How to Track Radio Airplay and Royalties
Track radio airplay royalties by joining detections to the exact recording, composition, territory, transmission type, registrations, and statements. In Canada, check SOCAN composition and Re:Sound performer or maker paths. In the United States, separate composition royalties from SoundExchange-eligible non-interactive digital uses; terrestrial AM/FM does not create that federal sound-recording royalty. Never equate a spin alert with payment.
Lead visual
Radio promotion map
Context
Radio · Promotion
What this guide is helping you understand.
Decision
Track radio airplay royalties
The practical choice or setup step to get right.
Next
Action
What to check before you move the release forward.
Radio · Promotion
Ratio system map
Decision
Match the numerator and denominator before interpreting depth or listener action.
Evidence
Song, release age, dates, territory, source filter, unique listeners, streams, saves, and playlist adds.
Risk
Mixed scopes can create a precise percentage that compares different audiences or reporting windows.
Good outcome
A reproducible ratio that can be read beside reach and source mix without becoming a false benchmark.
Key takeaways
- Record the exact station or service, territory, transmission type, timestamp, track version, and source.
- Match the sound recording and musical composition as separate works with separate identifiers and owners.
- Keep Canadian SOCAN and Re:Sound paths distinct from U.S. PRO and SoundExchange paths.
- Use monitoring coverage to find evidence, not to promise complete detection or payment.
- Reconcile by distribution period and reason code without inventing a universal per-spin rate.
Which links connect a radio spin to a royalty statement?
Airplay evidence chain
Seven links from detection to resolution
- 01
Link 1
Detect
Capture station log, playlist, monitoring alert, promoter report, or artist analytics with source and confidence.
- 02
Link 2
Classify
Identify country, terrestrial, simulcast, webcast, satellite, non-interactive digital, and station or service.
- 03
Link 3
Match recording
Confirm artist, title, version, ISRC, maker or owner, featured and non-featured performers, and repertoire registration.
- 04
Link 4
Match composition
Confirm work title, alternate titles, writers, publishers, shares, IPI, society, and work number.
- 05
Link 5
Route
Choose SOCAN, Re:Sound or member collective, U.S. PRO, SoundExchange, foreign society, or other applicable path.
- 06
Link 6
Reconcile
Search the correct distribution period, pool or usage type, statement line, currency, amount, and payment reference.
- 07
Link 7
Resolve
Assign matched, pending, unregistered, unmatched, outside coverage, ineligible, disputed, or unknown and a next action.
Which radio use can create which royalty path?
| Composition path | Sound-recording path | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada terrestrial | SOCAN or represented society for eligible songwriter and publisher performance royalties | Re:Sound or member organization for eligible performer and maker equitable remuneration |
| Canada digital or satellite | Applicable SOCAN or represented licensing and distribution path | Applicable Re:Sound, direct, or other neighbouring-rights path based on service and eligibility |
| U.S. terrestrial AM/FM | ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR, direct, or represented musical-work path | No equivalent federal SoundExchange royalty for the over-the-air transmission |
| U.S. non-interactive digital | Musical-work licensing remains separate | SoundExchange can collect eligible statutory digital performance royalties for featured artists and recording owners |
| Foreign territory | Home and local society relationships and the represented work control | Neighbouring-rights eligibility, local law, reciprocal or direct collection, and repertoire control |
Apple Radio Spins is not a royalty portal
Apple describes the feature as artist performance analytics and directs financial or royalty questions elsewhere. Use it to locate possible plays, then reconcile the relevant society, collective, distributor, or rights statement.
Which sources govern radio airplay and royalties?
Frequently asked questions
How can an artist see which radio stations played a song?+
Use station playlists and logs, promoter reports, monitoring services, and artist analytics as separate sources. Apple Music for Artists Radio Spins currently reports detections across more than 40,000 tracked terrestrial and digital stations, excluding Apple Music Radio. Coverage is not universal. Preserve station, track, version, timestamp, territory, source, and confidence before reconciling royalty systems.
Does every radio spin pay the same royalty?+
No. Composition and sound-recording systems use different licences and distribution rules. SOCAN's radio pools can consider station weight, pool money, work duration, usage, performances, and other attributes. Re:Sound, U.S. PROs, and SoundExchange use their own rules. A detected spin can be ineligible, unmatched, sampled, delayed, or outside a monitoring or payment system.
What should a Canadian artist register before radio promotion?+
Register the musical work and alternate titles with SOCAN or the relevant composition administrator, and follow SOCAN's current Mediabase guidance for census-monitored commercial radio. Register eligible performer and maker repertoire through Re:Sound or its member organizations. Keep ISRC, writers, publishers, shares, performers, maker, release, versions, and territories consistent across service and royalty records.
Does U.S. terrestrial radio pay performers and record labels?+
Under current U.S. federal law, the sound-recording public-performance right is limited to eligible digital audio transmissions, so over-the-air AM/FM does not generate the same SoundExchange payment to featured artists and sound-recording owners. Musical-work performance royalties remain a separate songwriter and publisher path. A station's online simulcast or other digital service can require separate classification.
What should an artist do when airplay is missing from a statement?+
Verify the detection source, exact station or service, transmission type, date, time zone, territory, recording version, ISRC, work registration, alternate title, writer and publisher shares, performer or maker repertoire, monitoring registration, society distribution period, and statement line. Then assign a reason code and contact the relevant organization with evidence instead of estimating a receivable.
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