16) Rights, royalties, and “value capture”: who benefits from your work?
A serious professional question is: When my music creates value, who captures that value?
Value can be captured by:
- The creator: Through rights ownership and royalties.
- An intermediary: Through controlling rights or controlling access.
- A platform: Through distribution and streaming leverage.
- A marketer: Through extraction of audience attention.
- A financier: Through recoupment and debt structures.
- A third party: Through unauthorized or accidental exploitation.
The Tools of Survival
Rights and royalties are the creator’s primary tools to ensure that value doesn’t leak away. This enables the creator to participate in the upside and build a sustainable career.
Proper management ensures:
- Value is retained rather than leaked.
- The creator maintains a share of future growth.
- Financial independence for long-term artistry.
This is not greed; it is economic survival.