Your music is earning five types of royalties right now. You're probably only collecting one.
Your distributor uploaded your music. That does not mean you're being paid correctly. Performance royalties, mechanical royalties, neighbouring rights, sync fees, and international collections are all separate systems. If you're not registered with each one, that money sits unclaimed for three years. Then it disappears.
Limited Q3 intake - applications close when full
Most independent artists have a publishing admin. They still lose money. The problem isn't collection. It's what happens before collection starts.
I audited a catalog last month. The artist had been on Spotify for two years. Her distributor uploaded everything perfectly. Fast, clean, no delays.
But the ISRC on one release was duplicated from another. Her songs weren't registered with PRS. The publisher field was blank. Two years of royalties sitting in an unmatched pool. She had no idea.
Her distributor's job ended at delivery. Nobody was checking what was actually registered on the other side.
That gap between “uploaded” and “administered” is where independent artists lose money. Not because the platforms are broken. Because the data behind the music is incomplete.
They collect the drips. Nobody is fixing the pipe.
Code Group Music fixes the pipe. We check every release the same way Universal Music checks theirs — identifier codes, platform formatting, database listings, credit accuracy. Then we collect your royalties on top of that, through our partnership with SESAC.
30-minute call · no obligation · written catalog report included
The Gap
What your distributor doesn't do.
Your distributor:
- Uploads your music to streaming platforms
- Delivers your files to 30–150+ DSPs
- Collects master recording royalties (the number on your dashboard)
- Gives you ISRC and UPC codes (that they own, not you)
What nobody is doing (unless you have CGM):
- Registering your songs with global PROs (PRS, ASCAP, SOCAN, and others) for performance royalties
- Registering with mechanical licensing societies (MCPS, MLC, and others) for mechanical royalties
- Registering with neighbouring rights societies (PPL and international equivalents) if you perform on your own recordings
- Issuing ISRCs in your name, or helping you take ownership of your existing codes
- Creating your ISNI (your global identity as a creator)
- Listing you on MusicBrainz and Discogs (the databases that matching systems use to find you)
- Syncing your metadata across Spotify for Artists, Apple Music for Artists, Bandsintown, and Songkick
- Registering your worship songs with CCLI (if applicable)
- Checking that your data survived delivery in the correct format
Your distributor's job ends at delivery. Everything in the first column generates one type of royalty. Everything in the second generates four more. If you've only been using a distributor, you've been collecting a fraction of what your music earns.
See exactly what you're missing →This is a small intake. We're looking for the right fit.
- ×Haven't released any music yet and are still in production
- ×Want to hand over your masters and have someone else own your rights
- ×Are looking for the cheapest possible distribution and nothing else
- ×Are happy with your current royalty statements and don't want anyone checking whether there's more
- →Have released music and aren't sure if you're collecting every type of royalty you're owed
- →Have released music that's generating (or should be generating) royalties
- →Suspect your metadata is incomplete, inconsistent, or messy across platforms
- →Want institutional-grade administration while keeping full ownership
- →Are ready to treat your catalog as a financial asset, not a filing chore
- →Value working with people who built these systems at the major label level
- →Want your catalog to speak for itself when a label, sync agent, or publisher pulls it up
The person behind the audit
I spent twenty years inside Universal Music, Sony, BMG, 21st Century Fox, Kobalt, and the International Copyright Enterprise in Berlin. My job was checking every release before it went to Spotify, Apple Music, or iTunes - identifier codes, title formatting, publisher data, Apple Music Style Guide compliance.
I've also stood on the other side. I recorded vocals for the Black Panther original score at Abbey Road. I co-manage MOBO award-winning artist Lurine Cato. I've played with bands across Trinidad, where I grew up. I know what it feels like to be an artist. And I know what happens to your royalties when nobody is checking the data behind your music.
I lecture at Berklee, Goldsmiths, Northeastern, the University of the West Indies, and USC. The pattern is always the same: artists about to enter the music business without understanding the layer that determines whether they get paid. That's why I built CGM.
Past clients & collaborators
kobaltStrategic partners
Some of Our Clients
Artists & Writers.
Client results
What happens when the foundation is clean
How it works
Two services. One team. Nothing falls through the cracks.
The metadata work increases the yield on every royalty we collect. Clean data means more money matched, more platforms paying correctly, more sync opportunities landing. Both services compound each other.
Service One: Metadata Administration
What your monthly subscription covers
All clients receive the Kickstarter service set. Professional and Enterprise tiers add the items marked below.
- ◆Generate, collect, collate, and curate metadata for each song in your catalog
- ◆Industry code management: ISRC, UPC
- ◆Upload and maintain metadata on MusicBrainz
- ◆Administer and manage metadata delivery across all streaming platforms (DDEX-compliant)
- ◆Product setup and cueing on distribution platforms with technical support
- ◆Distribute music to all major DSPs and social media platforms
- ◆Upload and maintain metadata on DiscogsProfessional+
- ◆Full industry code management: ISRC, ISWC, UPC, ISNI, IPI, IPN, EANProfessional+
- ◆Cross-platform metadata synchronisation and cleanupProfessional+
- ◆Synchronise artist profiles on Spotify for Artists, Apple Music for Artists, Bandsintown, and SongkickProfessional+
- ◆Organise and maintain your asset folders: cover art, stems, WAV files, lyrics, and mastersProfessional+
- ◆Register music to Mediabase and LuminateProfessional+
- ◆Administer and manage licensing for cover songs (where applicable)Professional+
- ◆SoundExchange registration (master side royalties)Enterprise
- ◆Dedicated account management and priority turnaroundEnterprise
- ◆Additional ad-hoc services as requiredEnterprise
Service Two: Publishing & Distribution
Commission-based. You earn first. We earn second.
Our publishing administration and distribution service operates on a 15% commission. No upfront fees. No monthly retainer. Through our partnership with SESAC, your works are registered with the relevant collection societies (PRS, ASCAP, SOCAN, APRA, and international equivalents), royalties are collected worldwide, and your catalog is distributed to 150+ DSPs via AudioSalad.
You retain 100% ownership of your masters and your compositions. Always.
The 15% commission is competitive with the largest publishing administrators in the world. The difference: those platforms don't touch your metadata. We do both, which means the royalties we collect are based on a clean, complete, properly registered catalog. Not whatever trickled through despite the gaps.
Code Group Music has its own CCLI publisher portal. We register your worship songs directly and collect church licensing royalties on your behalf. Most independent Christian artists do not know they are owed CCLI income. If your songs are sung in churches, you are likely leaving money uncollected.
Your first 90 days
The plan is simple. Three phases.
Pricing
Metadata Administration plans
Example: how the numbers work together
A Professional client with 100 songs generating £2,000/month in combined publishing and distribution royalties pays £349/month for metadata administration plus £300/month in commission (15% of £2,000). Total: approximately £649/month to CGM. The metadata work increases the royalties collected, which increases the commission revenue. Both compound over time.
Common questions
Everything you need to know before booking
The Metadata Administration service has a 3-month minimum. After that, you continue month-to-month for as long as the value is there. Publishing Administration and Distribution are commission-based - no minimum commitment. We earn when you do.
Yes. We work with artists and labels who have existing releases. If you are still in production and haven't released yet, the Catalog Assessment call will tell you exactly when and how to bring us in before launch.
Nothing changes. You retain 100% of your masters and compositions. We administer your rights on your behalf as a service - we are not a publisher acquiring copyright. This is a service relationship, not a record deal.
The 15% applies to royalties we collect on your behalf through publishing administration and distribution. If a quarter's collected royalties total £1,000, we retain £150 and pass £850 to you. The commission is taken only from what we collect - not from your back catalogue or any income we did not generate.
Yes. Metadata Administration is a standalone subscription service. You can join on any of the three tiers without taking publishing admin or distribution. Many clients start with metadata cleanup and add publishing admin once the foundation is clean.
Your distributor delivers your music to platforms and collects master recording royalties — that's one type of income. Administration covers everything else: registering your songs with global PROs, mechanical licensing societies, and neighbouring rights organisations worldwide, managing your metadata across databases, and collecting performance, mechanical, neighbouring rights, and sync royalties. These are completely separate systems. Most artists only have a distributor. That's why most artists are only collecting a fraction of what their music earns.
Typically, no. Most distributors issue codes from their own registrant pool. The codes identify your music, but the registrant on record is your distributor. If you leave that distributor, the codes stay with them — your release now has two identifiers in two systems and revenue fragments. At CGM, we help you own your own codes so your catalog stays intact regardless of which distributor you use.
PRS collects UK performance royalties — that's one of five royalty types, and one territory. Mechanical royalties are handled by MCPS in the UK, the MLC in the US, and separate societies everywhere else. Neighbouring rights go to PPL in the UK and equivalent bodies globally. And if your music is used in film, TV, or advertising, sync fees are a separate negotiation entirely. None of these systems link automatically. Registration with PRS is the starting line. It's not the finish.
Money that can't be matched to an owner sits in what the industry calls the black box. Globally, an estimated £2–3 billion in publishing royalties sits unmatched at any given time. After three years, most collection societies redistribute unclaimed funds to other rights holders based on market share — meaning your money goes to someone else. Proper metadata and registration ensures your royalties are matched before the clock runs out.
After your initial commitment period, you continue month-to-month for as long as the value is there. No lock-in. No exit fees. We keep your business by earning it.
Getting started
Three steps. That's it.
Limited Q3 intake. Applications close when full.
As soon as you book, we'll send you a complimentary Catalog Health Checklist. It covers the same checks Keith ran at Universal before any release went live: ISRC accuracy, global PRO registration, mechanical society registration, MusicBrainz listing, Discogs listing, Apple Music formatting, publisher credits, UPC ownership, neighbouring rights status, artist profile sync, DDEX compliance, and asset folder completeness. Run it yourself before the call. Most artists find at least three gaps they didn't know existed. It's yours to keep either way. Your checklist is sent automatically when your booking is confirmed.