• Distributor Commission
• Your master share
• Include publishing

The distributor commission is the percentage your distributor keeps from your streaming revenue before anything is paid to you (and before label/manager splits).
For example, if your music generates $1,000 and your distributor charges 20%, they first keep $200, and only the remaining $800 move on to the next split (label, artist, manager, etc.).

Not all distributors work the same way:

• Some take a lifetime percentage (e.g. 15–20%).
• Others charge flat fees per release or subscription and don’t keep any share of your royalties.

In this calculator, this field lets you simulate how much is removed in that first layer.

• If your distributor works on commission, enter the actual percentage here.
• If you only pay flat fees and they don’t keep a cut of your royalties, you can set this to 0% so the estimate matches your situation better.

Changing this value can have a big impact on your final net income, especially at higher percentages.

Your master % is the share of master recording income that actually reaches you after splits with your label, manager, or partners.
This is not about publishing or songwriting royalties — it’s specifically about the money that comes from the recording (the master).

Typical scenarios:

• You’re fully independent, no label:
  • Your master % is usually close to 100%, because everything left after the distributor goes to you.
• You have a label or manager deal:
  • If your contract is 50% label / 50% artist, you should enter 50% here.
  • If the label keeps 70% and you get 30%, then this field should be 30%.

The calculator uses this percentage to go from the total master revenue to the net amount that ends up with you.

• If you enter a higher value than reality, your estimate will look more optimistic.
• If you enter a lower value, you’ll see a more conservative, “worst case” scenario.

This field is very helpful to understand how your income changes when you sign a new deal or renegotiate terms with your label or team.

Publishing refers to songwriting/composition royalties — the part that goes to whoever wrote the music and lyrics. It’s a different income stream from the master recording and is often collected through publishers or collecting societies.

When you turn this option on, the calculator adds an extra estimate of what you might earn as a songwriter, on top of whatever is already calculated for the master side.
It’s useful if:

• You are a writer or co-writer of the tracks.
• You have a publishing deal or a PRO/collecting society taking care of your royalties.
• You want a more complete picture of how much your songs could generate overall.

If you don’t receive publishing income (for example, you only work on the master side or you’ve assigned those rights away), you can leave this option off to see only the master-related money.

Keep in mind that publishing splits and rates vary a lot by country, collecting society, and contract. The amount shown here is an approximate guideline, meant for planning and comparison rather than an official calculation.