Top 5 Mistakes Indie Artists Make with Their Royalties

There’s nothing quite as frustrating as missing out on money you earned from your own art. Hundreds of indie artists put in endless work writing, recording, and sharing their music—but then let basic music royalty mistakes drain their income. Building a sustainable music career relies as much on your approach to business as your songwriting chops. Let’s get into the most common ways indie artists lose out, and how you can avoid these traps like a pro.

1. Not Registering Songs Properly (Or At All)

Topping the list: forgetting (or not knowing) to register your music. Every song you release needs to be registered with organizations like a performing rights organization (PRO), a mechanical rights agency, and your chosen distributor. Skipping this means no one knows you own the song. No registration means you don’t get paid—simple as that.

How This Kills Your Earnings

Imagine landing a sync placement or seeing your track pop up on a popular playlist. If your song isn’t registered, the royalties generated can’t reach you. The money might get paid out to a totally different artist with a similar name or, more often, just sits unclaimed.

Prevent It

• Register every single track with your PRO (like ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC in the US)
• Sign up with a mechanical rights agency like the MLC (for US mechanical royalties)
• Use a consistent name and metadata across every platform

2. Relying on a Single Platform for Royalty Collection

Believing that signing up for one digital distributor or rights organization “covers everything” is a classic misunderstanding. Royalties are complicated, coming from streaming, downloads, performance, and more. No single service collects all types.

The Missed Royalties Problem

Spotify might pay streaming royalties directly to your distributor, but performance royalties for radio play, live gigs, and overseas uses are a different story. By only working with a single platform, you ignore sources like international performance income (from organizations like PRS, SOCAN, GEMA) or YouTube Content ID.

Fix It

• Use multiple collecting agencies: one for performance royalties (PRO), one for mechanicals (MLC in the US), and a separate distributor for digital sales/streaming
• Register with YouTube Content ID or partner with a distributor who handles it
• For live gigs, use your PRO’s setlist tools to claim performance earnings

3. Inaccurate or Incomplete Metadata

Your metadata is the digital DNA of your music. Incomplete metadata—missing songwriters, misattributed ISRCs, weird spelling, or half-empty fields—makes it nearly impossible for royalty organizations to track and pay you correctly.

The Metadata Maze

A misspelled artist name or an incorrect ISRC code can lead to split payments, misdirected royalties, or no payment at all. Multiply this by every DSP (digital service provider) and international market, and those small errors snowball.

Solution

• Double-check all metadata before release—artist name, songwriters, ISRC, album, and contact info
• Standardize your credits across all distributors, PROs, and platforms
• Use spreadsheet templates or tools designed for royalty and metadata management

4. Not Tracking Collaborations and Splits Clearly

It’s common to collaborate with other musicians, writers, or producers, but vague emails and handshakes aren’t enough to keep track of ownership. This lack of documentation leads to arguments, missed payments, or disputes over who gets what percentage.

Examples That Go Wrong

You wrote a hook for a rapper. You never clarified the split. The song blows up, and now you’re fighting for your share—and maybe losing time and money on lawyers. Or, even worse, platforms won’t pay at all until splits are agreed on by everyone.

What To Do

• Use tools like SplitSheets, SongSplits, or even simple agreements outlining each party’s share before the track is released
• Register all contributors with your PRO and distributor
• Keep a digital and physical record of every agreement

5. Ignoring International Royalties

Many indie musicians miss out on global money because they assume their US, UK, or local organization covers everything. That’s rarely the case. Overseas plays, syncs, and digital income pool up in foreign collection societies unless you specifically claim them.

Real Money Left Behind

Your song gets radio play in Germany, streams in Japan, or a sync in Australia. If you’re not affiliated with a global royalty collection network, that money stays behind—sometimes for years. By the time you find out, it might be too late to claim.

Get Paid Everywhere

• Affiliate with a worldwide royalty administration service or publisher that has reciprocal agreements
• Many PROs do collect internationally, but not all—so check the details
• Make claiming international royalties part of your yearly review

Key Takeaways: Small Moves, Big Gains

Music royalty mistakes are usually easy to fix—but they require organizing your business head-on. Treat your music as seriously as anyone would treat a business asset. Register every song, use multiple royalty agencies, keep your metadata clean, get clear on splits, and never forget the global picture. These simple habits can mean the difference between missing out and making a living off your work.

Don’t just make great music—set yourself up to actually get paid for it.