Music is global, but copyright law is local. There is no “Global Music Bank.” Instead, every country has its own collection society. These societies talk to each other through “Reciprocal Agreements” to pass money back and forth. However, this system is slow and often “leaky,” especially for mechanical royalties, which is why international income is the hardest to collect.
You release a song in the US. A DJ plays it in a club in Berlin. A teenager streams it in Tokyo. How does that Euro or Yen end up in your US bank account as a Dollar?
It travels through a complex web called the International Society Network. Here is how it works under the hood.
1. The Concept of “Territories”
In the music business, rights are split by borders.
- ASCAP & BMI only have the legal right to collect money inside the USA.
- PRS only collects inside the UK.
- GEMA only collects inside Germany.
If you are a member of ASCAP, ASCAP cannot walk into a German club and demand money. They have no authority there.
2. The Solution: Reciprocal Agreements
To fix this, societies sign contracts with each other called “Reciprocal Agreements.”
- How it works: GEMA (Germany) agrees to collect money for ASCAP (USA) members in Germany. In exchange, ASCAP agrees to collect money for GEMA members in the USA.
- The Flow:
- Song plays in Germany.
- GEMA collects the money.
- GEMA takes a “Service Fee” (usually 10-20%).
- GEMA sends the rest to ASCAP.
- ASCAP takes their “Service Fee.”
- ASCAP pays you the remainder.
The Problem: This game of “telephone” takes a long time. It can take 12 to 24 months for international money to finally reach you through a reciprocal deal.
3. The “Mechanical” Gap
Here is where the system breaks down for independent artists. Reciprocal agreements are usually strong for Performance Royalties (Radio/TV), but they are often weak or non-existent for Mechanical Royalties (Streaming).
- Scenario: You get 10,000 streams in the UK.
- Result: Your US PRO (ASCAP) might collect the Performance share from the UK society (PRS). But they cannot collect the Mechanical share from the UK mechanical society (MCPS).
- The Leak: That mechanical money sits in the UK until a publisher claims it. If you rely solely on ASCAP, that money never comes home.
Summary
The international system is built on “handshakes” between countries. While it works eventually for radio, it is too slow and fragmented for the modern streaming economy. To skip the line, you need a different approach. Check out How Do I Collect Royalties from Other Countries?