Mastering Engineers Don't Receive Royalties

Although mixing and mastering engineers play a crucial role in the creation of music, they are not usually compensated for their efforts. Most of the time, mixing engineers don't get a cut of the song's earnings. In some rare cases, a mixing engineer may be compensated with one point, or 1% of master royalties. On the other hand, mastering engineers typically don't get any royalties at all.

Songwriter's copyright and master copyright are the two main types of copyright that affect audio engineers and their ability to obtain royalties. The lyrics and melody of a song are protected by the songwriter's copyright, whilst the song's recorded version is protected by the master copyright. These copyrights have the potential to produce a variety of royalties, including mechanical, performance, synchronization, and streaming royalties.

In most cases, mixing and mastering engineers are not regarded as co-authors of a song, and as a result, they are not entitled to a portion of the songwriter's copyright. Instead, they are paid a fee for their skills and are contracted by the artist or record label to work on a specific project. Therefore, they are not eligible to receive royalties from the performance or sale of the music.

In conclusion, even though mixing and mastering engineers are essential to the creation of music, they typically don't get paid for their work. They are nonetheless vital specialists whose knowledge and abilities are necessary for producing recordings of a professional caliber.