Music and Publishing

Music & Publishing Business:

Richard Ellis & Associates, Inc. (REA) will partner with artists, producers, writers, publishers and performing rights organizations in the recovery of unpaid or underpaid royalties on license agreements.

Potential audit findings include:

  • Understated royalty rates.
  • Unreported sales units/dollars.
  • Overstated expenses deductible from royalties.
  • Excessive free goods, reducing royalties paid.
  • Unpaid royalty rate “bumps” for gold and platinum sales.
  • Accounting system errors resulting in underpaid/unpaid royalties.

Because of the complexity of license agreements and the calculation of royalties due on those agreements many of the best-managed firms can still make mistakes costing the licensor a substantial dollar amount in royalty income.