Writer's share
Paid straight to you by your collection society — once you personally hold an IPI number as a registered rights holder.
YOURS IN FULLNEEDS AN IPI
Every time your song plays on the radio, in a club, on TV, or gets covered by another artist, it earns publishing royalties — money most independent artists in Africa never collect. RIA registers your catalogue and collects what's owed to you, no matter where in the world it's playing.
If nobody is actively collecting the publisher's share, it sits in the black box.
Distribution gets your music onto Spotify and Boomplay. Publishing is the separate, often-missed income stream underneath it — royalties from radio play, live venues, TV, covers, and sync placements.
Paid straight to you by your collection society — once you personally hold an IPI number as a registered rights holder.
Paid to whoever is actively collecting it. If nobody is chasing it on your behalf, it simply goes unclaimed. That's the half we register and collect for you.
Most independent artists never see this money simply because nobody's chasing it on their behalf. That's what we do.
Publishing administration is a service, not a rights transfer. We never take a share of your copyright.
Registered across territories your local society doesn't reach — including money already sitting uncollected in the black box.
We only get paid when you do.
A dedicated dashboard for your publishing income — registered works, territories, IPI status, and payouts — separate from your distribution dashboard, built specifically for how royalty collection works.
An IPI number is your official ID as a rights holder — it's what lets a collection society send you your writer's share directly. Getting one takes a bit of paperwork, and we know that stops a lot of artists before they even start.
We can register your compositions and begin collecting your publisher's share right away. The writer's share unlocks once you personally hold an IPI — so the honest picture is: start earning through us now, and get your IPI in parallel to pick up the other half too.
A 20% publishing administration fee on the publisher's share we collect for you. No setup fees, no long-term lock-in. Your writer's share is untouched — that's yours in full, direct from your collection society.
Publishing is applied for separately from distribution, with its own agreement. This fee applies only to publishing royalties — radio, sync, mechanicals and the rest. If you also use RIA for distribution, that's a separate 20% fee on separate income (your streaming and download revenue). The two never combine into 40% on the same money.
Worth saying plainly, because it's true everywhere in this industry, not just here: publishing royalties take much longer to arrive than streaming money. International societies report and pay on a delay — expect your first publishing payout to take considerably longer than your first streaming payout, sometimes several months to a year depending on the territory and society involved.
This isn't a RIA slowdown; it's how the global collection system works. We'd rather say it upfront than have you expect month-one payouts.
Every artist gets a dedicated dashboard showing registered works and their status, collections by source and territory, IPI status, and payout history.
Five steps, done once. You can start collecting with RIA before any of this — this is how you unlock the writer's share alongside it.
Document requirements can change on the society's end — always check UPRS's members' portal for the current checklist before you apply.
If you already have a National ID number from NIRA, URA's instant TIN application generates your TIN online in about 5 minutes. Without a National ID yet, you'll go through URA's standard individual TIN registration instead.
With your TIN ready, register as a songwriter/publisher member with a recognized society.
Uganda's own CISAC-affiliated society — built for Ugandan creators. Registration runs through their members' portal.
Accepts international songwriters directly. Without a US Social Security Number you submit a W-8BEN tax form instead.
Also accepts international affiliates, with a process broadly similar to ASCAP's — check BMI directly for their current international documentation requirements.
Whichever society you choose, your personal details and TIN go into the membership application.
Typically issued within a few working days after your registration is processed, though this varies by society — check UPRS's own portal for their current turnaround.
Your collection society now pays your writer's share directly to you. RIA continues collecting and paying out your publisher's share. Both halves of your publishing income are finally flowing.
Whether you have an IPI number yet or not, we can start collecting today.
START COLLECTING