Royalties
There is no single check. Performance, mechanicals, the master, and sync arrive from different places, on different calendars, and only if the right party was registered.
A map, not a dashboard
For one released song, at least four kinds of money can move. The composition’s public performance goes through a PRO. The composition’s U.S. digital mechanical, for interactive streams and downloads under the blanket license, goes through The MLC or through the administrator or foreign society that collects it for you. The sound recording’s interactive streaming money goes through the distributor or label. The sound recording’s digital performance on non-interactive services is a different right: The MLC says recording artists and labels do not join The MLC for that, and that they join SoundExchange.
Sync fees, if a picture use is licensed, are negotiated and paid by the licensee to whoever controls the composition and whoever controls the master. They do not arrive as a line on a PRO statement. ASCAP is explicit that its license is not a sync license.
What to keep so you can chase a missing line
Save the split sheet, the PRO work registration, the MLC registration or your administrator’s confirmation, the distributor receipt, the ISRC, and the ISWC once it exists. When a statement looks short, you are looking for a missing registration or a mismatched name, not for a secret fifth society.
Statements are not monthly everywhere, and a new registration does not rewind every past use. The MLC describes a monthly cycle of usage data from services, matching, and payment to members. Your PRO has its own distribution calendar. Read that calendar on the society’s site rather than expecting both checks on the same Friday.
Sources checked 15 October 2026
If a society has changed a fee or a rule since these pages were read, the society’s page is the one to follow. This is not legal advice.
Tools that sit next to this
BMAT, Beatdapp, AudD, ACRCloud, Audible Magic, and Pex identify uses or flag fraud. They can show that a recording was used. They do not register the song, and they do not replace a PRO, The MLC, or your distributor.
Identify music and report usage for societies, labels, publishers, and services. No public free plan was listed on the site we checked.
Detect streaming fraud and AI-generated music for DSPs, distributors, labels, and collecting societies. Access starts with a demo.
Recognize music in files, uploads, or streams. New accounts may get a one-time trial batch of requests; ongoing use is a paid subscription.
Identify music, covers, and AI-generated audio, and monitor broadcasts. The site starts with a free trial, then paid recognition.
Identify content and administer rights for platforms that use music. Sold as an enterprise agreement.
Identify recordings, compositions, and AI-generated music. Pex’s site says it has joined Vobile. Platform pricing is sales-led.