Finances
The art of the admin part of the creative process
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Rayna Holmes
Getting paid on Metalabel (splits, earnings, payouts)
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 ordersViewing 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.
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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.
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Rayna Holmes
Withdrawing funds
Once a payout is executed, the distributed funds go to each creator’s personal balance. You can visit your user profile Earnings tab to view your earnings.
In order to withdraw funds from Metalabel to your bank, you must successfully connect a StripeConnect account. A basic StripeConnect account is free to create. For more details, see Setting up your Stripe account.
We support a limited number of countries for now. It is important that your bank operates within these countries’ jurisdiction. If your country is not listed, write to us.
Current countries and regions supported:
United States, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Denmark, Japan, Philippines, Australia, Hong Kong, India*, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Slovenia, Switzerland, Latvia, and Thailand.
*Stripe is currently available in India on an invite-only basis, with option to request an invite.
Once StripeConnect setup is complete, you will be able to withdraw funds from your Metalabel balance to your bank. To do this, click on your user icon on the left-side menu, go to the Earnings tab, and then click the Withdraw button.
You can only withdraw the amount indicated as “Available to withdraw.” There is a minimum amount of $5 USD that must be met to initiate a withdrawal.
Once a withdrawal is initiated, the money leaves your Metalabel account and is transferred to your bank through Stripe. For those whose bank is set up in currencies other than USD, you can use Stripe’s Foreign Exchange Rate Estimator to see what you’ll receive in your native currency.
There is typically a lag time of 1-7 business days for this transaction depending on your financial institution. You can track the progress of this transfer on your bank’s ledger or in the Stripe Dashboard.
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Permanently deleted user
What does it cost to release work on Metalabel?
There is no cost to releasing work or building a catalogue with Metalabel. If you choose to sell work on Metalabel, we charge a 10% commission. Stripe charges an additional 3-5% in credit card processing fees. Both fees are automatically deducted at checkout for each transaction.
Metalabel is the merchant of record, so all pricing on the platform is in USD. A Stripe account is required for all creators looking to transfer earnings to their personal bank account.
Please note that Stripe fees vary based on country, bank, and currency, and sometimes minimum fee applies for transactions of $5 or below. Metalabel does not have control over Stripe processing fees.
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Rayna Holmes
Tips to determine pricing and quantity
Every project is different and setting prices and quantities are part art and part science. We recommend considering the following:
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What were your production costs in producing your release? This could be things like printing, supplies, or materials.
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Were there any other costs, such as fees you paid to a designer or collaborator? Are these costs that could be mitigated using Splits on Metalabel, or are they costs that have already been paid? See our guide on customizing Splits.
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Accounting for Metalabel’s 10% platform fee and Stripe’s processing fees, how many do you need to sell to recoup your costs? How many do you need to sell to meet your goals?
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Do you want all of your earnings to go to your contributors, or do you want to put some aside for the next project? If the latter, you might want to consider setting up a Treasury.
- Are you interesting in circulating some of your releases for free as part of your promotional efforts? If so, how many do you feel comfortable setting aside?
To help with this process, head to Metalabel Studio for more release strategies, including a worksheet you can use as a template to scope out basic costs and calculate what you can net out from your release.
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What were your production costs in producing your release? This could be things like printing, supplies, or materials.
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Rayna Holmes
Financial terms glossary
The following are definitions for all the terms used on the Earnings page. See Getting paid on Metalabel for tips on how to structure your earnings independently or as a collective.
Aggregated Financial Information
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Lifetime net earnings Sum total of funds received to the label across all releases across all time. This includes funds collected for shipping costs, and is before Metalabel and Stripe fees are accounted for.
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Balance Income across all releases that has not yet been distributed to collaborators. Like a bank account, the balance amount decreases following a payout execution.
- Available to pay out Amount of the balance that can be paid out to contributors right now. We hold money received from transactions for a “grace period” of approximately 4-5 business days before making it available to withdraw, so sometimes this number will be lower than the Balance. This is required to safeguard against malicious activities, accidental purchases, and chargebacks.
Release Specific Financial Information
In addition to aggregated details, each release also has an itemized ledger. Depending on your user role, you will see a View Details button. Click this and head to the Release Summary tab to see the ledger breakdown.
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Gross volume Revenue generated from the release over time. This number is the sum of all sales and shipping amounts from all orders that purchased this release. It is pre-fee, pre-commission, and post-sales tax.
- Sales: The sum of money earned through the release price only. This plus Shipping equals your Gross Volume.
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Shipping This is the sum of all shipping fees earned for each release purchase. The shipping fee is set by the Release Admin in the Release Builder. The person assigned in the Release Builder to receive the shipping balance will receive these funds to their account in addition to any designated split. This plus Sales equals your Gross Volume.
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Net Earnings Gross volume minus funds for shipping, Metalabel's 10% fee, and Stripe fees.
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Fees We charge a 10% commission on each purchase, and Stripe has a credit card processing fee for all transactions (2-5% depending on destination bank). This fee is paid per order for transparency, as opposed to a lump sum at specific intervals. Stay tuned for some updates to this table that will make fees and commission more visible.
- Recoup (or fixed costs) Select releases who received an advance from Metalabel will have fixed costs that need to be paid back first. The Earnings tab will show this Recoup amount alongside Gross Volume on the ledge. Money earned from collects will go to the recouped balance first before contributors are paid out.
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Lifetime net earnings Sum total of funds received to the label across all releases across all time. This includes funds collected for shipping costs, and is before Metalabel and Stripe fees are accounted for.
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Rayna Holmes
Customizing splits
As we detailed in this article, Splits let creators seamlessly distribute the earnings from a release to collaborators according to set percentages. While Splits must always add up to 100%, you may find that a more complicated structure is better suited for your label or release. For example, sometimes it is helpful to recoup costs before splitting income, or set funds aside in a treasury for a future project.
Using Splits to recoup costs
Let’s say you and a friend decided to release a digital album together. You are both Label and Release Admins, so you have equal permissions. Ultimately you want to split the earnings evenly, but there is a $200 cost to license an artwork from a friend to use as the album cover. You are generous and offer to front this cost before any albums are sold. In this scenario, you can use Splits in two ways.
One option is to recoup the costs before setting your split. Here's how to do this:
- The duo should initially set the Split to go entirely to you until your earnings equal the cost threshold. You can do this via the Earnings tab in the Release Builder.
- Once the duo hits $200 in earnings and these funds are paid out to the friend who fronted the costs via the Label’s Earnings tab, the Split can be updated to 50% per collaborator in the Release Builder.
- From then on, the earnings will be evenly split across both collaborators. Both parties will receive an email documenting that they have been added to the Split.
Note that since this is a manual change, this method requires a watchful eye on your Earnings.
Another option is to determine a different split amount from the outset. This method can be helpful when working with external collaborators like close folks contributing to the production of the release. Let’s use the artwork license example again. You could offer $200, or offer a 5% Split of all sales. If they agree to the latter, head to the Release Builder and add them as a contributor in the Collaborators tab. This will allow you to add them to the Split in the Earnings tab and toggle if their name is visible as a Creator on your release page. In this scenario, both members would each earn 47.5% and the artwork collaborator would earn 5%, totaling 100%.
Using a Label Treasury
Splits can also be used to build resources for future projects. Let’s say our digital album dup knows that they want to release another project together in 6 months. When they first made this digital album they had access to a lot of free resources, but now they want to plan towards trying something different like booking time at a recording studio or making a physical release.
The duo can use the automated label treasury to help them grow towards these goals. A treasury is a pool of funds that are accessible by a group or organization.
With two members using their personal email accounts for their user profiles, picture two "buckets" where money from the release can flow with the current split set up. Adding a treasury means we want a third "bucket" that money can flow to.
To designate funds to your treasury, head to the Earnings tab in the Release Builder. Select split with contributors and look for the dropdown menu of Contributors. Here you will see all the contributors on the release, and a Label Treasury option.
In this example, the label is called wake up call so the label treasury option is “wake up call Treasury”. Once selected, you can designate a portion of earnings to the treasury just as you would for any other split.
All release admins will have the option to add the label treasury to the split. Just like splits, only Label admin can pay out treasury funds. Next, read how to pay out from a treasury or dive into how to get funds to your personal accounts.
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Thaniya
How do splits and earnings work?
Getting paid on Metalabel is both very straightforward and something new in the world of creative platforms. Here’s how it works.
Earnings Splits
Metalabel introduces a new financial model for creative people: Earnings Splits, or Splits.
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’s accounts when a payout agreement is confirmed.
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 receive 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 the artists have agreed to.
Creating a Split
To first set the split, visit the Price Tab of the Release Builder. 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.
If you are the only creator, you will still need to set the split so 100% of the proceeds go to yourself.
When someone collects your release, its proceeds go into your release balance. Your release’s corresponding Earnings Split then determines how much each contributor gets paid.
Revenue received from each sale will first go towards costs and fees. The remaining earnings split thereafter. Here is a simple way to think about how money flows within a release.
When setting a split, the percentage amount across your contributors must add up to 100%.
Only a Label Admin can set the split. Split value can be edited anytime, even after a release is launched.
Understanding Earnings
The total earnings for your label are organized together. You can view earnings for all your label’s releases under the Earnings Tab. The Earnings tab balance is updated in real time, and all money is stored in USD currency. You can withdraw funds to a personal bank account with the currency of your choice through Stripe Connect.
Who can see what
Traditionally transactions and earnings with artists and labels has been opaque. We’ve tried to strike a balance between being transparent and secure with the most sensitive information.
Label admin:
- See all aggregated earning numbers
- See the earnings for all releases
- Can set splits and edit label and release financials
- Can initiate payouts when minimum amount is met
Label contributor:
- See all aggregated earning numbers for the label
- See the earnings for all releases
- Cannot initiate payout or drill down to the release details unless added onto the specific release
Release admin:
- Can only see earnings for releases that they’re the admin of
- Does not see any aggregated earning numbers (Gross volume, Balance, Available to withdraw, Lifetime earning)
- Cannot initiate payout
Release contributor:
- Can see the high-level earnings for a release they’re part of, but nothing else
When initiating a payout, the name of the person who initiated is shared in the payout notification email so everyone is clear on who did what. If this visibility rule does not work for you, write to us.
Important terminology:
Gross volume
Revenue generated from the release over time. This number is the sum of all sales and shipping amounts from all orders that purchased this release. It is pre-fee, pre-commission, post-sales tax.
Commission
10% Metalabel fee on gross volume.
Stripe fees
2-5% processing fees on all transactions passed through to Stripe according to their fee structure.
Shipping
Total shipping cost collected for the release. This is the sum of all shipping fees from orders that purchased this release. The person assigned to receive the shipping balance during the set-up of your release will receive these funds. Shipping distribution happens alongside the payout agreement.
Recoup (or fixed costs)
In some cases, a release will have fixed costs that need to be paid back first. On Metalabel, money earned from collects will go to the recouped balance first before contributors are paid out.
Balance
Balance is the revenue from the release minus Metalabel’s commission, Stripe fees, and shipping costs. This is the amount of money available for distribution. Like a bank account, the balance amount decreases following a payout execution.
Available to withdraw
Amount of the balance that is available to withdraw right now. We hold money received from transactions for a “grace period” of approximately 4-5 business days before making it available to withdraw. This is required to safeguard against malicious activities, accidental purchases, and chargebacks.
Lifetime earnings
Sum total of what you’ve made across all releases across all time on Metalabel.
Payout agreement
A Payout agreement happens when you want to distribute proceed from your release to your contributors. When you are ready to initiate a payout, click on the Payout Button from the Earnings Page.
A payout agreement is generated for your 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. An email is sent out to notify all parties and the balances on Metalabel will be updated.
Withdrawing Funds
Once a payout agreement is executed, the distributed funds go to each creator’s personal balance. You can visit your creator profile Earnings page to view your earnings.
In order to withdraw funds from Metalabel to your bank, you must successfully connect a Stripe Connect account. You can do this on your creator profile's Settings Page, under the Payout Tab. A basic Stripe Connect account is free to create. We are supporting a limited number of countries for now. It is important that your bank operates within these countries’ jurisdiction. If your country is not listed, write to us.
Current countries supported:
United States, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Singapore, Japan, Philippines, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay.
Once Stripe Connect setup is complete, you will be able to withdraw funds from your Metalabel balance to your bank by clicking on the Withdraw Button on the Earnings page. Note that you can only withdraw the amount indicated as “Available to withdraw.” There is a minimum amount of $5 USD that must be met to initiate a withdrawal.
Once a withdrawal is initiated, the money leaves Metalabel and is transferred to your bank through Stripe. For those whose bank is set up in currencies other than USD, you can use Stripe’s Foreign Exchange Rate Estimator to see what you’ll receive in your native currency. There is typically a lead time of 1-7 business days for this transaction depending on your financial institution. You can track the progress of this transfer on your bank’s ledger or in the Stripe Dashboard, which we made accessible from your Profile Payout Page.
Understanding Disputes and Refunds
A buyer may reverse a charge with their bank on an order. When this happens, Stripes creates a dispute case and immediately deducts the amount from the balance. Your release account may run negative when this happens. Metalabel will broker a challenge on your behalf and absorb the fees but not the purchase price. If the challenge is won, you’ll see the purchase amount restored on your balance. Generally speaking it is strongly advised that you connect with the buyer directly to set expectations around the transaction in order to minimize disputes.
Our platform policy indicates that there are no exchanges or refunds for purchase made. You are responsible for the promises made in the release and fulfillment of your work. Please refer to our terms and conditions for more details.