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Gather the records before filing a claim
Start with the statement or distributor dashboard for the period in question. Gather the track and composition titles, artist and writer names, and—if available—the ISRC for the recording and ISWC for the composition. Also collect the payment history, release and usage information, registered ownership shares, split agreements, and any earlier correspondence. The receiving organization may require different documents, so check its official account or claims channel for current submission requirements. Do not send sensitive financial or identity documents except through an official channel.
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Record the exact period, title or recording, amount shown, and amount you believe is missing or incorrect. Separate a payment that has not arrived from a statement that reports the wrong usage, ownership, rate, or deduction; the distinction helps direct the claim to the right account.
Identify which royalty route is involved
A stream can generate distinct composition and recording-side royalties. No single distributor, PRO, or collection society necessarily handles all of them.
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| Payment route | What it covers | Where to start checking |
|---|---|---|
| Label or distributor income | Recording income reported and paid under the relevant label or distribution arrangement. | Compare the distributor or label statement with usage, territory, contract terms, deductions, recoupment, and the configured splits. Use the contract and that company’s official support channel; there is no universal distributor dispute process established here. |
| The MLC | U.S. blanket mechanical-license royalties for eligible streaming and download services. It does not handle public-performance, synchronization, or record royalties. | Check the member account, work registration and shares, matched recordings, unmatched uses, and statement or rate sheet. The MLC pays members monthly after usage is matched to a work. |
| A performing rights organization (PRO), such as BMI | Public-performance royalties for the relevant affiliate and use. | Review the PRO statement and the registration records for the work, writers, publishers, and shares. |
| SoundExchange | Covered digital performance royalties on the recording side, for recording artists and sound-recording owners. | Check claimant registration and the unclaimed-royalty search. This is not the songwriter or publisher mechanical-royalty route. |
Check identity, registration, and matching data
Before treating a discrepancy as a calculation error, confirm that the relevant organization has the correct title, identifiers, writers or recording claimants, and ownership shares. Search title variations as well as identifiers, and compare the listed shares with the agreements and registrations for the work or recording.
For The MLC, distinguish unmatched royalties from unclaimed shares. Unmatched royalties are reported uses that have not yet been matched to a work. Unclaimed royalties are shares of a matched work that have not been claimed. The MLC’s member statements identify matched sound-recording products, reported usage amounts, and rate sheets; its public data includes ownership claims and unmatched uses. Those records can help show whether the problem is missing work information, an unclaimed share, or a reported amount that needs closer review.
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SoundExchange likewise identifies unregistered or partially unregistered claimants in its unclaimed-royalty lists. If the claimant or share is missing, check registration and rights information before assuming that a payment calculation is wrong.
Reconcile the statement and submit a specific written claim
- Choose the responsible account. Match the disputed amount to the payment route above, and confirm the territory. The examples in this article concern U.S. procedures; do not assume a U.S. collection route covers every territory.
- Compare the same period and asset. Check the statement period, track and work identity, usage, territory, ownership shares, applicable rates, deductions, and payment date. Rates can vary by use and applicable rules, so a universal per-stream estimate is not a reliable way to establish an underpayment.
- Write down the discrepancy. State what the organization reported, what you believe it should have reported, and why. Include the period, work or recording, amount if you can support it, the ownership basis, and relevant statement extracts or registration records.
- Submit through the official channel and keep the record. Save the claim, attachments, submission confirmation, and response. Check the organization’s current instructions for any required form or additional documentation.
- Escalate through that organization’s published process. If support cannot resolve the issue, use the organization’s stated dispute or audit procedure rather than treating another organization’s process as interchangeable.
Know the specific deadlines and dispute rules
BMI adjustment requests
BMI’s Royalty Policy Manual says written adjustment requests should be made within nine months of the distribution in question. For incorrect U.S. payments, BMI describes a likely total-adjustment threshold of more than $25; that is BMI policy, not a general industry minimum. Its policy also addresses late registrations and cue sheets. Foreign-distribution adjustment claims should be detailed and timely, and local foreign-society cutoffs may differ.
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SoundExchange artist disputes
SoundExchange says it holds disputed royalties until the dispute is resolved and does not interpret third-party contracts. Its process acts on directions from the direct registrants. A Letter of Direction has a specific purpose: redirecting a featured artist’s royalties to a producer, mixer, or engineer. It is not a substitute for resolving competing performer claims.
A delayed SoundExchange payment may also reflect the account’s payout threshold rather than a missing use: the FAQ describes quarterly payments after accrued royalties reach $10, or $100 for a paper check, under the guidelines stated there. Check the current account rules before relying on those thresholds.
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When a formal audit may be appropriate
A routine support request and a formal audit are different routes. Consider an audit when a material discrepancy remains unresolved and you have enough records to identify the periods and rights at issue. The MLC’s formal member audit requires notice, a specified audit period, and a qualified independent CPA experienced in music royalty audits. The MLC says a member may audit once per year for any or all of the preceding three calendar years, and each year may be audited only once.
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The U.S. Copyright Office lists information required in notices under the Music Modernization Act. Its public posting of an audit notice does not mean the Office has approved that notice’s validity. Review the applicable notice requirements and obtain qualified advice if needed before starting this more formal process.
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