How a song makes money in India

Start here: one song, two copyrights

Every song you release carries two separate copyrights, and almost every question about getting paid comes back to them.

1. The song, sometimes called the musical work or the composition. This is the lyrics and the melody: what you could write down on paper or play on a guitar. It belongs to the people who wrote it, the lyricist and the composer, unless they sign it over.
2. The recording, also called the sound recording or the master. This is the actual audio file people stream. Under Indian copyright law it belongs to its producer, meaning the person who took the initiative and responsibility for making it: usually whoever arranged and paid for the recording, unless a written agreement says otherwise.

If you write, sing and pay for your own track, you own both. The moment other people are involved (a co-writer, a producer, a label), ownership gets shared, and so does the money.

The income streams, at a glance

1. Streaming: paid for the recording

When someone plays your track on Spotify, Apple Music, JioSaavn, YouTube Music or Amazon Music, the platform pays royalties to the owner of the recording. As an independent artist you don't deal with each platform. Your distributor delivers your music to all of them, collects what each pays, and passes it on to you after its fee or commission.

A few things worth knowing:

• Platforms don't pay a fixed rate per stream. What a stream is worth depends on the platform, the country of the listener and whether they pay for a subscription. Be wary of anyone quoting one exact "per-stream rate".
• Where your listeners are matters. More than 40% of royalties earned by Indian artists on Spotify in 2025 came from listeners outside India.
• YouTube is its own case. Videos that use your recording, including other people's uploads, can earn through YouTube's Content ID system, which most distributors can set up for you.

Module 4 covers distributors in depth.

2. Publishing royalties: paid for the song

The song earns separately from the recording, every time it's broadcast, streamed or performed in public. In India these royalties are collected by IPRS (the Indian Performing Right Society) on behalf of lyricists, composers and music publishers. In FY 2025–26, IPRS distributed ₹628.3 crore to more than 13,700 members.

This is the stream independent songwriters most often miss, because a distributor doesn't collect it. If you write your own songs and aren't an IPRS member who has registered those songs, this money isn't reaching you. Module 2 walks through IPRS step by step.

3. Public performance of recordings: PPL India

When a recording (not just the song) is played in public, on the radio, in a restaurant or at an event, the business playing it needs a licence for the recording too. PPL India licenses recordings on behalf of the labels and recording owners it represents. If you own your masters, ask your distributor or label how public-performance money for your recordings is handled. Module 3 covers recording rights.

4. Performer royalties: ISAMRA

Singers and musicians who perform on a recording have their own right to be paid when that recording is used commercially. In India these royalties are collected by ISAMRA (the Indian Singers' and Musicians' Rights Association), which now represents musicians as well as singers. ISAMRA has also signed agreements abroad, including with PPL in the UK, so Indian performers can be paid when their recordings are used overseas. You need to be a member to collect.

5. Caller tunes

When someone sets your song as their caller tune, the telecom service pays for it. Not every distributor delivers to caller-tune services, so check yours does, especially if your audience is in India.

6. Sync licensing

When a brand, film, show or game uses your music with visuals, it pays a licence fee. A sync needs permission from both copyright owners: the owner of the recording and the owner of the song. Artists who own both, and can prove it quickly, are the easiest to license. Module 6 explains sync.

7. Beyond royalties

Royalties are only part of a music income. Live shows, brand collaborations, teaching, session work and merchandise are often a larger share for independent artists. Module 7 covers live shows, and Module 8 covers keeping the money organised.

A worked example

Riya writes her own songs, sings them, and pays a producer a flat fee to record and mix them. She releases on her own.

• Who owns what: Riya wrote the song, so she owns it. She arranged and paid for the recording, and her agreement with the producer says the master is hers, so she owns the recording too.
• What she sets up:

1. A distributor, to get the recording onto streaming platforms and caller-tune services and collect streaming income.
2. IPRS membership as an author and composer, with the song registered, to collect publishing royalties.
3. ISAMRA membership as a singer, to collect performer royalties.
4. Clean metadata and a short ownership note, so she can say yes quickly if a brand asks to license the song.

If Riya had co-written the song with a friend, they'd agree the writing split in writing first and both register it with IPRS. If the producer had asked for a share of the master instead of a flat fee, that would be written into their agreement too.

Your checklist

1. Write down who owns the song and who owns the recording, for every release.
2. Check that your distributor delivers to every platform your listeners use, including caller tunes.
3. If you write: join IPRS and register every song.
4. If you sing or play on recordings: look into ISAMRA membership.
5. Keep your names, credits and splits identical everywhere.

Count how many of these you've already done. For most independent artists, the honest answer is one.