International Streaming Royalties
Q. My song has had 10,000s of streams in territories overseas, but I’ve not received any royalties. What do I do?
A. For streams that are being consumed in overseas territories, APRA AMCOS relies on our relationships with affiliated Music Rights Management Organisations (MRMOs) who license those streaming services in those territories and pass on the data and royalties to us for payment to our members.
There is quite often a time lag between performances in overseas jurisdictions and payments to members for those performances. This is due to a number of factors:
First, each affiliated MRMO has different practices regarding the identification and collection of data and timelines for the distribution of royalties. As a result, some affiliated MRMOs pay APRA AMCOS every quarter, while others pay only once or twice a year. These timelines can be further extended for particular payments, for instance if the relevant payment from the streaming service to the MRMO was delayed.
Second, our affiliated MRMOs are often required to wait for amounts to accrue to meet minimum payment thresholds before they are paid out to APRA AMCOS.
Lastly, once we receive the data and the payment from the affiliated MRMO, we then have to verify the accuracy of the data and then process the data for payment to each relevant member.
For more information on payments from overseas check out our international royalties page and FAQs
Remember, payments can only be made for streams of songs we know about, so make sure your songs are registered with APRA AMCOS.
If you think you are missing some international streaming royalties, please contact us.
Please provide as much detail as possible about the work (title, writers etc), the streaming platforms and countries of performance, so our International Team will be better able to identify royalties that may be due.
Q. My song has been streamed thousands of times on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube, why haven’t I been paid?
A. The first step to getting paid is to ensure all your songs are registered.
Royalty payments for the streaming of music on streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube are based on the number of streams of each work. However, it is sometimes the case that the number of streams displayed by those services are cumulative from the first day you uploaded the track, which means that each stream is not necessarily captured by the monthly or quarterly data that APRA AMCOS receives from those services in Australia or from our affiliated Music Rights Management Organisations (MRMOs) internationally.
This could mean that a global stream count of 1,000 may actually have been only 1, 10 or 50 streams in a particular jurisdiction in a particular month or quarter.
To achieve a fair and equitable distribution, we only directly allocate royalties to works with more than 50 streams in each distribution cycle. Each APRA AMCOS-affiliated MRMO also has their own practices for compiling and paying streaming royalties, including minimum thresholds for streams to be counted and different distribution schedules.
For more detailed information visit our website to read the Streaming Distribution Information Guide, our full Distribution Rules and Practices document or more information about international royalties and FAQs.
Q. My digital aggregator / digital distributor is already paying me for overseas performances of my songs. Why don’t I have any APRA AMCOS royalties?
A. First, ensure you or your publisher registers your works via the Writer Portal or app.
It is likely that the payments from your digital aggregator, or distributor, are for the exercise by those services of your sound recording rights. Each recording of your music has copyright that is separate to the copyright for the words and music you’ve written, and if a service is also using the recording that you own, you would likely be entitled to receive royalties.
Sound recording royalties are not paid to members by APRA AMCOS. APRA AMCOS pays royalties for the performance of your underlying words and music.
The royalty rate and the process for paying royalties for the use of a musical work is quite different to the royalty rate and process for paying royalties for the use of a sound recording of that work. Often, these differences mean that royalties for the use of your sound recording may be paid by your aggregator at different times to when we pay you for your musical works.
For more detailed information visit our website to read the Streaming Distribution Information Guide, our full Distribution Rules and Practices document
Frequently asked questions
What about international royalties?
AMCOS has reciprocal agreements with the all the major mechanical rights organisations worldwide including organisations in the USA, UK, Canada. They do the mechanical licensing in their respective territories, collect the mechanical royalties on our writers' behalf, and distribute the royalties to AMCOS. We then pay the mechanicals to our writer members directly.
We generally advise writers to opt in for AMCOS to collect your overseas mechanicals. The alternative – to collect it yourself – can be difficult to achieve for unpublished writers.
Do I also need to join an international society if my songs are getting played internationally?
No. We have reciprocal agreements with societies in most territories around the world. If your music is performed publicly or communicated in a foreign territory, the society in that country or territory will collect those royalties and forward them to us to pay our members. The royalties collected and distributed will depend on the distribution practices and procedures of the society in that territory.
If your works have been performed live or broadcast internationally, please email us [email protected], so we can follow up your claim with the relevant international society.
Will I get paid for international radio or TV broadcasts of my song?
We do monitor overseas TV and radio broadcasts, as well as chart information. However, if you know your music has been used overseas, you should email us [email protected]
Why does it take longer to receive my international royalties than my local royalties?
Each affiliated society has different practices regarding the identification and collection of performance data and the distribution of royalties. Some societies pay us once a year, some twice and some every quarter. If a payment took place at the beginning of the year in a territory that pays once a year, it may be up to two years before we receive the payment, verify its accuracy and forward it on to our member.
When we receive payments for your works from foreign territories, the distributions are processed as quickly as possible to ensure you receive payment promptly.
I've just returned from an international tour. When will I get my royalty payments from each country?
Provided there are functioning societies in the countries you've toured, once you have submitted your Performance Report, we'll submit your claim to our international affiliated societies. Depending on their distribution policies, certain performances may be payable and others won't be payable.
Once the society has verified the performances, any relevant payments will be made in their next available distribution back to us. Payment timeframes can vary, depending on how frequently the society distributes.
Read more about submitting Overseas Performance Reports.
How much money can I expect to receive from my music being used in the background of a TV program broadcast internationally on cable?
Cable stations are often paid at a lower rate than free-to-air television. The royalty paid will depend on whether the international society has a licence agreement with the specific cable station, and whether they collect music use data from those stations.
If you know your music in a TV program has been broadcast internationally, email us [email protected]. We'll make an enquiry to the relevant societies on your behalf.
What about copyright in other countries?
Most countries have copyright laws similar to New Zealand. If your work is protected here, it will also be protected in most other territories. This is because most countries (including New Zealand) have signed international treaties and conventions requiring signatories to provide minimum standards of protection for copyright material from all countries party to the treaty.
New Zealand copyright works are protected in about 133 countries, including Canada , China , France , Germany , Hong Kong , Indonesia , Japan , Korea , Malaysia , Australia , Singapore , the United Kingdom and the United States . Similarly, works from these and other territories will also be protected in New Zealand. It is important to note, however, that the term of protection may differ in other territories, and you may wish to seek specific advice on this matter.