Many artists, publishers, and administrators use both TuneRegistry and Songtrust strategically to maximize their royalty collection while minimizing commission costs. Songtrust's agreement is not all or nothing, there are multiple ways to benefit from both services simultaneously.

Here are three strategic approaches to using TuneRegistry alongside Songtrust:

If you've submitted works to Songtrust that remain in "Pending" status after several months and they are not showing as registered within your PRO account, you can use TuneRegistry to directly register those works with the US societies in 3-5 business days with Songtrust as the publishing administrator.

Songtrust doesn't handle US master recording rights (neighboring rights) as they are a publishing administrator. You can use TuneRegistry to register your sound recordings with SoundExchange regardless of your Songtrust agreement, as these are entirely separate rights not governed by your Songtrust agreement and not a service that Songtrust offers.

This is a completely separate revenue stream that Songtrust doesn't address, making it a natural complement to their composition-focused service.

Even if Songtrust is collecting your royalties, your catalog still needs a home and Songtrust's platform is not designed to be one. TuneRegistry serves as a comprehensive catalog management system that organizes everything Songtrust's doesn't: your metadata, your identifiers, your collaborator information, your documents, and the registration status of every work across every society.

Songtrust's platform is purpose-built for publishing administration and royalty collection. It processes your registrations and distributes your payments, but it does not provide you with a working environment to manage the operational side of your catalog. As your catalog grows - more works, more collaborators, more recordings, and more release formats - the gaps become expensive. Missing metadata delays royalties, incomplete splits creates disputes. Untracked identifiers mean works fall through the cracks at collection societies.

TuneRegistry fills those gaps directly.

TuneRegistry stores the full metadata picture for every work and recording: song titles, writers information, publisher details, ownership splits, recording credits, label information, release details, and production notes.

Once composition can have dozens of recordings - studio versions, live versions, remixes, covers. TuneRegistry links each recording to its underlying composition, creating a clean accurate picture of your catalog that mirrors how collection societies actually track royalties.

As a certified US ISRC Manager appointed by the RIAA, TuneRegistry issues official, globally recognized ISRCs. ISWCs and society-specific Work IDs are stored within our system directly alongside each work and recording providing you with every identifier your catalog needs, in one place.

Every song involves people: co-writers, producers, featured artists, publishers. TuneRegistry stores complete profiles for every collaborator - contact details, IPI numbers, ISNI numbers, roles, aliases, bios, and documents - linked directly to the works and recordings they contribute to. Add a collaborator once and reuse them across your entire catalog. This is particularly valuable for independent labels and artist management companies managing multiple clients, where the same writers appear across dozens of works.

Split sheets, collaboration agreements, work-for-hire contracts, and stems live alongside the works and recordings they govern not in a separate folder on your desktop or buried in your email. When a dispute arises or a licensing opportunity requires documentation, everything is in the same place as the registration record it supports.

What This means for Songtrust users Specifically

Songtrust handles registration and collection. TuneRegistry provides a place for everything else. Using both gives you global royalty collection through Songtrust's network combined with a fully operational catalog system that keeps your metadata accurate, your identifiers tracked, your collaborators organized, and your documents accessible without depending on Songtrust's platform to do work it was never designed to do.

Strategy 3 (Catalog Management):Is the right starting point for almost everyone. It requires no changes to your Songtrust agreement, creates no overlap or conflict, and gives you immediate value regardless of where you are in your Songtrust term. Start building your catalog in TuneRegistry now so your metadata, identifiers, collaborator information, and documents are organized and ready whether you continue with Songtrust long-term or eventually transition to full self-administration.

Strategy 1 (Expediate Pending Registrations): If works have been sitting unregistered for 2+ months and you have a release, sync opportunity, or licensing situation coming up, waiting is costing you. Use TuneRegistry to register those works directly with US societies within 3-5 business days, listing Songtrust as your publishing administrator. Once they're actually registered, Songtrust's exclusivity applies and royalty collection will continue to be handled by Songtrus.

Strategry 2 (Master Recordings): You're likely leaving money on the table. SoundExchange collects digital performance royalties on Sound Recordings - a completely separate revenue stream from publishing royalties - and Songtrust does not register or collect these on your behalf. If your masters aren't registered with SoundExchange directly or through TuneRegistry, those royalties are going uncollected regardless of how well Songtrust is managing your compositions.

All three strategies can be useful and their value compounds at scale. Catalog Management becomes essential when you're managing multiple clients - organized metadata, collaborator profiles, and document storage across a large catalog is impossible to maintain in Songtrust's collection-focused interface.

Master Recording registration is a significant revenue opportunity across your entire register and pending work resolution protects time-sensitive release scheduled for every artist you manage.

Begin with Catalog Management now. Build your catalog in TuneRegistry before your Songtrust term ends means you're not starting from scratch when you transition. Your metadata could be organized, your identifiers recorded, your collaborators in our system and your registration history documented. When your Songtrust term expires, you're be ready to self-administer immediately rather than spending months reconstructing records.

If you're unsure where to begin, start with Catalog Management. It has the lowest barrier to entry and creates no conflict with your existing Songtrust agreement and builds the infrastructure that makes the other strategies more effective when you need them.

Visit our pricing page to view subscription plans and sign up.

Need additional assistance with preparing to use TuneRegistry? Our support team is here to help at support@tuneregistry.com or via chat in the app. See something that needs updating? Let us know we strive to ensure these articles are accurate and helpful.