Master vs. publishing
Two copyrights in one song. The master is the recording (teal). The publishing is the composition (purple). You can own one without the other. Owning your beat's publishing doesn't mean you own the artist's recording, and vice versa.
Performance royalties (your PRO)
Generated every time the song plays publicly: streaming, radio, TV, a venue. Your PRO (BMI or ASCAP, SESAC by invite) collects it. Half goes to the writer directly, half to the publisher. If you didn't register your songs, nobody's collecting your half.
BMI vs. ASCAP (which to pick)
The two main US PROs. BMI is free to join as a writer; ASCAP is a $50 one-time fee, member-owned. They collect from the same sources and pay on the same schedule, so the practical difference is small — you can't be in both as a writer, so pick one and commit. SESAC is the third, invite-only. Joining isn't enough: register every song, or it doesn't pay.
Mechanical royalties (the MLC)
A separate publishing royalty owed every time the song is streamed or downloaded in the US. The MLC collects it from the platforms and pays songwriters. You claim it by registering as a self-administered writer or through a publishing admin. Free to sign up with the MLC.
SoundExchange
Pays the master side for non-interactive digital radio (Pandora, SiriusXM, internet radio). Different bucket from your Spotify money and from your PRO. 45% to the featured artist, 5% to session players, 50% to the master owner. Free to register.
Neighboring rights
The royalty owed to the recording side when music plays on broadcast radio. Most countries pay it — the UK through PPL, Germany through GVL. The US is the exception: terrestrial FM here pays only the composition side through your PRO, not the master, by law. US digital radio is the gap SoundExchange fills. If your music travels internationally, a publishing admin like Songtrust can collect these across borders.
The split sheet
One page that writes down who owns what percentage of the composition, signed before anybody releases anything. Fill one out every session. It's the difference between a clean payout and an argument two years later when the song actually does something. Free templates at ASCAP and Songtrust.
Producer points
A point is 1% of the master royalties. Producers usually get 3 to 5 points on a release. Three points on a song that earns $10,000 in master money is $300. Points are separate from your publishing, and only real if they're written down before release.
Beat lease vs. exclusive
A lease lets an artist use your beat while you keep selling it to others. An exclusive transfers the recording rights to that one artist, so it should cost a lot more. Neither one automatically hands over your publishing. If you wrote the music, you can keep your songwriter share even on a lease.
Why two pools, not one
The dollar view uses a separate amount for master and publishing on purpose. They pay at different rates, on different schedules, from different companies. Lumping them into one "total" is where most splits get confusing. Keep them apart and the math stays honest.
BEATS WITH KEV