# Royalty Accounting and Artist Statements for Record Labels > Process a label's DSP, distributor and physical sales income, calculate each artist's share under contract, and produce transparent artist statements. - Segment: Record Labels - Platform: Noctil Platform - Capabilities: DataFort, MatchIQ, ProcessEngine, OrgLink - Author: Jacob Varghese - Published: 2026-11-04 - Source: https://www.noctil.com/use-cases/royalty-accounting-and-artist-statements-for-labels **In short:** The Noctil Platform processes a label's income from DSPs, distributors and physical sales, and calculates what each artist and rightsholder is owed under their contract. It produces royalty statements and mechanical royalty reports from the same system that holds the label's assets, metadata, rights and contracts. Its extensible architecture adapts as deals and workflows change, multi-level accounting supports each label division, and artists and partners see their statements through a transparent portal. --- _From sales report to artist statement, in one connected platform. For record labels and label groups processing sales and streaming income, paying artists and rightsholders, and meeting mechanical royalty obligations._ ## The Situation Record labels work with many artists, producers and other rightsholders, each on their own contract that sets how revenue is shared once a release reaches the market. Income is reported back through sales and usage reports from DSPs, distributors and physical retailers. Labels must process these reports, calculate each artist's and rightsholder's share under their contract, and issue royalty statements. They must also account for the mechanical royalties owed to publishers and mechanical licensing bodies for the songs on their recordings. ## The Problem Royalty processing is one of the most complex back-office tasks at a label: - **High-volume, inconsistent reports.** Sales and streaming reports arrive from many DSPs, distributors and retailers, each in its own format, often with incomplete identifiers. - **Complex contract terms.** Each artist's royalty or profit share, advances, recoupment, reserves and rates by territory, format and income type must be applied correctly to every line. - **Mechanical obligations.** Labels must calculate and report the mechanical royalties they owe for the musical works on their releases. - **Rigid packaged software.** Off-the-shelf royalty tools work well for smaller labels with standard needs. As a label grows, its deals, processes and structures change, and fixed products struggle to keep up. - **Isolated from the rest of the business.** Most royalty tools work apart from the label's assets, metadata, rights, contracts and finance systems, so data is re-keyed and reconciled by hand. - **Artist trust.** Artists and partners expect clear, timely and transparent statements. Slow or opaque reporting damages relationships in a competitive market. ## The Solution The Noctil Platform brings income processing and statement generation together with the label's assets, metadata, rights, contracts and accounting. 1. **Report ingestion with DataFort.** Sales and usage reports from DSPs, distributors and physical retailers are ingested in their native formats and normalized into one consistent structure. 2. **Matching with MatchIQ.** Every report line is matched to the right recording and release, even when identifiers are missing or wrong, so income is attributed accurately. 3. **Contract-based calculation.** Each line is calculated against the governing contract: royalty or profit-share rates, advances, recoupment, reserves, and terms that vary by territory, format and income type. 4. **Mechanical royalty accounting.** Mechanical obligations for the musical works on each release are calculated and reported alongside artist royalties. 5. **Workflows with ProcessEngine.** ProcessEngine runs each accounting period end to end, from ingestion through approval and statement release. Steps can be added or changed as the label's processes evolve. 6. **Multi-level accounting.** Separate ledgers and reporting for each label, imprint or division roll up to the group, so every level of the business sees its own results. 7. **Artist and partner portal with OrgLink.** Artists, producers and partners get secure accounts to view statements, drill into earnings and download reports, with permissions controlling what each one can see. 8. **Extensible architecture.** New income sources, deal structures, calculation rules and integrations can be added without waiting for a vendor roadmap. ## The Result - **One platform** for assets, rights, contracts, metadata and royalty processing - **Trust through transparency**, with artists and partners viewing their statements in a secure portal - **Multi-level accounting** for each label, imprint and division - **Mechanical obligations handled** in the same system as artist royalties - **An extensible architecture** that adapts quickly as the market and the organization change ## Frequently Asked Questions **How do record labels process royalties and produce artist statements?** The Noctil Platform ingests sales and usage reports, matches each line to the right recording, calculates each artist's and rightsholder's share under their contract, and produces royalty statements, all in one system with the label's assets, rights and contracts. **Does Noctil handle mechanical royalties?** Yes. Mechanical obligations for the musical works on each release are calculated and reported alongside artist royalties. **Can it handle advances, recoupment and reserves?** Yes. Each line is calculated against the governing contract, including royalty or profit-share rates, advances, recoupment and reserves. **Can artists see their own statements?** Yes. Through OrgLink, artists, producers and partners get secure portal accounts to view statements and earnings, with permissions controlling what each one can see. **Does it support multiple labels or divisions?** Yes. Multi-level accounting provides separate ledgers and reporting for each label, imprint or division, rolling up to the group. **How is this different from packaged royalty software?** It connects royalty processing with assets, metadata, rights and contracts in one platform, and its extensible architecture adapts to new deal structures, income sources and workflows. **Who is this for?** Record labels, label groups and label services companies, especially larger operations whose deals and processes outgrow off-the-shelf tools.