The Authoritative 10-Step Audit Protocol

The Music Business Academy 10-Step Royalty Audit

This systematic, chronological protocol outlines exactly how independent artists, managers, and professional catalog auditors map, reconcile, and extract unclaimed royalties across the music industry supply chain.

The Chronological Checklist

1. Reconcile Songwriter Split Sheets: Verify every collaborator has signed a physical or digital split sheet, detailing precise legal names, emails, roles, and PRO agreements.

2. Audit Core Metadata Registry: Cross-reference every track's ISRC (Master File) and ISWC (Composition) in a local database to ensure they are connected.

3. Verify PRO Registration & Splits (ASCAP/BMI): Search public repertories (ASCAP ACE or BMI Repertory) to verify composition titles, writer/publisher shares, and IPI numbers match split sheets exactly.

4. Register with The MLC (Digital Mechanicals): Log into the MLC portal. Use the Member Search tool to claim historical unmatched streams ("black box" royalties) and register splits.

5. Establish Independent Publishing Administration: If catalog streams warrant, register with a global administrator (like Songtrust or CD Baby Pro) to collect international mechanicals outside the U.S.

6. Register Masters with SoundExchange: Ensure both the master recording owner (label/independent artist) and performing artists are registered separately to collect non-interactive digital play royalties.

7. Submit Live Setlists for Gig Royalties: Submit historical show setlists to ASCAP OnStage or BMI Live within statutory deadlines (usually within 6 months of performance) to claim gig performance royalties.

8. Claim International Neighboring Rights: Verify global master play collection. For global catalogs, register directly with foreign CMOs (like PPL in the UK or GVL in Germany) or utilize SoundExchange's global mandate.

9. Configure YouTube Content ID & Monetization: Audit YouTube channels, claiming compositions and masters via a distributor or publishing administrator to capture user-generated video streams.

10. Perform Bi-Annual Distributor Reconciliations: Cross-reference distributor payout sheets (DistroKid/TuneCore) against DSP streams (Spotify for Artists) to identify missing/stale tracks and address metadata drift.