This is something some platforms ignore entirely - Subvert takes it seriously.
When a digital download is sold, it triggers a mechanical royalty obligation - a payment owed to the songwriter or publisher for the right to reproduce and distribute the composition. Subvert plans to withhold a 10% Rights Reserve from each sale specifically to address these obligations.
What happens to that reserve depends on your rights declarations:
- If you self-administer your publishing (no publisher declared), the Rights Reserve is returned to you around the time of sale
- If you have a publisher, the Rights Reserve is held for remittance to your publisher or the relevant licensing organization
The infrastructure for automated remittance to publishers and the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) is currently in development. We'll update members when it's operational.
For full details on how the Rights Reserve works, see What is the Rights Reserve and how does it work? in the Payments & Payouts section.
The full Payment Policy covering the Rights Reserve is at subvert.fm/payment-policy