What Does it Cost?

We offer both a Limited and Standard* License option on a per song basis. The exact cost depends on which type of Mechanical License you choose to obtain.

Limited License

A Limited License covers a predetermined amount of digital downloads (A digital single and digital album are covered at the same price). Once the predetermined amount has been sold, you must either: relicense, convert to a Standard License*, or stop distributing the song.

Pricing

  • Licensing Fee: $17.00
  • Pre-Payment of Royalty Fee: [12.4 cents x {units licensed}]
  • Re-license Fee: $7.50
  • Cost to convert to a Standard License*: $49.00 Licensing Fee

Click here to read a story about Lily & the Limited License!

Standard License*

A Standard License* allows you to distribute an unlimited amount of digital downloads without the worry of overselling and/or re-licensing. Once you’ve purchased a Standard License*, you’re covered forever. That’s it—easy, legal and worry free! Please note that Standard Licenses are only available for tracks distributed through Tunecore only.

Pricing

  • One Time Licensing Fee: $70.00
  • Pre-Paid Royalty Fee: None. Royalty fees are paid only after units are sold (you will be charged on a quarterly basis at 12.4 cents per unit sold)
  • Processing Fee: There is a processing fee of 7.9 cents per unit, capped at $200.00 per quarterly mechanical royalty’s calculation plus the mechanical royalties due.

Click here to read a story about Simon & the Standard License!

MECHANICAL ROYALTIES

The statutory mechanical royalty rate* for permanent digital downloads is:

12.4¢ per copy for songs 5 minutes or less, or
2.38¢ per minute or fraction thereof, per copy for songs over 5 minutes
*All royalty fees are set by US Copyright law

What do I get?

  • Research to determine copyright holders
  • Issuance of mechanical license(s)
  • No charge for Public Domain songs
  • Email notification of license completion
  • Online access to retrieve completed license(s)

Licensing fee? Processing fee? What’s that for?

The licensing fee covers all the legal and administrative work Royalty Solutions performs on the back end to ensure that you can keep your focus on the music.

The processing fee (Standard License* only) includes:

  • Calculation, preparation and delivery of royalty statements
  • Processing and tracking all mechanical royalty payments
  • Email notifications

*Standard License option is only available for TuneCore users at this time.