**Guest post written by Katie Lott, Songwriting & Voice Coach, as featured in her blog Modern Songstress.

"So what the heck are royalties, and how do you get them?

Royalties are fees that are paid to the composer (that’s you!) every time a song is played anywhere: radio, live venues, TV, satellite radio, internet radio, streaming services, etc.

+How To Get Songs Placed on TV And In Movies

In general, royalties only go to the writer of the song, not the artist or performers. The exception is the category of non-interactive digital transmissions (aka satellite and internet radio), which also gives royalties to featured artists.

+# I Respect Music (.org)

Performance Rights Organizations (P.R.O.s)

There are three main Performance Rights Organizations. Basically, the government has granted these companies the right to collect royalties on behalf of performers. Venues, radio stations, TV shows, and anywhere that profits from music has to pay fees to these organizations.

ASCAP and BMI, and SESAC are the three P.R.O.s in the U.S.

I’d suggest doing a little a little research before joining one, because you can only be a member of one.

Songwriter vs. Publisher

Royalties are split 50/50 between the songwriter and the publisher. There’s no way around it, that’s just the way it’s done. But guess what? If you don’t have a deal with a publishing company, you are your own publisher. So you need to set up both a songwriter account and a publisher account with your P.R.O. If you don’t register as your own publisher, you’ll be missing out on 50% of the royalties.

For ASCAP, there is a one-time fee of $50 to set up a songwriter account and $50 to set up a publisher account.

For BMI, there’s no fee to set up an account as a songwriter, but it costs $150 to set up a publisher account.

Getting Paid Royalties for Gigs

Did you know you can get royalties from your P.R.O. for performing live show at almost any venue? You may not realize this, but every venue that provides live music has to pay licensing fees to the P.R.O.s. (Some of them try to get around it by demanding that their musicians play only originals.)

All you need to do is submit the set list/venue after your shows, and you’ll get paid in your next royalty check!

Sound Exchange

Sound Exchange is completely separate from the main P.R.O.s (aka you should join one of the three AND Sound Exchange). It collects royalties for satellite and internet radio. So if you get your music on Pandora or any other internet radio station, you’ll get paid for each stream of your song through Sound Exchange There are no fees to join.

+What's The Difference Between ASCAP / BMI / SESAC and SoundExchange

Publishing Administration

You may have noticed both CD Baby and Tunecore offer Publishing Administration for an additional fee/percentage of royalties. They are essentially offering to collect your royalties for you. BUT if you’re smart, you’ll know that you can do this yourself through your P.R.O. Publishing administration CAN help you get additional international royalties that the P.R.O.s don’t collect for you, but that amount is going to be minuscule for most indie artists, and not worth the fee.

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So if you haven't already, go join a P.R.O.! You could be missing out on additional revenue you didn't even know what was there. :)

If you want a more in-depth overview of how to make money as a singer-songwriter, grab your copy of How To Get Started As A Singer-Songwriter now."

Related Blog Posts:

+Why would I need a publishing administrator if I already work with ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC?

+5 Things Songwriters Need to Know About the Consent Decree

+The Reason Most Artists Aren't Making Money in the Business...The Answer May Surprise You