An interactive guide · music publishing
There is no single black box. Each society decides what goes in, how long it stays, and where it goes when time runs out.
The open box
Click any society to open its profile. Follow one society, or filter by legal model, to see its path through the box. Or follow a songwriter's money, step by step →
Back to rightsholders
Market share, proxy usage, or allocation key
Cultural / social funds
Funds for cultural and social purposes
Governance decides
General assembly / board sets use
Return to payer
Credited back to the record company
APRA AMCOS also uses proxy redistribution via its General Control Account.
Reserve / fund
Compensation reserve, then broadcasting fund
Applies to unidentified foreign works only.
State escheatment
Uncashed known-payee money
Not disclosed
No public exit rule located
Society by society
Open any society to read its rules, how it distributes money, and what happens to royalties nobody can match or claim.
Unmatched royalties (usage not linked to a work) and unclaimed royalties (work identified, owner share unclaimed) together form "unclaimed accrued royalties", tracked by monthly usage cohort. Disputed amounts are held separately.
Runs under the US Music Modernization Act: unmatched mechanical royalties are held, then distributed by market share after a statutory wait.
Who built which box
11 societies
By law, societies must search for and disclose unidentified rightsholders. Money unresolved 3 years after the end of the financial year of collection becomes "non-distributable", and the society's governance decides its use. Driven by EU Directive 2014/26/EU; the UK kept the same rule in its 2016 Regulations.
1 society
The Music Modernization Act lets The MLC hold unmatched and unclaimed mechanical royalties for a statutory minimum of 3 years, then distribute them by relative market share to identified owners.
3 societies
No dedicated pool for unidentified shares; distribution methodology, proxies and later adjustments absorb them. Only uncashed money owed to known payees is held, and eventually escheated to states.
5 societies
No single statutory clock. Each society's own distribution rules set category-specific holds, proxy redistributions, reserves or returns to payer.
How long it stays inside
Solid bar = standard / minimum hold. Faint extension = observed or exceptional maximum.
Equal bars are not legally equivalent. A 3-year clock that starts at the usage month ends earlier than one that starts at the end of the collection financial year, and JASRAC's applies to unidentified foreign works only.
Check the latest figure
Pick a society and describe a statistic. AI searches the web for the most recent published figure and cites its sources. Always check the source before relying on it.
Keep your money out of the box
Most black-box money exists because songs aren't registered, matched or claimed in time. BeatStars Publishing registers your compositions with collecting societies worldwide and collects the publishing royalties you're owed, before the clock runs out.