You may be wondering, “How can I get paid for writing a song?” Well, it depends on how you want to play it. There are several ways you can go about creating a record deal that will give you financial security for life. You can opt for a traditional record deal with a major label, or you can take the indie route and sign with a small, independent record company. The choice is all up to you!
The Good Old Days
Although it wasn’t always the case, back in the day, songwriters would typically get paid upon the sale of a recording. The record companies would send out checks after every few weeks of sales. This is how all the classic songwriters got their start — by writing songs for famous artists. This model mostly died out in the early 2000s, with the rise of digital downloads and Spotify. Today, it’s more common for songwriters to be paid per song, with the amount varying based on the arrangement (see below).
Modern Day
Since the early 2000s, music companies have shifted to a more transactional basis for their business. As a result, songwriters are typically paid per piece, with each piece being a complete song. In some cases, the payment is even split between the writer and the performer, with part going to the writer and part going to the performer. Most often, songwriters are paid in advance for the right to play a certain number of songs, or in some cases, are paid in royalties based on the number of times their song is streamed or downloaded. This is why it’s very important to retain ownership of your work, and make sure that you’re properly credited for your compositions.
Creative Commons
It’s important to note that just because you wrote a song doesn’t mean you have to keep it exclusive to yourself. There are several websites and platforms that allow you to post songs for other musicians to find and use. Two of the most popular platforms are SoundCloud and YouTube. If you’d like to find out more, check out these creative commons sites:
- SoundCloud
- YouTube
Arrangement
This is the key term you need to understand in order to know how much you’ll be paid for writing a song. This is mostly determined by the contract you sign with a record company, but it can also vary from person to person. Essentially, this is how the writer shares the profits from the song. There are three basic arrangements:
- Full songwriter’s share: Each writer receives a fixed portion of the royalties from the song. This can range from fifty percent to sixty percent, with the balance going to the performer.
- Half songwriter’s share: Each writer receives a fixed portion of the royalties from the song. This ranges from thirty percent to forty percent. The remaining royalties will be split between the performer and the record company.
- Split credits: Each writer receives a fixed portion of the royalties from the song. This can range from twenty percent to thirty percent. The remaining royalties will be split between the writer, the record company, and the performer. Sometimes it’s even possible to negotiate specific writing credits.
For example, let’s say that Emily and Karl have written a song called “Happy Birthday.” They decide to sign with a record company, and their contract specifies that thirty percent of the profits will go to the writer, and thirty percent will go to the performer (in this case, the artist). So, if “Happy Birthday” becomes a hit, Emily and Karl will each receive a check for $666.67 (they will share the $333.33 of profits from the song).
Royalty-Free
This refers to music that’s licensed for use royalty-free, meaning that the composer or songwriter don’t have to pay for the use of their music. Most often, this comes in the form of a “blank check,” where the songwriter is paid for each usage, regardless of whether or not the music is used. This is why it’s so important to retain ownership of your work — if someone plays your music and likes it, they might ask you for more, or they might decide to remix it and change the whole thing. In these situations, you don’t want to be forced to give them your music for free, especially if you’ve spent a lot of time and effort on it. This is why it’s so important to negotiate an advance against royalties — in other words, write something that they will pay you for before you even start writing the song. It’s also worth noting that some companies will not offer royalty-free arrangements, so you might have to look for a publisher who will.
What you need to understand is that just because you’ve written a song doesn’t mean that you’re automatically entitled to be paid for it. It depends on how you want to play it. There are several ways you can get paid for writing a song. However, as you might have guessed, it’s all about the arrangement.