Jingle royalty payments begin with your registration and audio upload. We take it from there.
Timely registration and audio upload of your jingle in the Writer Portal is vital for us to collect and distribute royalties to you. We use the registration and accompanying audio to monitor the use of your jingle.
The audio upload is done quickly direct in the Writer Portal.
Was your jingle used outside of Australia/New Zealand? Find out how to report Overseas Jingles.
How long does it take to get paid?
To allow payment in the first eligible quarterly distribution, after the initial broadcast of your advertisement, please submit your works registrations and audio via OPUS before the date of first broadcast. If this is not possible, please submit them as soon as you can, adhering to the dates outlined in the table below.
Month of first broadcast | Cut-off date for MRT Jingle registration & Audio upload | First eligible Distribution |
| January | 31 January | August |
| February | 28/29 February | August |
| March | 31 March | August |
| April | 30 April | November |
| May | 31 May | November |
| June | 30 June | November |
| July | 31 July | February |
| August | 31 August | February |
| September | 30 September | February |
| October | 31 October | May |
| November | 30 November | May |
| December | 31 December | May |
Tips for registering your jingles
Upload your audio-only original music
For jingle registrations, please upload the original music only audio file used in the ad.
This file will provide enough detail to identify the work, even in the context of a jingle with voiceover, dialogue and sound effects.
If you do not possess the music only audio file, you will need to upload all versions of that ad, including those with alternative voiceovers, dialogue and sound effects.
Consolidate work titles
Consolidate work titles when possible, particularly where audio is shared across campaigns. This avoids any duplication or matching issues. Rather than having multiple versions of a work, you can condense them down into one if the audio file remains the same.
Monitoring the use of your jingle
Uploaded audio files are then added the database of our MRT service, and matching data is provided to us to distribute quarterly royalty payments.
How to upload your jingle
Log in to the Writer Portal
In the Register Works section, you can now select Jingle and enter the details:
Upload audio in WAV or MP3 formats:
You'll see your work audio status:
Frequently asked questions
For more information on what is considered a jingle, how music use is reported to us, and when you need to self-report non-metro broadcast jingle use.
How does the Jingle system work?
We use two types of music use reporting for jingle distributions -
- Music recognition technology (for jingles broadcast on New Zealand radio in Auckland, Christchurch & Wellington; and New Zealand TV in Auckland; Australian TV and radio in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide & Perth). Upload the audio associated with your jingles in the Writer Portal.
- Jingle self-reporting form (for jingles broadcast in all other areas). If your ad is only played in these non-metro areas, you will need to self-report via the Jingle reporting (domestic) form.
Do I have to upload all jingle audio, or only commissioned jingles?
For APRA AMCOS purposes, we classify a ‘jingle’ as any music used in an advertising context. Please ensure that all music that is used in advertisements, both commissioned and non-commissioned works, are registered and uploaded in the Writer Portal.
What audio should I be uploading?
If your jingles are broadcast on TV or radio metro areas, you should upload audio files when you register your jingles works in the Writer Portal. You can also add audio files to works later. The audio you need to upload is the part of the ad that contains your work. If the jingle has a tag line from another composer, you must edit this out before uploading your part of the jingle.
If a new sound recording is made for an advertisement (e.g. a sound-a-like, a new arrangement, change of lyrics – think 'The Good Guys' based on 'Good Vibrations' or 'I Like Bing Lee' based on 'I Like Chinese') then it is crucial that the new recording is uploaded (after undertaking any necessary registration steps including obtaining permission from the original writers). This is because the audio fingerprint of the new recording will most likely be substantially different to previous recordings of the musical work.
We recommend your audio files are compressed to mp3s at 128kbps to increase upload speed. Uncompressed WAV files can take much longer to upload because of their size.
What happens if I don't upload any audio?
Our jingle system relies on members registering their jingles and uploading the audio in the Writer Portal. Jingle royalty payments are dependent on this registration and audio uploading process.
What if I don't have an audio file for my jingle?
If you've unsuccessfully exhausted every avenue to source the audio for your jingle, you should contact us, and we'll investigate what options are available.
What if I have multiple works in one jingle?
Where multiple works are used in one jingle, only the audio related to your own work/s should be uploaded. Please edit the audio to ensure this is the case and attach the audio to the corresponding jingle registration.
What if I've already uploaded a full ad, including the tag line of someone else's work?
Please provide us with a list of these audio files. You must include details about:
- The unique audio ID – note the default is the file name.
- The original file name (in many cases it will be the same as the default).
- Corresponding JG
Removal requests should be sent via email. You must then re-upload your jingle, ensuring that only that part of the ad with your music is uploaded.
What if music recognition technology can't match my work?
Our music recognition technology uses retro-matching jingles cycles.
This means that our music recognition technology provider, Soundmouse, will re-attempt recognition for any unrecognised tracks after three, six, twelve, twenty-four and thirty-six months from the first attempt.
What if my jingle has been re-recorded?
If your jingle has been re-recorded, it is crucial that you upload the new recording used in the actual ad. The music recognition technology used generates a fingerprint from the audio file. Therefore always upload the specific recording used each time there’s a re-record.
What if my recording is pitched or has a time shift?
Our music recognition technology provider, Soundmouse, has informed us that it's algorithm can cope with pitch/time shifting. However, if you can obtain a copy of the altered recording, we recommend you upload that version anyway.
Which version of my ad should I upload?
If possible, upload the original music mix used in the ad without any of the ad voice overs. This is enough for our music recognition technology to identify the jingle, even with different voice overs. If you don’t have the original music mix used in ad, then you will need to upload all the different versions of that ad with alternative voice overs.