Getting paid on Metalabel is both very straightforward and something new in the world of creative platforms. Here’s how it works.
Earnings Splits
Earnings splits let creators seamlessly distribute the earnings from a release to contributors according to set percentages. Once a Split is set, earnings will flow to all contributors’ accounts when a payout agreement is confirmed and executed.
As an example, imagine a group of four people make a zine together and agree to split the proceeds equally. With Splits, each of their accounts would be designated that percentage of each transaction. Splits are also how labels can transparently receive their portion of earnings from each release according to the terms they and their artists agreed to.
Creating a Split
To set the split of a release, visit the Earnings tab of the Release Builder. You must be a Label Admin or the original creator of the Release to set the split. Use the drop-down menu to select the contributor and set the percentage of the proceeds that should be allocated to them.
Contributors who have accepted the invitation to join the release will be listed in this drop-down form. Contributors who are not invited or do not accept their invitation cannot be added to a split.
When setting a split, the percentage amount across your contributors must add up to 100%. If you are the only creator, you will still need to set the split so 100% of the proceeds go to yourself.
Split value can be edited anytime, even after a release is launched. This is a helpful feature for setting up treasuries or navigating more complicated splits.
For example, you may have one contributor who handled a production cost for the release and your group has agreed to split earnings evenly after these costs have been recouped. We recommend using a label treasury.
Label Treasuries
A label treasury is an optional, built-in feature that establishes a dedicated bucket of funds for the label to use at its discretion. By allocating a portion of earnings from a release towards the Label Treasury, you can build up funds to use for a future project. Here’s a helpful visual.
Setting funds aside can be a helpful practice if your label plans to commission work by other creators, if you want to accrue funds to reimburse costs label members are paying for out-of-pocket, or if you're not sure yet how you want to set up your splits. Read our step-by-step guide on how treasury works.
Understanding Earnings
Revenue received from each sale will first go towards any costs and fees, such as Metalabel’s fee and any shipping costs that were set for the release. The remaining earnings are split thereafter. Here is a simple way to think about how money flows within a release.
Who can see what
Traditionally transactions and earnings with artists and labels have been opaque. We’ve tried to strike a balance between being transparent and secure with the most sensitive information by setting permissions based on our four user roles: Label Admin, Label Contributor, Release Admin, and Release Contributor.
Each user role has distinct permissions for four key areas: splits, treasuries, aggregated earnings data (Gross volume, Balance, Available to withdraw, Lifetime earning), top line earnings (lifetime earning only), and payouts. This information is organized into two sections: rollup stats and an Earnings by Release table. Let’s consider a traditional record label as we assess the differences.
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Label admins have the most permissions and visibility. They can set and edit splits, allocate and payout funds from a Label Treasury, initiate payouts when the minimum threshold of $5 is met, and see total financials of the entire label and all releases on the Earnings page.
If we’re operating a traditional record label, our label executive would be a label admin. They need to see everything that’s coming in and out of the label to help manage its overall success.
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Label contributors will also see an Earnings page with total financials of the entire label, all releases, and treasury data, but they cannot see release-specific details in the Earnings by Release table, nor can they initiate payouts.
In our record label example, a label contributor might be an investor or a producer the label works will for every release: someone who is supporting the entire label project, but doesn’t need to see details about every release all of the time.
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Release admins can see financial data for releases they have admin status for, so their rollup stats and Earnings by release table will only reflect data for the releases where they are a Release admin. They can set splits (including allocating earnings to a label treasury) but cannot initiate payouts.
In our fictional record label, the release admin could be an artist the label represents, let's call them Rayna. Rayna needs visibility on all their earnings, but their focus is specific to their own albums (ie releases), not the label at large.
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Release contributors can only see funds they have earned. They will see the rollup stats and the Earnings by release sections, but they will be populated with data on their own earnings only. They cannot initiate payouts.
In a traditional record label, this might be a feature artist or a producer specifically working on Rayna’s latest release. Rayna wants them to be credited on the release and wants to offer them a split of the earnings, but not show all the details around the release itself.
* once they create a release, they will also gain Release Admin status and have all the same permissions for that specific release
† only for their designated release
** labels, and all their subsequent releases, can only can only be deleted if they have no completed orders
Viewing Your Earnings
You can view earnings for all releases you're a part of the Earnings tab in the left-side menu by clicking on your user profile icon. Again, the level of detail you see here depends on your user role and access. To see earnings for a label, head to the Earnings tab by clicking on your label icon.
The total earnings for your label and any subsequent releases are organized together. The Earnings page balance is updated in real time, and all money is stored via Stripe in USD currency. In order to withdraw funds to a personal bank account with the currency of your choice, you will need to set up a StripeConnect account.
When someone collects your release, the funds go into the release balance on the Earnings tab. Your release’s corresponding Earnings Split then determines how much each contributor gets paid. Again, the level of detail you see will depend on your user role.
Understanding Earnings by Release
The Earnings by Release table allows you to see itemized financial and inventory details for each release, depending on your user role.
To see this, click View Details. This takes you to a secondary page with three categories.
- Earnings details: An itemized ledger of all earnings and associated fees and costs (such as shipping), alongside a summary of total orders, and an itemized ledger for each edition a part of a release.
- Collections: A quick overview of collector-related activity around the release. Key stats are first collect, most recent collect, number of free collects, and number of unique and guest collectors.
- Payout history: A log of all the times funds have been paid out based on the payout agreement
See our Financial Terms Glossary for a deeper look.
So, how do I get paid?
In order for any collaborator to get paid, the Label admin must execute a payout agreement for the specific release. This triggers funds earmarked for everyone on the Split to be transferred to their personal balance.
To initiate a payout, click on the Preview Payout button next to the release in the Earnings tab. A payout agreement is generated for review. Metalabel will respect the latest version of your split setting and calculate the payout amount of your balance for the time period based on it. Once confirmed, the balance is immediately distributed to respective parties according to the agreement.
When a payout is initiated, all respective parties receive a payout notification email indicating who executed the payout so everyone is clear who did what. If this visibility does not work for you, write to us.
Once the payout is executed, you will be able to withdraw funds from your personal balance. To learn more, read Withdrawing Funds.
Need more help or troubleshooting support? Email us and we'll walk you through it.