Understanding Royalty Reports
Your royalty reports contain detailed information about your earnings. This guide helps you understand what you’re seeing and how to interpret the data.
Report Types
Summary Reports
High-level overview of earnings:
- Total earnings for period
- Breakdown by platform
- Top performing releases
- Payment status
Detailed Reports
Granular data including:
- Track-by-track earnings
- Territory breakdown
- Stream counts
- Per-stream rates
Historical Reports
Access past periods:
- Monthly archives
- Year-to-date summaries
- Trend comparisons
Reading Your Statement
Key Sections
| Section | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Summary | Total earnings, payment amount |
| By Platform | Earnings from each store |
| By Release | Earnings per album/single |
| By Track | Individual track performance |
| By Territory | Geographic breakdown |
Understanding the Numbers
Gross Earnings: Total before any deductions
Net Earnings: Amount after fees/splits
Streams: Number of plays
Downloads: Number of purchases
Rate: Earnings per stream (varies widely)
Platform Breakdown
Why Rates Differ
Each platform pays differently based on:
| Factor | Impact |
|---|---|
| Subscription tier | Premium pays more than free |
| Country | Developed markets pay more |
| Platform | Each has different payout model |
| Market share | Your share of total streams |
Typical Rate Ranges
Approximate per-stream rates (vary significantly):
| Platform | Approximate Range |
|---|---|
| Spotify | $0.003 - $0.005 |
| Apple Music | $0.007 - $0.010 |
| Amazon Music | $0.004 - $0.008 |
| YouTube Music | $0.002 - $0.004 |
| Deezer | $0.004 - $0.007 |
| TIDAL | $0.008 - $0.012 |
Note: These are rough estimates. Actual rates vary by country, subscription type, and other factors.
Territory Data
Geographic Breakdown
Your report shows earnings by country:
- Where your listeners are
- Which markets perform best
- Regional revenue differences
Why Territory Matters
| Region | Typical Rate |
|---|---|
| USA, UK, Western Europe | Higher |
| Latin America | Medium |
| Asia (varies) | Medium to Lower |
| Africa | Lower |
Using Territory Data
- Focus marketing on strong regions
- Identify growth opportunities
- Understand your audience
Stream Counts vs. Earnings
Why They Don’t Match Simply
1,000 streams ≠ fixed dollar amount because:
- Different platforms pay differently
- Different countries pay differently
- Free vs. premium listeners
- Time of month affects rates
- Your market share varies
Calculating Effective Rate
Effective Rate = Total Earnings ÷ Total StreamsThis gives you an average across all variables.
Trend Analysis
Comparing Periods
Look at month-over-month and year-over-year:
- Is streaming growing?
- Which releases are trending?
- Seasonal patterns
What Affects Trends
| Factor | Effect |
|---|---|
| New releases | Spike then decline |
| Playlist adds | Sustained increase |
| Viral moments | Sharp spike |
| Marketing | Gradual increase |
| Seasonality | Predictable patterns |
Healthy Patterns
- Gradual growth over time
- Catalog maintaining streams
- New releases adding incremental earnings
Common Report Questions
”Why did earnings drop this month?”
Possible reasons:
- Fewer streams than previous month
- Listener shift to lower-paying regions
- Platform rate changes
- Seasonal fluctuation
- Playlist removal
”Why are streams high but earnings low?”
Check for:
- Streams from free tier listeners
- Streams from lower-paying countries
- YouTube (generally lower rates)
- Short track plays (may not count)
“Where are my streams from [Platform]?”
If a platform isn’t showing:
- Check delivery status
- Allow for reporting delay
- Verify release is on that platform
- Small numbers may be grouped
Earnings History
View all your royalty transactions in one place:
- Go to Royalties from the main menu
- Click Earnings History
Features
- Date filter - Filter transactions by date range
- Pagination - Navigate through large transaction lists
- Transaction details - See individual earnings entries
Earnings history shows when royalties were credited to your account, including the source platform and amount.
Payment History
Track all payments issued to you:
- Go to Royalties from the main menu
- Navigate to Payment History (or Billing History)
Features
- Date filter - Filter by month range
- Payment details - See payment amounts, dates, and status
- Pagination - Navigate through your payment records
Payment history shows actual payments sent to your bank account or payment method, which occurs after royalties accumulate past your minimum threshold.
Data Export
Available Formats
| Format | Best For |
|---|---|
| Printing, records | |
| CSV | Spreadsheets, analysis |
| Excel | Detailed manipulation |
What’s Included
Exports typically contain:
- All transaction data
- Full track-level detail
- Complete territory breakdown
- Historical data (selected range)
Using Exported Data
- Create custom charts
- Calculate specific metrics
- Compare with external data
- Prepare for accounting/taxes
Analytics vs. Royalty Reports
Key Differences
| Analytics | Royalty Reports |
|---|---|
| Near real-time | 2-3 month delay |
| Stream counts | Actual earnings |
| Approximate | Verified data |
| For marketing decisions | For financial records |
Why They Don’t Match
Analytics show what’s happening now. Royalty reports show verified, processed earnings from 2-3 months ago.
Using Both
- Analytics: Track current performance, plan marketing
- Royalty Reports: Understand earnings, financial planning
Interpreting Low Numbers
New Artist Reality
Early career expectations:
- Streams build gradually
- Focus on growth rate, not totals
- Small catalogs = limited passive income
Building Over Time
Month 1: 100 streams → $0.40Month 6: 1,000 streams → $4.00Month 12: 10,000 streams → $40.00Year 2: 50,000 streams → $200.00Growth compounds with more releases and audience building.
Best Practices
Monthly Review
- Download your statement
- Compare to previous month
- Note any anomalies
- Check for missing platforms
- Track overall trend
Annual Review
- Calculate total year earnings
- Identify top performers
- Analyze growth/decline
- Set goals for next year
- Archive records for taxes
Red Flags to Watch
- Sudden unexplained drops
- Missing platforms
- Streams with no earnings
- Unexpected deductions
Need Help?
If you have questions about your reports or see discrepancies, contact our support team.