Royalties, reporting, and artist payouts

The reporting chain

1. A store measures usage over a reporting month.
2. The store closes and issues its statement, well after that month ends.
3. SpaceMedia validates and processes the incoming data.
4. It becomes visible to your organization.
5. You allocate and pay your artists.

Steps 1 to 3 are outside your control and outside SpaceMedia's. This is why nobody in music distribution shows live earnings.

Explaining delays to customers

The most common financial support question is "where are my royalties for last month". The answer is that last month has not been reported yet, and will not be for some time.

Publish your own payment schedule and hold to it. A stated schedule removes most of these questions. Point customers at Royalties and statements for the mechanics.

Restatements

Stores issue corrections for earlier periods. A restated period is normal and appears as an adjustment in a later statement. Explain this before it happens rather than after a customer notices a number changed.

Paying your artists

Work from payable balances, not earned or pending ones. Confirm payee details and any compliance requirement before initiating.

Keep a record of what you paid, for what period, in what currency, against what reference. When a customer disputes a payment months later, that record is the only thing that settles it.

Boundaries

Your organization's accounting is yours. SpaceMedia reports what stores reported and operates the platform; it does not manage your customer payment terms, tax position, or contractual obligations to your artists.

Detail on the areas is in Sales, splits, payouts.