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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

SectionWhat It Shows
SummaryTotal earnings, payment amount
By PlatformEarnings from each store
By ReleaseEarnings per album/single
By TrackIndividual track performance
By TerritoryGeographic 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:

FactorImpact
Subscription tierPremium pays more than free
CountryDeveloped markets pay more
PlatformEach has different payout model
Market shareYour share of total streams

Typical Rate Ranges

Approximate per-stream rates (vary significantly):

PlatformApproximate 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

RegionTypical Rate
USA, UK, Western EuropeHigher
Latin AmericaMedium
Asia (varies)Medium to Lower
AfricaLower

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 Streams

This 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
FactorEffect
New releasesSpike then decline
Playlist addsSustained increase
Viral momentsSharp spike
MarketingGradual increase
SeasonalityPredictable 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:

  1. Go to Royalties from the main menu
  2. 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:

  1. Go to Royalties from the main menu
  2. 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

FormatBest For
PDFPrinting, records
CSVSpreadsheets, analysis
ExcelDetailed 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

AnalyticsRoyalty Reports
Near real-time2-3 month delay
Stream countsActual earnings
ApproximateVerified data
For marketing decisionsFor 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 → $0.40
Month 6: 1,000 streams → $4.00
Month 12: 10,000 streams → $40.00
Year 2: 50,000 streams → $200.00

Growth compounds with more releases and audience building.


Best Practices

Monthly Review

  1. Download your statement
  2. Compare to previous month
  3. Note any anomalies
  4. Check for missing platforms
  5. Track overall trend

Annual Review

  1. Calculate total year earnings
  2. Identify top performers
  3. Analyze growth/decline
  4. Set goals for next year
  5. 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.