Understanding your royalty reports is essential for tracking your music income and making informed business decisions. This guide explains how to interpret SeemDistro's royalty reports and extract meaningful insights from your earnings data.
Accessing Your Royalty Reports
- Log in to your SeemDistro dashboard
- Navigate to "Royalties" in the main menu
- Select the reporting period you want to view:
- Current month (preliminary)
- Previous months (finalized)
- Quarterly summaries
- Annual reports
- Choose between summary view or detailed breakdown
Understanding Report Components
Report Overview Section
Summary Metrics
- Total earnings for the period
- Comparison to previous period (% change)
- Pending vs. processed payments
- Year-to-date cumulative earnings
Payment Status
- Processing: Recently received from platforms
- Pending: Verified but not yet paid out
- Paid: Transferred to your account
- Held: Subject to review or verification
Balance Information
- Current unpaid balance
- Projected payment date
- Payment method
- Threshold status
Earnings Breakdown
Platform Distribution
- Earnings by streaming service
- Percentage of total revenue by platform
- Per-stream average rate by platform
- Month-over-month trends by platform
Geographic Analysis
- Top earning countries
- Revenue by territory
- Per-stream values by region
- Growth markets identification
Release Performance
- Earnings by album/EP/single
- Track-level revenue details
- Catalog vs. new release comparison
- Performance trends over time
Detailed Report Elements
Stream Count Data
Stream Definitions
- Qualified streams (revenue-generating)
- Partial streams (platform-specific thresholds)
- Ad-supported vs. premium streams
- Minimum duration requirements by platform
Stream Type Breakdown
- On-demand full plays
- Partial plays (with platform-specific rules)
- Background/passive listening
- Discovery/radio mode plays
Revenue Calculations
Rate Factors
- Pro-rata share explanation
- Territory-specific rates
- Subscription tier impact
- Platform-specific calculation methods
Revenue Sources
- Subscription revenue share
- Ad-supported revenue share
- Download sales
- Public performance royalties (when applicable)
- Sync licensing revenue
Adjustments and Deductions
Standard Deductions
- Platform fees
- Distribution commission (if applicable)
- Payment processing fees
- Tax withholding
Manual Adjustments
- Royalty splits with collaborators
- Corrections from previous reporting periods
- Advances and recoupments
- Disputes and resolutions
Analyzing Specific Platforms
Spotify Reporting
Rate Analysis
- Premium subscriber streams value
- Ad-supported tier value
- Spotify Radio plays
- Algorithmic playlist performance
Specific Metrics
- Streams by playlist type
- Save-to-stream ratio
- Monthly listener to stream ratio
- Average streams per listener
Apple Music Reporting
Rate Analysis
- Subscription streams value
- Trial period streams
- Individual vs. family plan attribution
- Radio and autoplay metrics
Specific Metrics
- iTunes purchases vs. streaming
- Pre-adds to streams conversion
- Shazam discovery metrics
- Beats 1 and Apple Radio plays
Amazon Music Reporting
Rate Analysis
- Prime Music performance
- Amazon Music Unlimited plays
- Ad-supported tier metrics
- Integration with Echo devices
Specific Metrics
- Voice-activated plays
- Playlist and station performance
- Purchase conversion rates
- Integration with Twitch
YouTube Reporting
Revenue Sources
- YouTube Premium plays
- Ad revenue shares
- Content ID claims
- YouTube Music streams
Performance Metrics
- Official video vs. audio-only plays
- User-generated content royalties
- Short-form content (Shorts) performance
- Subscriber impact on revenue
Advanced Report Analysis
Trend Identification
Growth Analysis
- Month-over-month growth patterns
- Year-over-year comparisons
- New vs. catalog performance
- Seasonal variation identification
Platform Shifts
- Changing platform dominance
- Emerging platform opportunities
- Declining platform identification
- Market share analysis
Geographic Evolution
- Emerging market growth
- Established market stability
- Territory-specific opportunities
- International expansion patterns
Performance Indicators
Value Metrics
- Average revenue per 1,000 streams
- Revenue per listener
- Listener lifetime value
- Catalog sustainability index
Efficiency Analysis
- Marketing spend to revenue ratio
- Release cost to earnings analysis
- Platform ROI comparison
- Promotional efficiency metrics
Forecasting Tools
Predictive Analytics
- Revenue projections based on current trends
- Catalog value estimation
- Future earnings scenarios
- Release impact predictions
Revenue Stability Assessment
- Diversification analysis
- Platform dependency risk
- Catalog vs. hit dependency
- Long-tail performance metrics
Export and Integration Options
Export Formats
- PDF (presentation-ready)
- Excel/CSV (for detailed analysis)
- Google Sheets integration
- Accounting software formats
Data Integration
Accounting Systems
- QuickBooks integration
- Format for tax preparation
- Business expense correlation
- Asset management tracking
Split Payment Management
- Collaborator payment tracking
- Split payment automation
- Verification and approval workflows
- Payment history documentation
Special Report Types
Royalty Split Reports
Collaborator Statements
- Track-level split calculations
- Payment status by collaborator
- Historical payment tracking
- Split modification history
Publishing Share Reports
- Mechanical royalty allocations
- Performance royalty estimates
- Publishing administrator integration
- Writer/publisher split tracking
Tax Reports
Annual Statements
- Calendar year summaries
- Tax classification of payments
- Withholding documentation
- Form preparation assistance
International Tax Documents
- Country-specific tax forms
- Withholding certificates
- Treaty benefit documentation
- VAT/GST reporting
Troubleshooting and Support
Common Questions
Missing Revenue
- Platform reporting delays
- Distribution lag time explanation
- Threshold and minimum requirements
- Verification and processing timelines
Discrepancy Resolution
- Stream count verification process
- Rate calculation explanations
- Platform-specific reporting quirks
- Adjustment request procedures
Getting Help
Report Interpretation Assistance
- Terminology explanations
- Calculation methodology details
- Platform-specific rule clarification
- Historical data comparison
Technical Support
- Report access issues
- Export and download problems
- Data visualization options
- Custom report requests
For personalized assistance with your royalty reports, contact our royalty team at royalties@seemdistro.com.