Royalties
Royalties are a highly specialist area, with a variety of complex aspects that we help clients to navigate as straightforwardly as possible, whilst ensuring they receive the full income they’re entitled to.
Straightforward royalty accounting for creatives
We manage all aspects of royalty accounting for a diverse portfolio of new and established music and entertainment clients, whilst also undertaking royalty audits, and music copyright valuations.
From songwriters, artists, independent record labels and publishers to actors and producers, we have vast experience of managing a multitude of complex royalty revenue streams for clients across the UK and internationally. It’s particularly rewarding to help our lesser known clients grow their careers and have their work recognised as something special.
Whether it’s royalties relating to physical sales, digital sales (streaming/downloads), neighbouring rights, synchronisation for recorded music, or publishing royalties relating to public performance, mechanicals, print or synchronisation, we ensure that all of our clients’ outstanding royalty income is accounted for, as well as liaising with overseas revenue agencies on withholding tax and supporting clients across specialist areas of royalty tax.
Areas we cover:
- Royalty accounting for independent record labels, publishing companies, distributors, artists and third parties
- Desktop reviews
- Royalty audits
- Music copyright valuations for catalogue acquisitions/sale, leveraged finance, matrimonial disputes, and tax
- Royalty contract reviews and negotiation support
- Neighbouring rights registration
- Expert witness support for litigation cases and matrimonial disputes
- Artist management royalties
- General royalty queries and/or analysis
Royalty Accounting
The majority of our work involves acting on behalf of independent record labels. Whether it is setting up a label from scratch for artist royalty distribution or taking over when a client’s operations have expanded to a certain size, we ensure that every periodical royalty run adheres to all legally contractual obligations.
We have expert knowledge in deciphering royalty contracts, working alongside highly respected music lawyers dealing with all types of record deals; be it Published Price Dealers (PPD), net receipts or 360, amongst others. We also undertake similar royalty distribution work for independent publishing companies, self-releasing artists and the distributors themselves.
High Value Royalty Audits
We complete royalty audits on behalf of creative artists to check that clients have been paid the correct royalties across all revenue streams and identify any inconsistencies in payments.
We can also review royalty license agreements to advise on any potential problems and support clients’ advisory teams in their contract negotiations.
Music Copyright Valuations
We carry out a number of very substantial music copyright valuations on the recording and publishing side; this involves analysing repertoire and forecasting its future value based on its present-day value.
For any musician, their life’s work is one of their most valuable assets. Thanks to soaring values of these assets over recent years, music catalogues have become a billion-dollar investment market. This has encouraged more artists to review their catalogue values even while they are still relatively young, as well as increasing numbers selling their catalogues as they get older.
We’ve been involved with a number of multi-million-pound catalogue valuations, on both the acquisition and sale side of deals, on behalf of clients and clients’ estates and have extensive expertise in this area.
Additionally, as a member of the Academy of Experts, we’ve provided expert witness and forensic accounting support for legal teams as part of landmark court cases in recent years, covering music rights issues and catalogue valuations for high profile divorce and litigation cases.
One of the key benefits of valuing music catalogues is that clients can raise finance leveraged against the value of music copyrights. Typically, this is done for large capital expenditure, such as buying a house without the need for a mortgage, or to retain the rights and receive a lump sum payment, instead of entering into an archetypal record/publishing deal, where an advance is made by the label/publisher for a share of the rights.
Forging long-term relationships of total trust
The size of SRLV keeps client service partner-led and personalised. Each client has their own particular needs and challenges, so we shape the strongest team for them, with the right match of industry knowledge, technical expertise and personalities. We become integral to the day to day running, decision-making and strategic direction of their businesses. This is how we forge long-term relationships of total trust.
The creative industry is always evolving
Our creative clients are highly creative and entrepreneurial. Many of them generate income from multiple sources, including music, radio, film, TV, theatre, video games and digital, and new revenue streams are emerging all the time. The crossover that exists here between the other creative industries in which we specialise, puts us in a unique position to help artists and businesses explore and capitalise on these opportunities as their industries evolve.
