There are certain jurisdictions where artists have to be paid royalties, whenever their music is played on public radio. It is an interesting phenomenon, especially when you consider the fact that there are certain other jurisdictions where artists actually have to pay, for their music to be played on public radio. Nonetheless, our focus in today’s blog post is on the scenario where the artists have to be paid royalties, whenever their music is played on public radio. We will be specifically looking at the two models through which the royalty payments can be made.

The first model through which artists can be paid royalties when their music is played on public radio is the one where the payments are made to the individual artists. There is a loophole here, of course. For an artist working under this arrangement can opt to ask for minimal (or zero) royalty payments – as one of the strategies to ensure that his music gets played on public radio frequently.

The second model through which artists can be paid royalties when their music is played on public radio is the one where the payments are made through special organizations. Under this model, the artists have to set up organizations, which are then mandated to collect the royalty payments on their behalf. The artists then get their money from the organizations — which is often better than having long queues everyday of artists waiting for royalties at the radio station offices.

Whichever model you use to pay royalties for the music played on public radio, it is worth keeping it in mind that the money ultimately goes to the owners of the music copyright. Many of the musicians actually work for production houses, where they are given regular paychecks (sometimes using the likes of the Securitasepaytalx payroll system), just like any other employees. We also have artists who opt to sell the copyrights for their works, in exchange for one-off lump-sum payments. These are the realities of the business.