If your question is not answered below you can also check the Artist and Label Forum to find help.
If you want to register an account for the artist, you can do that here by clicking the Artist option and entering your name, then following the simple steps to register.
You can edit the download settings in the Music Manager under Manage > Catalogue > clicking on a release > using the tickboxes underneath the tracks.
To update your label journal, visit your Music Manager then Label Page > Journal.
Because the algorithm needs a certain amount of data to work with, you may find your artist has no similar artists yet. These will be calculated and will show on your artist page once you have enough listeners. However please note that similar artists cannot be edited.
You can edit the download settings in the Music Manager under Manage > Catalogue > clicking on a release > using the tickboxes underneath the tracks.
A wiki biography enables information to be kept up-to-date through collaboration; you can find the rules for editing these on any edit page.
To update your label journal, visit your Music Manager then Label Page > Journal.
Because the algorithm needs a certain amount of data to work with, you may find your artist has no similar artists yet. To get started, we highly recommend that you listen to and tag your own music, and follow the tips here to gain airplay.
Please note that there is no set number of plays needed to calculate similar artist because cases vary widely - we recommend you listen to and tag your own music, and follow the tips here to gain airplay.
Listening Now and Recent Activity update in real time.
Scrobble count, tags, Top Listeners and Top Tracks, Last 7 days update weekly, roughly on a Monday morning.
Top Tracks, Last 6 months and Tracks tab update monthly, this is on a basis individual to the artist page.
You can read more about auto-correction at our blog, or if your artist name redirects incorrectly please let us know. Please note that pages and play counts can't currently be merged, only linked to one another.
As a result, these numbers are higher than the streams shown in the "Your Releases" graph, which displays streams that specifically relate only to the tracks you have uploaded.
- If your track is played on our free radio service you will accrue a 10% of the Share of Last.fm’s Net Revenue (see the definition of “Share” and “Net Revenue” in the terms and conditions) from the free radio service.
- If your track is played on our personalised premium radio service, you will accrue the greater of either 10% of the Share of Last.fm’s Net Revenue from the personalised radio service, or US $0.0005 for each complete transmission on the personalised radio service.
1) Did you sign up for the ARP after the quarter ended? The first quarter ran from July - September; reports are published one month after the quarter ends.
2) Have you transferred any releases between accounts? Royalties will only be credited to the account that they were in at any given time; they cannot be transferred.
3) Are most of your plays from Powerplay? Please note that Powerplays do not count as ARP streams.
There are different options for collecting royalties under the program depending on the rights you own in your music. For more information on which option is right for you click here.
If you composed the music and lyrics to your songs, you will be given the option to make your songs available to Last.fm users as free downloads. Last.fm will not pay any royalties when a song is downloaded for free. If you have recorded a cover song or collaborated with any composer to record a track, then you cannot make that track available for free download on Last.fm. This is because you must own both the copyright in the sound recording and the musical composition (often referred to as ‘publishing rights’) to authorise Last.fm to distribute a free download.
If you are unclear about what rights exist in your content and who owns them, then please read our short summary.
You are not permitted to upload music tracks or video content if you do not have the right to do so.
If you are in any doubt, please consult your legal adviser.
If you are collecting royalties directly, you will have to nominate one member of the band in your Music Manager account who royalties will accrue to and who will be able to spend or request payment of the royalties directly to them.
Last.fm will not be responsible for any royalties that have been paid incorrectly by Last.fm to any third party who claimed ownership of your Content. It is your responsibility to make sure that the information in your account is correct.
If you are unclear about what rights exist in your content and who owns them then please read our short summary.
If you opt-in to Last.fm’s Artist Royalty Program, you will only be eligible to collect recording rights directly.
If you are unclear about what rights exist in your content and who owns them then please read our short summary.
There cannot be any duplicate content on the Last.fm service.
Royalties will only accrue for streams that are made after the following conditions have been satisfied: (1) the program has launched; (2) you have accepted the terms and conditions; (3) you have opted-in to the program; and (4) uploaded your content that is not already available on the service.
Last.fm will not be responsible for any royalties that are incorrectly paid by Last.fm to any third party who claims ownership of your content.
If you are signed to a record label or are a member of a collection society, the record label or collection society will collect Last.fm royalties and pay you.
If you have given your content to an aggregator (for example, CDBaby) they will collect royalties for the content you have provided to them and pay you. You are still eligible to collect royalties from Last.fm for any content you have not provided to your aggregator.
If your record label doesn't have an agreement with us, your label can sign up for the Last.fm Artist Royalty Program and will be able to collect royalties for you and pay you directly. It is illegal for you to upload and collect royalties for use of tracks on Last.fm that you do not own the rights to.
If you are unsure whether you have the right to collect royalties directly for the sound recordings, you should click here to read more about the types of rights that exist in your music.
Last.fm enters into licence arrangements with collection societies who administer music publishing rights. In order to be paid any royalties for the use of any musical compositions (other than free downloads), you should join your local collection society (such as MCPS/PRS in the UK) and register your tracks with them.
There are different options for collecting royalties under the program depending on the rights you own in your music. For more information on which option is right for you, click here.
If you have recorded a cover song or collaborated with any composer to record a track, then you cannot make that track available for free download on Last.fm. This is because you must own the copyright in a track and the musical composition (often referred to as ‘publishing rights’) to authorise Last.fm to distribute a free download.
If you make your tracks available for free download, they may also be included in a ‘tag’ or ‘personal recommendation’ podcast downloaded for free by a Last.fm user. Podcasts are treated the same as free downloads by Last.fm and the same rules will apply.
If you are unclear about what rights exist in your content and who owns them then please read our short summary.
Copyright is a property right afforded by law that protects the original artistic expressions of creators.
A music track is made up of a number of copyright elements:
The music and lyrics are often referred to as the “music publishing” rights. The sound recording is often referred to as the “recording” right. Each separate element of a track is protected by copyright.
Copyright can be assigned to someone else.
Sound recording
The first owner of a sound recording is the person who undertakes the necessary arrangements for the making of the recording. This is usually the producer.
The rights in the sound recording are usually assigned by the producer to a record company. The record company may be the first owner of copyright in those sound recordings if the record company is the producer.
Music and lyrics
The first owners of copyright in the music and lyrics will be the composer who composed the music and the person who wrote the lyrics.
Publishing rights are often assigned to a music publisher, whose job is to exploit the rights in the musical compositions.
Artists
Artists have a right to control the exploitation of their performances. However, artists usually assign any rights they have in their performances to a record label.
Music videos
A producer and a director own the first copyright in a music video.
Generally, record companies take an assignment or ‘buy out’ of all additional rights in a music video.
It is illegal to do any of the restricted acts above without the copyright owner’s permission.
Often, bands fail to properly organise their contractual affairs and this can, in turn, lead to disputes. If you are in any doubt as to whether you own the relevant rights in your music, then you should not upload it to Last.fm and instead seek legal advice from a music industry specialist lawyer.
