What Caribbean musicians need to know about royalties

In a recent public post on Facebook, Soca artist Militant shared his annual royalty statement from the Copyright Music Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago (COTT). It showed that his net earnings for the year 2024, from local uses of 2 of his hit songs, Hot and Groovy and Passion, were $181.42 TTD. He strongly expressed his disappointment with this figure and questioned the integrity of the calculations and the governance structures of COTT. His concerns remind us of what every Caribbean musician needs to know about royalties as they seek to engage their fans for financial rewards.

As a Caribbean musician, the flow of royalties you earn from music is tied to how frequently your music is used as well as how established and consistent you are in the industry. To be successful, you must understand the types and sources of royalties that are available to you and craft strategies to get maximum benefits from these.

Maybe you’ve been performing at live events or had some radio airplay and want to improve your low payouts. Or your songs are on all digital platforms and you are unclear on whether royalties may be due to you and how to collect them.

It can make you nervous and, at worst, frustrated.

You’ve come to the right place! I’m going to breakdown what Caribbean musicians need to know about royalties. Starting with the types of royalties that you should be aware of and the tactics you need to start collecting them. If you are a member of a regional collection agency, this should help you better understand its roles and responsibilities so you can hold them accountable.

Let’s dive in!

The Basics of Music Royalties

Copyright and neighbouring rights law grant you, the music creative, a series of rights that give you a limited monopoly on the work you create. This means that only you can use and make money from your music, but you can permit other parties to use your work. The money that you make from ongoing uses of your copyrighted creations is called royalties! Whereas the money made for the same type of use of your neighbouring rights is known in the industry as remuneration.

The laws provide this protection as an incentive for you to continue to be creative and earn income from your music throughout your lifetime. The protections even remain for a period after your lifetime, so it can be passed on to your family and estate.

READ: 6 Ways Caribbean Artists Make Money from Music

Types of Royalties

Each of the rights that copyright law grants to you can be traded individually or as a group. For instance, an artist may want to make copies of a song that you wrote by recording a cover version of it and distributing it via digital platforms. They would have to license that right from you, the owner. Similarly, when a DJ plays one of your songs at an event, they would have to get another type of license from you or, most times, an agency that you ask to administer the rights on your behalf. In both cases, the income that you receive for use of your music is referred to as royalties!

Below, I break down four of the main types of royalties for you!

Performance Royalties

If you take another look at Militant’s royalty statement, you’d see that he received royalties from carnival fetes (local concerts). This is most likely income that was paid to him because his songs were publicly performed either by himself (in addition to his appearance fee), other artists or DJs at these events. The way this usually works is that:

The event promoter will approach the collective agency that Militant is a member of (in this case COTT) for a license to use its repertoire.
The agency will specify a price for the use of its repertoire (tariff)—usually based on the price of the event’s ticket.
The promoter will then report on which songs are performed at the event.
The agency will then deduct its administrative fees and remit what is due to the relevant music creative.

Mechanical Royalties

Let us now assume that an artist in Jamaica wants to make a reggae cover version of Hot and Groovy. To do this, they would have to get a mechanical license from either Militant directly or through his publisher. A mechanical licence grants the user permission to make copies of a song.

Ideally, the Jamaican artist should be able to approach JACAP, the Jamaican collective agency, for this license. Because JACAP has reciprocal agreements with COTT, it should be seamless for them to issue the license in Jamaica and then account to COTT in Trinidad. The royalties should eventually trickle down to Militant.

Synchronisation Royalties

If Militant wants to create variety with his portfolio of music rights and expand how much royalties he generates, he can seek out opportunities to place in films, jingles or video games. For instance, he could reach out to music supervisors to work on getting his song Passion in a romance movie or TV series that features on Netflix! When fees are generated for the use of music with timed images, such as in film and television, this is known as synchronisation royalties.

The way this works is that the show’s producers would again approach Militant, his publisher or collective agency to license the song to be a part of the production. Militant could likely receive an upfront license fee and can also negotiate for recurring license fees based on future spinoffs and reruns.

Master Use Royalties

So far we have talked about licensing the song (made up of the musical composition, melody and lyrics), but if Militant also owns his sound recording or masters (the overall recording of the song, including the production techniques and performances), he could also license this to various parties, such as music streaming services, movie studios and game developers.

Licensing the sound recording or master of popular recordings can be lucrative for the music creative. When masters are licensed for film, TV or games, it can allow their owners to gain significant revenues.

LEARN: Digital Distribution for the Caribbean Artist

Take Action Today

Being registered with a collective agency in the region is one of the fundamental steps to ensuring that you can collect some of the revenues that are due to you. Especially those from live performances at events and also from radio airplay. In the case of Militant, a quick search of Spotify reveals that both Passion and Hot and Groovy are distributed on that platform. It means that he should also be collecting revenue from his aggregator (digital distributor) for use of his masters.

In addition to this, he should check with COTT to see if they are collecting any digital royalties on his behalf! Depending on the answers he receives, he could then develop a personal strategy to get his digital royalties. He can look at options such as:

Registering with SoundExchange—to collect his revenues from uses of his recordings on online radio stations
Signing up with the MLC—to collect his digital mechanical royalties
Signing up with Songtrust– to collect his digital publishing royalties

Sometimes digital aggregators offer these collection services for their clients. So be sure to check with them first before trying to collect on your own!

Final Point

Remember that collective agencies such as COTT, COSCAP in Barbados, ECCO in the Eastern Caribbean and JACAP are membership organisations. As a music creative, if you are a member, you have a say in how they operate. You should therefore be familiar with what type of royalties are due to you, attend annual general meetings (AGMs), and ask formal questions if you need to! It is your responsibility to demand accountability.

The quantum of royalties that are due to you depends on the types and frequency of uses that you get for your songs and recordings! Royalties from live events and radio airplay alone are unlikely to be significant. Especially if you are new, have not been recently active in the industry, or have a mature catalog!

Take a serious stand to do more with your music today!

SIGN UP-FREE ONLINE COURSE: Make Music, Make Money—Secrets to Building a Profitable Music Business

Now that you know the ins and outs of royalties, it is time to grab my free course to help you identify and maximise the revenues that you can generate with your music. In this training, you will:

Explore how copyright law protects you and allows you to earn various types of royalties
Compare the key revenue streams in the music industries
Assess the core pitfalls that prevent you from making money from your music
Craft your future money-making strategies and success plan