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Most Independent Artists Are Missing Royalties From IPRS, PPL & More. Here’s Why.



Most artists think music money only comes from Spotify streams.

You upload your song through a distributor, check your dashboard, and assume that is your total income.

But honestly, that is only one part of the money your music generates.

Your music can also earn from:

  • mall and café play

  • FM radio

  • TV channels

  • Instagram Reels

  • YouTube Shorts

  • TikTok usage

  • YouTube user-generated videos

  • digital radio

  • public performances

  • songwriting royalties

  • international royalty systems

And most independent artists in India are missing a huge part of this income because they are not properly registered with the right societies.

1. Streaming Royalties

This is the royalty most artists already know.

You earn this when your song streams on:

  • Spotify

  • Apple Music

  • YouTube Music

  • Amazon Music

  • JioSaavn

  • Gaana

  • Wynk

Most distributors already collect this basic streaming revenue automatically.

But this is only the beginning.

2. Content ID & Social Media Royalties

This is another major income source many artists ignore.

When your music is used in:

  • YouTube videos

  • YouTube Shorts

  • Instagram Reels

  • Facebook videos

  • TikTok videos

  • user-generated content

your music can generate Content ID and social media royalties.

DireNote Media’s 360 Collection explanation specifically mentions revenue from:

  • YouTube Content ID

  • Instagram Reels

  • Facebook

  • TikTok

  • social media rights systems

So even if another creator uses your song in their video, your music may still generate revenue.

A lot of artists upload songs to streaming platforms but completely ignore social media monetization.

3. PPL Royalties (Master Recording Royalties)

When your MASTER RECORDING plays publicly, royalties can be generated.

This includes:

  • shopping malls

  • cafés

  • restaurants

  • gyms

  • clubs

  • hotels

  • retail stores

  • FM radio

  • TV channels

  • events

So if your actual sound recording is being played publicly, organizations like Phonographic Performance Limited may collect royalties from those businesses and usages.

PPL’s own guide says it collects royalties from radio, TV, public places, and events where music is played publicly.

A lot of artists never register properly for this.

Which means money generated from public usage may never reach them.

4. IPRS Royalties (Lyrics & Composition Royalties)

Now this is where many artists get confused.

If:

  • your lyrics are used

  • your composition is used

  • or your song is publicly performed

then Indian Performing Right Society comes into the picture.

IPRS mainly handles:

  • songwriter royalties

  • composition royalties

  • publishing royalties

  • Indian mechanical royalties

  • public performance royalties related to lyrics/composition

Their own guide explains that IPRS collects both public performance and mechanical royalties.

So:

  • if the MASTER recording plays publicly, PPL-type royalties may apply

  • if the LYRICS or COMPOSITION are involved, IPRS royalties may also apply

Many independent artists completely miss this difference.

5. SoundExchange Royalties

Another royalty most Indian artists ignore is non-interactive digital radio royalties.

This is different from Spotify.

Non-interactive means listeners cannot freely choose every song on demand.

Examples:

  • Pandora

  • SiriusXM

  • internet radio

  • digital radio stations

SoundExchange collects royalties from these services. Their guide clearly says they do not collect from Spotify or Apple Music, but from digital radio and non-interactive streaming platforms.

A lot of artists are earning here without even realizing it.

6. MLC Royalties

If your music streams in the United States, another organization becomes important:

The Mechanical Licensing Collective

The MLC collects US digital mechanical royalties from streaming platforms.

Most Indian artists are not even registered there.

Which means US mechanical royalties often remain unclaimed.

The Real Problem

The royalty system is fragmented.

Artists often need:

  • separate registrations

  • multiple memberships

  • metadata management

  • publishing setup

  • rights registrations

  • international accounts

And honestly, most artists:

  • do not understand the process

  • do not know where to register

  • do not have time

  • or simply ignore it

DireNote Media’s 360 Collection page itself says many artists may only be collecting around 30-40% of their total possible earnings.

The rest stays uncollected.

What DireNote Media Is Trying To Solve

This is exactly why DireNote Media built its 360 Collection system.

Instead of artists manually trying to understand:

  • PPL

  • IPRS

  • SoundExchange

  • MLC

  • Content ID systems

  • public performance systems

  • publishing systems

  • neighboring rights systems

the idea is to simplify collection in one ecosystem.

According to DireNote Media’s own explanation, the system focuses on collecting:

  • streaming royalties

  • Content ID revenue

  • social media revenue

  • radio royalties

  • TV royalties

  • mall and café performance royalties

  • songwriter royalties

  • publishing royalties

  • international royalties

The goal is simple:

Artists should focus on making music instead of spending months understanding royalty paperwork.

And honestly, this is one of the biggest problems independent artists face today, so we thought let's solve it :)

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