Music royalties: when and how you get paid

You get paid royalties for a track two to three months after release, and every month after that. The delay is not the distributor's: stores such as Spotify only report a month of streams well after that month ends. This guide follows the money from a stream to your bank account on Distroline.

The path of the money, step by step

1. Day 0: someone plays your track.
2. About 30 days: the store closes its reporting month.
3. Another 30 to 45 days: the store reports the streams and pays.
4. The same week: we publish your statement.
5. Another 1 to 2 business days: the SEPA transfer reaches your bank.

That is why the first payment for a release usually lands two to three months later. From then on, payments arrive every month.

What you need in place

• A payout method in Settings, Payouts. Today that is a SEPA bank transfer, so you need an IBAN.
• The account holder name matching the name on your profile. Payouts are matched against it.

Distroline never shows a balance you cannot be paid: the figure in Royalties is what the stores reported and is published on a statement.

How much you keep

• On the Free plan, we keep 10% of royalties and you keep 90%.
• On Coliseu (€14.99 a year) and Stage (€49.99 a year), you keep 100%.

If you split a track with other people, each of them is paid their agreed share once they accept the split.

Spotify's 1,000-stream rule

Since 1 April 2024, Spotify only generates recorded royalties for tracks with at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months. A track below that earns no royalties on Spotify, whichever distributor you use.

The money that does not go through your distributor

A song earns two kinds of income. Your distributor pays you for the recording (the masters). Songwriting royalties from the composition, radio and live performance are collected by rights societies, such as SPA in Portugal or ECAD in Brazil, and only reach you if you are registered with them. Distroline does not collect those.

Tax

Distroline does not withhold tax from payouts or file anything on your behalf. What you receive is what your statement says, and declaring that income is up to you. If in doubt, ask an accountant.

Frequently asked questions

When do I get my first payout?

Usually two to three months after release, because of the stores' reporting schedule. After that, every month.

Do I have to request a payout?

No. Once a statement is published, the amount is paid to the payout method on your account.

Why did a track with streams earn nothing on Spotify?

If it had fewer than 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months, Spotify generates no recorded royalties for it.

How long does the transfer take?

A SEPA transfer usually arrives 1 to 2 business days after it is sent.

If you have not released yet, start with how to put your music on Spotify in 2026, or create your free account.