What Royalty Rate Do Mixing and Mastering Engineers Get?

Below: which rights a song creates, where an engineer could get a share, how SoundExchange Letters of Direction work, what is normal for independent releases, and how we handle it at Major Mixing.

Types of copyright

Every released song carries two separate copyrights, and each earns its own royalties. Knowing which is which explains why mixers and mastering engineers rarely share in either.

Songwriter’s copyright

The composition: melody, lyrics and the other parts that make the song a song. It belongs to the songwriters, split however they agree, and often partly to their publishers. Its income is called publishing or songwriting royalties.

A publisher takes a share in exchange for collecting the money, registering the song and pitching it for placements. Many independent songwriters act as their own publisher. An engineer earns from this copyright only by actually co-writing the song.

Master copyright

The sound recording: one specific recorded version of the song. It’s owned by whoever paid for and controls the recording, usually the label or, on an independent release, the artist. Its income is called master royalties.

The two are separate because one song can have many recordings. A cover version, a remix or a live recording each has its own master, while the composition stays with the original writers.

Points for a producer or mixer are always a share of this master income, never of the composition. Our guide to your musical rights covers both copyrights from the artist’s side.

Types of royalties

A song earns money in different ways, and each is collected by different organisations, which differ by country. The main ones:

Royalties generated on streaming platforms

A single stream pays both sides. The master’s share goes to the rights owner through the label or the distributor. The composition’s share is collected for the songwriters and publishers by collecting societies, as mechanical and performance royalties.

Any points you give a producer or mixer come out of the master’s share, under the terms of your deal with them. That’s why the deal has to say which income the points apply to, not just the number.

The streaming services identify each recording by its ISRC, so getting the ISRC code right is part of getting paid at all.

What royalty rate do mixing engineers get?

Most mixing engineers get no royalty for mixing. They charge a flat rate per song, per hour or per project and take no ownership of the recording they mix.

Some mixers do negotiate points, usually on label projects where their name and track record carry weight. There’s no fixed industry rate: the number of points, what income they apply to and whether they’re paid before or after costs are recouped all depend on the individual contract.

A point is 1% of the income the contract defines. For a song that doesn’t earn much, a mixer’s points can add up to less than a normal fee would have been, which is one reason most mixers prefer to be paid for the work up front.

What royalty rate do mastering engineers get?

Mastering engineers almost never receive royalties. Mastering is the final quality and loudness stage of a finished mix, and it’s priced as a service, from independent releases to major-label albums. Credits matter to mastering engineers, points rarely come into it.

SoundExchange Letters of Direction (US)

In the US there’s one royalty stream that a mixer or engineer can share without owning any part of the master. SoundExchange collects digital performance royalties from services such as Pandora, SiriusXM and webcasters. By law, those royalties are split three ways:

• 50% to the rights owner of the sound recording;
• 45% to the featured artist;
• 5% to a fund for non-featured musicians and vocalists.

A featured artist can sign a Letter of Direction (LOD) that tells SoundExchange to pay part of the artist’s share directly to a producer, mixer or engineer who worked on the recording. The Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act, part of the Music Modernization Act, wrote this process into US law. A few practical points from SoundExchange:

• SoundExchange pays a creative participant only when a registered featured artist submits an LOD; it doesn’t decide shares itself.
• An LOD isn’t retroactive unless it says so.
• An LOD can’t direct payments to other third parties, such as a label.

This is a share of the artist’s radio-style performance income, not of on-demand streams or sales. Details and the forms are on SoundExchange’s Letters of Direction page. Other countries handle these neighbouring rights through their own societies, under their own rules.

Is it worth it to go after royalties for mixing?

For most songs, no. Points pay only if the song earns, and most songs never earn enough for a small share of the master to beat a fee. Points also add paperwork for both sides for as long as the song earns: statements, audits, splits on every new deal.

Points make sense when the song has a realistic chance of earning, usually a label release or an artist with an audience, and when the engineer did more than mix. On independent releases the norm is a fee and a credit.

How a mixing engineer can receive more royalties

A share of royalties reflects a share in creating the record. Getting more means contributing more, and agreeing it before the work starts.

Do more creative work

If you shape the arrangement, add parts, or direct the performance, you’re doing a producer’s job as well, and it’s reasonable to discuss production points. If you co-write the melody or lyrics, you’re a songwriter and the share is in the composition, agreed with the other writers.

Highlight your input

Mixing shapes the balance, depth, width and movement of a record, and an artist may not see how much of the final sound that is. If you want points, be ready to explain exactly what you contributed, and get the agreement in writing: how many points, on what income, from when, and how you’ll be paid.

You’ll get more with time

A portfolio of successful records, and work with known artists, producers and labels, gives you more leverage in negotiation. Until then, a fair fee is the better deal for most engineers. Our article on what a mixing engineer does covers the role in more detail.

Who owns the mix and master when you work with Major Mixing

We’re paid a flat fee per song, and that’s all. Under our terms, you own the copyright in your song and, once the invoice is paid, you own the mix and the master we deliver outright, worldwide, for every format and platform. There’s no licence to renew, no royalty and no revenue share. A credit is welcome but never required.

Our prices are per song: mixing from $113, mixing and mastering from $133, depending on the number of tracks. If you’d like a second opinion before you pay anyone, send the track for a free review.

Conclusion

Mixing and mastering engineers are almost always paid a fee, not royalties. Points are a negotiated share of master income, common for producers, occasional for mixers on label projects, and rare for mastering. In the US, a featured artist can also direct part of their SoundExchange royalties to a mixer or engineer with a Letter of Direction.

Whatever you agree, put it in writing before the session: who owns the master, who gets credit, and whether anyone gets points, on what income.

Conventions, not rules. They vary by territory and by deal. Anything involving points should be agreed in writing before work starts.

Rather have a release-ready master done by an engineer? Our online mastering service is $50 per song, back in 2–3 days per song, with 6 revision rounds included.