Catalogue & label services
Music royalty audit
A music royalty audit checks whether the money arriving on your statements matches what your catalogue is entitled to earn. We reconcile statements from societies, distributors and publishers against your registrations and ownership records, then show you every gap, what it is blocking, and whether it can still be claimed.
Who a music royalty audit is for
The audit is built for people who own or answer for a catalogue, not for a single release. If any of these describe you, the audit will give you a clear answer.
Independent labels
Your streams are growing but your statements are flat, or you changed distributor and income dipped. The audit shows which recordings and works are not being claimed, and where.
Estates and their lawyers
You are responsible for a catalogue you did not build. The audit documents what the estate owns, where it is registered and what is being collected, so you can report to beneficiaries with evidence.
Investors and acquirers
You need to know what a catalogue really earns before you price it, or why an acquired catalogue is underperforming. The audit separates real income from income that never reached the statements.
Contractual audit or collection audit: which do you need?
“Royalty audit” covers two different jobs. Knowing which one you need saves time and fees.
| Contractual audit | Collection audit (this service) | |
|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | Did the label or publisher account to me correctly under our agreement? | Is my catalogue registered and claimed everywhere it earns? |
| What is examined | The other party's books, using the audit clause in your contract | Your statements, registrations, identifiers and ownership records |
| Who usually leads it | A specialist royalty accountant | A catalogue administrator with society and distributor access |
| Typical findings | Underpaid rates, wrong deductions, unreported income | Unregistered works, unmatched income, split conflicts, missing territories |
Most catalogues lose more to the collection side than to accounting errors, because income that was never claimed never appears on a statement for anyone to dispute. If our findings point to an accounting problem, you will have the evidence to take to a royalty accountant.
What the royalty audit checks
Statement reconciliation
Statements from societies such as PRS for Music and PPL, from distributors and from publishers are matched line by line against the works and recordings you own. Anything you own that earns nothing is flagged.
Registration coverage
Each work and recording is checked against society repertoires per territory. A work that is not registered with a society cannot be paid by it, however often it is played.
Unmatched income
Royalties that societies could not match to an owner sit in unmatched or suspense pools until a claim is made or the claim window closes. We identify likely matches for your catalogue and the deadline for each.
Splits, identifiers and duplicates
Conflicting writer or publisher splits, missing ISRCs and ISWCs, and duplicate distributor entries all stop or divide payments. Each one is listed with the record that needs correcting.
The audit focuses on income flows. For a full review of a catalogue's metadata health and chain of title, see our music catalogue audit. If you are buying, our guide to buying a music catalogue explains where a royalty audit fits in the deal timeline.
What a royalty audit costs
Every audit is scoped and priced on application. The scope depends on how many works and recordings the catalogue holds, how many societies and territories are involved, and how many years of statements you want reviewed. We do not publish a rate card, because a 200-track label and a 5,000-work estate need very different audits.
If you then appoint us to collect, Publishing Administration and Digital Distribution run on a 15% commission on royalties collected, so ongoing fees are tied to income that actually arrives. Ongoing catalogue management keeps the gaps from reopening after the audit.
How the royalty audit works
- 01
Request a proposal
Tell us the catalogue size, the reason for the audit and your deadline. We reply with a written scope.
- 02
Share your records
Send the statements, catalogue lists and agreements you have. Gaps in your own records are part of what the audit finds, so incomplete files are fine.
- 03
Reconcile and check
We match statements to registrations and ownership records using VERA, our in-house catalogue verification platform, and review every finding by hand.
- 04
Receive the findings report
Each gap is listed with its cause, the record that needs correcting, and whether income is still claimable.
- 05
Decide what to fix
Fix the findings yourself, or appoint us to register the missing works, file claims and collect going forward.
Request a royalty audit proposal
Tell us the catalogue size, why you need the audit and your timeline. We will come back with a scoped proposal. Prefer to start smaller? The free Catalog Assessment gives you a first view of where income is leaking.
Royalty audit questions
What is a music royalty audit?
A music royalty audit checks whether the royalties paid on a catalogue match what the catalogue is entitled to. It reconciles statements from collection societies, distributors and publishers against your registrations, ownership records and usage data, then lists every gap: works that were never registered, income held as unmatched, split conflicts and territories where nothing is being collected.
Is a royalty audit the same as auditing a record label's books?
No. A contractual audit uses the audit clause in a recording or publishing agreement to inspect the other party's accounts, and it is normally led by a specialist royalty accountant. Our audit covers the collection side: whether your catalogue is registered and claimed everywhere it earns. Its findings are often useful evidence if you later decide to exercise a contractual audit right.
Who should commission a music royalty audit?
Independent labels that suspect their statements are lower than their streams suggest, executors and estate lawyers who need to understand an inherited catalogue, and investors who want to know what a catalogue really earns before or after they buy it. Any owner who has changed distributor, publisher or administrator in the last few years should also check that income followed the move.
How much does a royalty audit cost?
Audits are scoped engagements priced on application, based on catalogue size, the number of societies and territories involved, and how many years of statements you want reviewed. Start with the free Catalog Assessment or request an audit proposal, and we will come back with a written scope rather than a rate card.
Can unpaid royalties be recovered after an audit?
Often, but not always. Societies hold unmatched income for limited periods before redistributing it, and each one sets its own claim window. The audit tells you which gaps are still claimable and which are not. If you then appoint us for ongoing administration, we arrange registration of the missing works, file the claims and pursue the income, but we never promise a specific recovery figure.
Society rules on claim windows and unmatched income are published by PRS for Music and PPL. Check their current terms before relying on any deadline.
Related services and guides
Music catalogue audit
A full review of metadata health, registrations, chain of title and splits, with findings graded by severity.
See what the catalogue audit covers →Music catalogue management
Ongoing administration that keeps registrations, metadata and collection accurate after the audit.
Compare catalogue management options →Music royalties for executors
How estates collect and transfer music royalties, written for executors and their advisers.
Read the executors guide →