Songwriting is measured through several connected systems: rights organizations count creators and works, royalty agencies track usage and distributions, and government data describes authorship and music occupations. The figures below cover the United States unless a source’s scope is otherwise stated, with measurement periods ranging from 1978 through 2024 and forecasts extending to 2034.
Contents
- Songwriting organizations and catalog scale
- Royalty distributions in 2024
- How 2024 distributions changed across the year
- The 2023 royalty baseline
- Copyright authorship and women writers
- Pay, jobs, and the employment outlook
Songwriting organizations and catalog scale
BMI’s current careers information says the organization represents more than 1.4 million songwriters, composers, and publishers. It also says BMI represents public-performance rights in more than 25 million musical works. Those figures describe BMI’s represented community and repertoire, rather than the total global population of songwriters or every work available in the market.
BMI’s 2023 annual report provides a narrower, dated measurement. It reported 22.4 million licensed musical works in 2023, up 9% year over year. The same report said membership increased by 7%, bringing total creators and copyright owners to 1.4 million. BMI welcomed nearly 100,000 new affiliates during 2023, while more than 1,200 affiliates extended their relationships. After its model change, it also signed nearly 1,000 affiliates from other societies.
The scale of public-performance activity is also substantial. BMI’s 2023 annual report said it processed 2.61 trillion performances, a 17% increase from the prior year. BMI’s careers page says it became the first music rights organization to deliver more than $1 billion in public-performance royalties to affiliates. These are organization-specific milestones, so they should not be read as a complete measure of all songwriting income.
BMI’s historical examples show how concentrated successful catalogs can become. The song “Every Breath You Take” reached 15 million plays and was identified by BMI as its most-performed song. Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland amassed 28 Top 20 hits in three years for Motown acts. BMI also identifies Paul Simon as its leading BMI Million Performance Certificate winner. Taylor Swift signed with BMI at age 15, and BMI reported licensing more than 90% of R&B radio hits weekly in the 1940s.
Royalty distributions in 2024
The MLC’s 2024 Annual Royalty Recap reported 12 monthly royalty distributions, all completed on time or early. For 2024 usage, The MLC processed $1.05 billion, directly distributed $814.7 million, and processed another $45.0 million in usage covered by voluntary licenses. Total royalties distributed during the year were $859.7 million.
Matching data helps explain the difference between usage processed and money distributed. The average initial match rate for 2024 distributions was 84.1%. The average current match rate rose to 89.8%. These are different stages of matching, so the two percentages should not be treated as competing estimates of one single rate.
Additional payments continued after the principal royalty periods. By February 2025, The MLC had paid approximately $46.5 million in additional royalties for the 2021 royalty periods, $41.7 million for 2022 periods, and $44.4 million for 2023 periods. The MLC also began processing Phono 3 adjustments for 2021 and 2022 usage in September 2024, along with adjustments for 2023 annual reports of usage.
At the end of 2024, approximately $519.8 million in blanket royalties was pending distribution. The components were approximately $273.8 million in blanket unmatched royalties, $225.2 million in blanket unclaimed royalties, and $20.8 million in blanket held royalties. The MLC reported that unmatched royalties represented 8.4% of total royalty pools processed, unclaimed royalties represented 6.9%, and held royalties represented less than 1%.
| 2024 MLC measure | Reported amount or rate |
|---|---|
| Usage processed | $1.05 billion |
| Direct royalties distributed | $814.7 million |
| Voluntary-license usage processed | $45.0 million |
| Total royalties distributed | $859.7 million |
| Average initial match rate | 84.1% |
| Average current match rate | 89.8% |
| Pending blanket royalties at year-end | $519.8 million |
The pending categories are not interchangeable with annual distributions. They identify royalty pools that still required matching, claiming, or other handling at the end of the measurement period.
How 2024 distributions changed across the year
The MLC’s month-by-month figures show a distribution total every month in 2024. January was $66.0 million, followed by $62.4 million in February and $54.9 million in March. April reached $58.2 million, May was $56.9 million, and June was $56.2 million.
The second half varied as well. July distribution was $62.6 million, August was $56.4 million, and September was the year’s highest monthly figure at $67.1 million. October was $61.3 million, November was $55.1 million, and December was $59.8 million.
| Month in 2024 | Distribution |
|---|---|
| January | $66.0 million |
| February | $62.4 million |
| March | $54.9 million |
| April | $58.2 million |
| May | $56.9 million |
| June | $56.2 million |
| July | $62.6 million |
| August | $56.4 million |
| September | $67.1 million |
| October | $61.3 million |
| November | $55.1 million |
| December | $59.8 million |
These monthly figures are distributions reported by The MLC for 2024. They do not establish a typical income for an individual songwriter, because the totals cover a large royalty system and are not divided evenly among creators.
The 2023 royalty baseline
The MLC’s 2023 Annual Royalty Recap also reported 12 monthly distributions. It processed $980.0 million in 2023 royalty distributions, directly distributed more than $732.1 million, and processed voluntary-license usage valued at an additional $46.5 million. Total royalties distributed during 2023 were roughly $778.6 million.
The 2023 initial match rate averaged 85%, while the current match rate for 2023 distributions rose to more than 89%. By February 2024, The MLC had paid more than $37 million in additional royalties for 2021 royalty periods and more than $25 million for 2022 periods.
The two annual recaps describe similar operating rhythms but different reported amounts. In 2023, the organization reported $980.0 million processed and roughly $778.6 million distributed in total. In 2024, it reported $1.05 billion processed and $859.7 million distributed in total. Because the supplied figures use “more than,” “roughly,” and exact reported amounts in different places, these should be read as published annual measures rather than reconstructed growth calculations.
Copyright authorship and women writers
The U.S. Copyright Office’s Women in the Copyright System report gives a long historical view of authorship in registered works. Women authors represented 27.9% of authors of works registered in 1978. In 2020, women authors represented 38.5% of authors of works registered, and more than 38% of all copyright registrations were granted to women authors.
The report’s dataset covers registrations, renewals, and recorded documents from January 1, 1978, through July 8, 2021. For the report’s analysis, the dataset spans January 1, 1978, through December 31, 2020. The U.S. Copyright Office annual report said the analysis covered about 20 million copyright registrations from 1978 to 2020.
These figures concern copyright records and authorship in the Copyright Office’s dataset. They are not a direct census of professional songwriters, electronic-music writers, recording artists, or the full population of people who write songs without registering works.
Pay, jobs, and the employment outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 2024 median annual wage of $63,670 for music directors and composers. The lowest 10% earned below $34,990, while the highest 10% earned above $157,010. Median wages differed by industry: $75,040 in performing arts companies, $60,510 in religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations, and $56,850 in educational services.
BLS reported 169,800 music director and composer jobs in 2024. Employment is projected to grow 1% from 2024 to 2034, with about 1,800 jobs projected to be added during that period.
For musicians and singers, BLS reported a 2024 median hourly wage of $42.45. The lowest 10% earned below $18.68 per hour, while the highest 10% earned above $105.44. Median hourly wages were $48.52 in religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations; $45.74 in performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries; and $30.50 in educational services.
| BLS measure | 2024 figure |
|---|---|
| Music directors and composers: median annual wage | $63,670 |
| Music directors and composers: lowest 10% | Below $34,990 |
| Music directors and composers: highest 10% | Above $157,010 |
| Musicians and singers: median hourly wage | $42.45 |
| Musicians and singers: lowest 10% | Below $18.68 per hour |
| Musicians and singers: highest 10% | Above $105.44 per hour |
Musicians and singers also had 169,800 jobs in 2024. BLS reported that self-employed workers accounted for 47% of musicians and singers. Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations employed 35%; performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries employed 14%; and educational services at the state, local, and private levels employed 3%.
BLS projects 1% employment growth for musicians and singers from 2024 to 2034, with about 19,400 openings projected each year over the decade. The openings figure is a projected annual flow, while the 1% figure is a projected growth rate; neither is a forecast of songwriting royalties or an individual’s probability of finding work.