a song on a platinum album (one not released as a single) generates a TOTAL of $91k and the Publisher generally gets one half...or one quater (if the songwriter is a "big name" and gets a "co-publishing deal.

So, in the case of a 2 way write where only 1 of the writers is signed to a given publisher, the publisher gets the same $22,750 that its writer gets. In other words, the OTHER publisher/writer split $45k out of the $91k total. So if that's the "brass ring" it's a puny little one!!! (-: (Of course, if the song is ALSO released as a "single" then the numbers can get a LOT higher)!

SOME VERY SMALL number of writers...even the most successful of them...elect not to use publishers to help exploit their songs. A good rule of thumb is that the greatest songwriters only get 5-10% of their songs picked up for recording. (That number is NOT related to artists who write all/most of their own songs....like the Eagles for example.) I'm talking about profession songwriters who are NOT also recording artists which is the VAST majority.

I assume the "sharks" you refer to are the major record labels and yes...just like the film industry it can be and often IS a "dirty business."

Having said that...whether it's poetic justice or not...the record label business has absolutely COLLAPSED over the past several years and there are only a few left in America.

Regards,
Jim