Yes, I’m channeling Johnny Carson in my quest to know EVERYTHING you’ve ever wanted to know… (*sigh* …god, I’m old)…

Anyway, I ran across this fantastic primer from Jim and Lynnette about the business of songwriting, and I really like their approach…

Trust me, neither of us has any interest in being a songwriter. We’re just everyday music listeners who are simply intrigued by the business of songwriting, and we always seem to have more questions than answers about how things work in the music industry — particularly the Country music industry.

They include reference links to some really interesting information, as well!
Here’s an example from their Q&A:

#2 How much do songwriters earn for their songs?

Mechanical Royalty — Writers receive 9.1 cents for a song that sells on an artist’s CD. However, this is usually split with the publisher, leaving the songwriter only 4.55 cents. If the song is co-written, then they receive only 2.275 cents! So, if a writer has a song on a million-selling album, they earn around $22,750.
Performance Royalty — A songwriter is paid when his or her song is performed live or on radio, television, or cable. The average performance royalty is under $5,000 per year for those who are lucky enough to receive performance income.

– How Songwriters Are Paid

Under the traditional recording agreement, recording artist royalties usually range from 10% to 25% of the suggested retail price for top-line albums (although many record companies have begun to compute royalties on the wholesale price). However, there are many deductions made for items such as packaging costs; free goods; responsibility for the payment of producer royalties; reserve accounts; return privileges; midline, budget-line, record-club, and foreign royalty reductions; 90% sale provisions; new-technology rate reductions (which may even affect CD royalties); cut-out and surplus-copy provisions; video, tour support, and promotion expenses; recording costs; advances for not only the current album, but past albums as well; ownership of websites; and merchandising rights. In addition, if the artist is a songwriter, there are provisions in the recording agreement (known as the “controlled composition clauses”), which reduce and limit, among other things, mechanical royalties.

Music & Money: Recording Artist Royalties

Informative stuff! Go check out the rest at The Fun Times Guide…