How much money do you take?

We take 20% of any PRS/MCPS income we administer for you and 25% of any up front gross synchronisation fee (which is the equivalent of 50% of the publishing share).

Are there any charges outside of the commission?

None at all. We will ever only take the commission stated above on the net fees we receive.

Do I have to be a member of a collection society?

No. One of the key benefits of Sentric is that we allow independent or unsigned artists to access our professional collection service which can help to maximise the royalties they can earn, while bypassing joining a society directly themselves. If you are a member of one already you can still join our service to receive the other great benefits and also to take advantage of our administrative systems so we do all the leg work for you.

Can I get money for gigs I've already played or airplay my music's already received?

Yes. How far back you can go all depends on your situation; if you're not a member of a society in some cases you can go up to six months previous and if you are a member you can go up to twelve months back.

How much do I get per gig?

How much money you receive is dependent on:

• How often you play live
• How often your music gets played to the public
• The size of the gigs you play (the bigger audiences and venues, the higher the royalty)
• Where you are on the bill (e.g. headline, first support etc)
• The ticket price of the gigs

Take a look at the Money section to see examples of the kind of money we've collected for our artists here in the past.

Will my local venue be charged if I make a claim for a gig there?

No - this is not how it works. All music venues in the UK have to pay a PRS licence to feature music in their venue and if we make a claim for a gig that you have played in a small venue, any royalties owing will come out of the pot of money collected by the PRS. Small venues are not charged per gig and so there is no need to worry that you're harming the venues that you play by making live claims.

I play some cover songs when I play live, can I collect royalties for these?

No - you cannot claim royalties for cover versions of songs. We can only work with original songs that have been written by the person signing up. For this reason, please do not add any cover versions onto your tracks section on your Sentric Music profile. If you play a lot of covers when you perform live, but also include one or two original songs, we can make the claims for your these songs but not the covers. However, it's extremely important that you inform us of the covers that you perform so that we can get the royalty paid to the composer of the track.

Do I have to have recordings of my songs before adding them to my Sentric profile?

No - You can add songs for your profile even if they have never been recorded. PRS for Music and the MCPS pay out royalties relating to your written compositions regardless of whether there is a recording and so we only need the basic details of your songs (title and writer details) in order to start helping you to collect royalties for your music. If you ever play your songs live, then they will be generating royalties regarding of whether you ever make recordings.

Does it matter where I'm based?

At present, we would recommend signing up if you are based in the United Kingdom, or regularly gain exposure over here (either through playing gigs or on the TV/radio). If you don't live in the UK there's only a limited amount that we could do for you so it might be worth emailing us at info@sentricmusic.com if you're interesting in signing up. If you're based in the UK then you're exactly what we're looking for!

Do I get paid for every performance?

You're entitled to royalties for every performance, but the PRS can only pay royalties for performances they know about. This is true whether you're signed up with the PRS directly or via Sentric. The PRS does monitor some venues, radio stations etc., (BBC Stations, stadium venues and so on), so will pick up on royalties you're entitled to from these places. By keeping your Sentric Music profile fully up to date, you can ensure you'll be receiving as many royalties as possible from your music.

I only want Sentric to look for synchronisation placements for me and not deal with the PRS, is this possible?

No - we only consider an artist's music for sync if we're also working with them in relation to royalty collection via the PRS/MCPS. Royalty collection is the basis of Sentric Music's services and we have to work with artists on this base level before considering them for sync. This is another great advantage of working with Sentric; as well as maximising the amount you can earn via the PRS/MCPS, your music can also be considered for any sync opportunities that we're working on.

We have hundreds of artists on board who are also direct members of the PRS as well as using Sentric Music's royalty collection service and in the majority of cases, we can maximise their payments so they receive more money than they did before joining Sentric, even after we've take our administrative cut.

When do I get my money?

Payments are delivered quarterly from the PRS, but when you first sign up it'll take around 3-6 months for the PRS to research your recent history to see how much you are currently owed. So on average it takes around 3 quarters for money to start coming through - but all you need to worry about in the meantime is telling us about the gigs you play.

How will my royalties be paid to me?

If you're not a direct member of the PRS, we will receive your royalties and then pay them out to you. We'll get in touch with a statement to show exactly what you've earned and to get your bank details. We will then look to pay your royalties to you via bank transfer around a week later. If you are a direct member of the PRS and have given us the details of your PRS CAE number, we will have had added this to the registrations we make for your songs, meaning your share of any royalties will be paid directly from the PRS to you.

What's synchronisation all about?

"Synchronisation" is the industry term for matching up music with adverts, television programmes, films and so on. We have links with a range of production companies, TV stations, music supervisors and advertising agencies so whenever they're looking for a certain type of song; they get in touch and we submit music from our artists that fit. You'll regularly receive newsletters from us with details of these briefs where we ask you to submit your music.

Sync deals are extremely competitive and hard to come by, but can be highly rewarding for the artist in terms of income and exposure.

Will you seek my permission for any for any potential syncs which want to use my composition?

Yes, but if you give us permission to include your music in certain partnerships we have with content providers, which means they can use your music pre-cleared, then that will significantly increase your chances of landing a sync for your music. These deals can include anything from promos, web licensing, overseas TV shows, indie movies etc. and can generate various amounts of income and result in great exposure for the artist in question. The turnaround for UK television programmes is so quick that if Hollyoaks, Eastenders or similar want to use your track as incidental music, this is covered under a PPL/PRS/MCPS blanket licence, where the tracks can be used without prior rights holders permission and all royalties are paid automatically (which Sentric Music will of course collect for you).

I think my tracks would be brilliant in an advert - can I send you a demo?

Of course!  Please send to this address:

Sentric Music,
1st Floor, 29 Parliament Street,
Liverpool,
Merseyside,
L8 5RN

Am I still allowed to pursue my own wheelings-and-dealings while I'm signed up with Sentric?

Within the world of sync then yes, but as we act as your publisher we would have the right to any publishing income that maybe generated. The beauty of the contract that Sentric offers leaves you free to work with other sync companies and agencies. Whilst you're registered with Sentric, we will act as your publisher, but should something big come up for you elsewhere you're free to leave Sentric at 28 days notice and you get to retain your fully copyright - extremely artist friendly!

Can we submit live claims via spreadsheet or e-mail?

Sorry, it's all got to be done via the website. This is so submissions are in the right format for us to go to the PRS with. We know it takes a while if you've got 12 months worth of gigs to back claim, but it'll be worth it when the royalties come in!