Introduction

About the authors: Todd Brabec, Executive Vice President and Director of Membership for ASCAP, and Jeff Brabec, Vice President Business Affairs for the Chrysalis Music Group, are graduates of NYU School of Law, Deems Taylor Award-winning writers for excellence in music journalism, adjunct professors at the USC Thornton School of Music/Music Industry Department and authors of the book, Music, Money And Success: The Insider's Guide Making Money In The Music Business (Schirmer Trade Books/ Music Sales/ 502 pages) from which much of the information contained in this article is taken.

This overview article on the many sources of music and lyric income has been made available by ASCAP as a service to songwriters and publishers, regardless of affiliation.

The songwriter/publisher income chart below shows some of the many ways a songwriter, artist or publisher can generate income. A songwriter makes money when a CD or cassette containing one of his or her songs is sold, when the songs are played on the radio, in a TV show, or performed in a concert hall or broadcast in a foreign country. Royalties can also be generated from the sale of sheet music or from the use of a song in a commercial or a motion picture. Since each source of income has its own distinct payment structure, figuring out exactly how a songwriter, artist or music publisher makes money and where that money comes from can be a major challenge. But it's not that difficult! The money that can be made is yours if you know what you are doing, have the talent, have good representation, are willing to work, and have the requisite amount of luck necessary for success in any endeavor in life.

Songwriter / Music Publisher 2007 Income Chart
$45,500	U.S. Singles sales (500,000 copies)
1,275,000	U.S. Album sales (500,000 copies)
600,000	U.S. Radio and TV performances
1,250,000	Foreign Album sales
575,000	Foreign radio, TV and Web performances
350,000	Television series theme song
475,000	Television series underscore
25,000	Sheet music and folios
250,000	Advertising commercial
11,000	Song in a television series
40,000	Song in a motion picture
8,000	Foreign movie theatre performances
468,000	Broadway show
900	Lyric reprint in a novel
7,500	Video Game
950	Karaoke
225,000	Film scoring fee
200,000	Foreign movie score TV royalties
35,000	U.S. movie score TV royalties
19,000	Home Video
45,000	Internet / downloads and streaming
25,000	Miscellaneous royalties
$5,930,850	Total Writer and Publisher royalties

© 2007 Todd Brabec, Jeff Brabec
For more information, check out the book Music, Money and Success: The Insider's Guide To Making Money In The Music Business (Schirmer Trade Books/Music Sales/502 pages) available for sale at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Music Sales Group and www.musicandmoney.com.


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