Mechanical Royalties vs Performance Royalties: Simple Breakdown

If you write music, you earn royalties. If your music is played publicly or streamed digitally, you earn different kinds of royalties—often at the same time. This is where many independent artists get tripped up. Mechanical royalties and performance royalties sound similar, but they come from different uses of your song, are collected by different organizations, and can be missed entirely if you don’t register correctly.

This breakdown strips away the confusion and shows how the money actually moves.

What Are Mechanical Royalties?

Mechanical royalties are generated whenever a song is reproduced or distributed. Historically, this meant vinyl records, CDs, and cassette tapes. Today, it mostly means streams and digital downloads.

Every time your song is streamed on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music, a mechanical royalty is created for the composition (not the recording). This royalty exists separately from the money paid to the owner of the master recording.

In the United States, digital mechanical royalties are collected and paid by the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC). If your songs are not registered with the MLC—or through a publishing administrator that works with them—this money can sit unclaimed.

Mechanical royalties are split between songwriters and publishers. If you are an independent artist who writes your own music and owns your publishing, you are entitled to 100% of this income.

What Are Performance Royalties?

Performance royalties are generated when your song is performed publicly. “Performance” doesn’t just mean a concert. It includes:

Radio airplay

TV broadcasts

Live performances

Music played in clubs, stores, restaurants, or gyms

Streaming services (yes—streaming creates performance royalties too)

These royalties are collected by Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) such as ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.

When your song is streamed, a performance royalty is triggered at the same time as the mechanical royalty. This is why publishing income is layered—one play can generate multiple revenue streams.

Unlike mechanical royalties, performance royalties are paid directly to the songwriter and publisher through your PRO. If you’re not registered with a PRO, that money does not automatically find you.

The Key Difference (In Plain Language)

Mechanical royalties are paid because your song was copied or distributed.

Performance royalties are paid because your song was played publicly.

Same song. Same stream. Two different checks.

This is where artists often get confused and assume they’re being underpaid by distributors. In reality, distributors only handle master recording royalties. They do not collect mechanical or performance royalties for your songwriting unless they explicitly offer publishing administration.

Who Collects What?

Mechanical royalties (U.S. streaming): collected by the MLC

Performance royalties: collected by your PRO (ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC)

If either side is missing, money leaks.

Many artists register with a PRO but forget the MLC. Others distribute music and assume publishing is “automatic.” It isn’t.

Why Independent Artists Miss This Money

Most independent artists focus on streams, playlists, and visibility. Publishing is quieter, slower, and less flashy—but it’s often where the most stable money lives.

Mechanical and performance royalties don’t spike overnight. They accumulate. They back-pay. They continue earning years later when a song gets reused, replayed, or rediscovered. This is why publishing catalogs are valued as long-term assets.

Artists who ignore publishing often discover years later that thousands of dollars were generated—but never collected.

The Strategic Takeaway

Mechanical royalties and performance royalties are not optional income streams. They are foundational. If you write music and your songs are being played anywhere, these royalties already exist in your name.

The difference between struggling and sustainable independent artists is rarely talent. It’s infrastructure. Publishing is infrastructure.

Understand it early, register correctly, and your songs start working for you long after the hype fades.