Streaming is now the dominant format for recorded music consumption, and understanding how it generates songwriter income requires separating out two distinct royalty types that are triggered by each stream.
Performance and mechanical: two royalties from one stream
Every time someone streams your song, two royalties are generated. The performance royalty – for the communication of your work to the public – is collected by PRS. The mechanical royalty – for the reproduction involved in delivering the stream – is collected via MCPS, your publisher, or through multi-territory licensing hubs like ICE. Both come from the same stream, but they flow through different channels and may appear on different statements.
How your share is calculated
PRS does not pay a fixed amount per stream. Instead, the total revenue PRS receives from a streaming service for a given period is divided among all the works streamed during that period, weighted by stream count. Your payment reflects your proportion of total streams multiplied by your ownership share of the song. A track with four co-writers paying 25% each will generate a quarter of the per-stream amount for each writer.
Several factors affect what a stream is worth: the listener’s subscription tier (premium streams pay significantly more than ad-supported ones), the territory (rates differ between countries), and the platform itself. There is no universal “per-stream rate” – the figure varies by all of these factors and changes from month to month.
Where streaming royalties go
For PRS performance royalties, your writer’s share (minimum 50%) comes directly to you. Your publisher receives their share separately from PRS. For mechanical royalties from streaming, the route depends on your publishing setup. Publishers with direct deals with streaming platforms may collect mechanicals outside the CMO system entirely, through ICE or through direct licensing agreements. Self-published writers collecting via MCPS will see mechanical streaming royalties on their MCPS statements.
International streams
When your song is streamed in another country, royalties are collected by the local CMO or through multi-territory licensing arrangements. These international streaming royalties flow back to you through PRS’s reciprocal agreements, typically with a delay of 12-24 months. If you have a publisher with sub-publishers in major territories, they may collect international mechanicals faster through their own network.
What to check
Compare your streaming data (available through your distributor or platforms like Spotify for Artists) with your PRS and publisher statements. If you can see streams but are not receiving corresponding royalties, the most likely cause is a registration or matching problem – your composition may not be linked to the recording in the society’s database.
