What Royalties Mean in Velveteen
Updated June 12, 2026
In Velveteen, royalties means money tracked through the platform for recordings and direct sales. Recording royalties are split by track shareholders. Publishing royalties are separate and depend on your publisher, PRO, or publishing administrator.
The distinction matters because a track can have songwriter metadata and publisher metadata while Velveteen's payout balance still represents only the money Velveteen processes.
Two royalty paths
Master royalties
Recording-side earnings processed through Velveteen and split by track shareholders.
Direct-sale credits
Download sale proceeds credited through the sales flow and shareholder splits.
Publishing royalties
Composition-side earnings collected outside Velveteen through publishers, PROs, or administrators.
Why shareholders matter
Velveteen uses track shareholders to decide how recording-side money is allocated.
Publisher metadata helps identify composition rights, but it is not the same as the track shareholder split.
Frequently asked questions
Does Velveteen pay songwriter royalties?+
No. Songwriter and publishing royalties are separate from Velveteen's recording-side balance.
Who gets recording royalties?+
Track shareholders get recording-side earnings according to their shares.
Can one person be both writer and shareholder?+
Yes, but those are separate records with separate purposes.
Do direct sales use the same splits?+
Direct-sale credits use track shareholders when crediting balances.
Related articles
Overview
FUGA reports, shareholder snapshots, balances, payout requests, sales credits, and royalty-recouped fees.
What is a shareholder?
An email address and a share percentage on a single track: the basics of the shareholder entity.
Publishing & royalties
Mechanical vs. performance royalties, PRO registration, and what leaving publisher fields blank means for your payouts.