Today, the current rate is 9.1 cents (usually divided between co-writers and publishers). Royalty per performance: A composer receives a royalty per performance when. Synchronization licenses are a constantly growing market in the music world. This happens when you allow a company or filmmaker to use one of your songs in their commercial, television program or any type of video in exchange for paying you a fee.
That fee can be hefty if you're working with a successful company with a large budget. I hope this summary of how songwriters make money, and how much they make, will inspire you to think broadly in terms of your career and earning potential. Ryan Tedder is the leader of OneRepublic and the composer of a lot of famous and catchy songs, such as “Halo” by Beyonce, “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis, “Rumour Has It” by Adele and many others. I mean, in the 90s and early 2000s, as a professional songwriter, if you had a song on a Whitney or Celine Dion album, you could retire.
Songwriters can go years without receiving any significant royalty payments, and if a song succeeds, the government requires that the royalties be paid immediately. I can say that, since I have worked with hundreds of hit creators and also with hundreds of composers about to have their first hits, all of these people can make a pretty good living. Join an exclusive group of composers and artists who receive free and priceless songwriting secrets and advice right in their inbox. Next, you'll read tips for writing songs and tips on how to succeed as a songwriter in the music industry.
With all the ways a songwriter can make money, it's definitely possible to make a decent living from their songs, as we've seen with songwriters throughout modern history and today. Yes, if you're watching your favorite TV show, if an advertisement appears on YouTube, or if a song is used in a movie (basically, every time a song is “synchronized” or matched with a moving image, or as a radio advertisement for a product), composers and publishers are paid a “synchronization fee” for that use. In short, in the world of sync revenue (you don't have to be a radio hit, you don't even have to have a ton of plays), but if you can write a good sync song (think of something Apple would use in one of its commercials) and you're able to do it several times a year (or more), you could definitely make a living as a songwriter. Every time you play your songs live in a public place, an interpreting rights organization (PRO) such as BMI or ASCAP owes you songwriting royalties. The rights to publish or compose songs, on the other hand, belong to the owner of the original musical composition, including the lyrics, notes, chords, melodies and rhythms.
And I'm not going to choose a specific song here, because I could easily be mentioning the income of a particular composer.
