Who Owns the Music? Copyright, Streaming, and the Money Behind the Song

Think about the last song you streamed. In the time it takes you to listen once, dozens of legal agreements are quietly working in the background. Here is a question to get you thinking: if a song gets played one million times on a streaming platform, who actually receives money — and how much do you think they get per play? Jot down your guess before we explore the real answer.

**What is music copyright?** Copyright is a legal right that gives the creator of an original work exclusive control over how it is used. In music, copyright actually covers two separate things. First, there is the *composition copyright*, which protects the melody and lyrics — this belongs to the songwriter or composer. Second, there is the *master recording copyright*, which protects a specific recorded version of the song — this usually belongs to the record label or the artist who paid for the recording. Both types of copyright spring into existence automatically the moment a song is created; the creator does not need to register it, although registration can make it easier to prove ownership in a dispute. **Licences and royalties** Because copyright gives owners exclusive rights, anyone who wants to use a song commercially must get *permission*, which is granted through a *licence*. In exchange for that permission, the copyright holder receives a payment called a *royalty*. There are several types of royalties in music: - **Mechanical royalties**: paid when a song is reproduced (e.g. pressed onto a CD or streamed on demand). - **Performance royalties**: paid when a song is performed publicly or broadcast on radio or TV. - **Synchronisation royalties** (often called 'sync'): paid when a song is used alongside moving images, such as in a film or advert. Collecting societies — organisations such as PRS for Music (UK), ASCAP and BMI (USA), and SOCAN (Canada) — act as middlemen. They collect royalty payments from broadcasters and streaming services, then distribute the money to registered songwriters and publishers. **How streaming works financially** Streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music do not pay a fixed amount per stream. Instead, they use a *pro-rata model*: the platform pools all the subscription and advertising revenue it earns in a given period, deducts its own operating costs, and divides the remaining pot among rights holders in proportion to how many streams each song received out of all streams that period. In practice, major studies have found that the average payout per individual stream on leading platforms sits between roughly £0.002 and £0.005 (less than half a penny). That means an independent artist needs hundreds of thousands of streams just to earn the equivalent of a monthly minimum wage. **Who actually receives the money?** The streaming platform pays the rights holders — usually the record label (for the master) and the music publisher (for the composition). The label then pays the artist according to the contract they signed, which might give the artist only 15–25% of the label's share. Independent artists who own their own masters and publish their own music keep a much larger percentage. This is why artist ownership of masters has become an important issue in the music industry. **The debate around streaming** Many established artists and songwriters argue the pro-rata model underpays creators, especially those who are not already famous. Some advocate for a *user-centric model*, where each listener's subscription fee is divided only among the artists that specific listener actually streamed — potentially fairer for niche or independent musicians. Meanwhile, copyright also raises creative questions: sampling another artist's work, creating a cover version, or even unintentionally writing a melody too similar to an existing song can result in legal action unless the correct licences are obtained.