How much money do you take?

Simply, 20% of any royalties we collect for you and 25% gross of any synchronisation fee's.

Are there any charges outside of the commission?

None at all. We will ever only take the commission stated above.

Do I have to be a member of the PRS?

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 the society directly themselves. If you are a member of the PRS 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 - if you signed up to the PRS yourself you could only claim royalties from the date you sign up onwards, but with Sentric you can claim any monies that have been earned often up to 6 months into the past. The PRS may already have a record of some of these, but just in case make sure the claims you submit to Sentric cover any gigs you've played or airplay you've received within the past 6 months.

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

We'd love to tell you if we knew, but the truth is the PRS themselves often don't know until they work out your claim.  But whether its £7, £700 or £7,000 it's still money that's owed to you which we can get for you.

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 via Sentric, and in turn the PRS. 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 Sentric Music profile. If you play a lot of covers when you perform live but also include one or two original songs, we can still make claims for these songs but nothing else. If you have any doubts about what to add, it's best to check with the Sentric team via email or phone before registering them on your profile.

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., (Radio 2, stadium venues and so on), so will normally pick up on royalties you're entitled to from these places.  They're less good at keeping tabs on smaller venues and stations though, so if you play a live session on Norwich FM, make sure to let Sentric know via the forms on the website and we'll inform the PRS for you.

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 synch if we're also working with them in relation to royalty collection via the PRS/MCPS. Royalty collection is the basis Sentric Music's services and we have to work with artists on this base level before considering them for synch. 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 synch 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.

Sounds good, what do I do now!?

Everything can be done online, so it's simply a case of signing up.

When do I get my money?

Payments are delivered quarterly from the PRS, but when you first sign up it'll take a minimum of 3 months for the PRS to research your recent history to see how much you are currently owed. So by the time the next statement comes around it could be up to 6 months - but all you need to worry about in the meantime is doing what you do anyway, and 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've got links with a range of production companies, so whenever they're looking for a certain type of song, we'll have a look through our catalogue and if your music fits the bill, we'll put it forward.  These sorts of deals are hard to come by, but they can be quite lucrative when they do come along.

You won't put my achingly trendy track in an advert for toilet paper (or whatever) without my consent, will you?

Nope, the terms & conditions that you sign-up to say that we've got to get your permission for the use of your music in adverts.  The turnaround for television programmes is so quick  though 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 permission but all royalties will be paid automatically.

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,
37 Seymour Terrace,
Liverpool,
Merseyside,
L3 5PE

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

Within the world of sync yes - 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.

Can I get an update on how my iTunes sales are doing please?

Unfortunately, we only get sales updates from iTunes once per quarter ourselves, but in your quarterly statement from us we'll make sure you know everything we know about your sales.

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 royalty cheque comes in!