Earnings, tax & payouts

What are the two ways I earn?

Ready-made vocals: upload a vocal once and sell it as an instant download, as many times as you like (or once, for an exclusive). Custom work: producers hire you for bespoke work (toplines, full vocals, re-records) at your own prices, with the payment secured up front.

What's the split?

There are two, one per stream. Ready-made vocals you upload and sell as downloads: you keep 70%, the platform keeps 30%. Custom work a producer hires you for: you keep 85%, a flat 15% platform fee. Your share is always calculated on the net sale value (see the VAT question below), and shown clearly in your Studio → Earnings.

I was told I keep 85%, but the agreement says 70%. Which is right?

Both, they cover different work. The 85% is the hire-a-vocalist side: custom projects a producer commissions from you, covered by Part B of the vocalist agreement. The 70% is the store side: ready-made vocals sold as instant downloads, covered by Part A. If you were approached about custom work, 85% is the number that applies to that work. Nothing was changed on you, and you can do one stream, the other, or both.

Why is the ready-made split lower than the custom-work split?

Because the platform does a different amount of the work. On a ready-made vocal we host it, stream the previews, market it, handle VAT and deliver the files automatically, on every sale, for as long as it stays listed: that's the 30%. On custom work the producer has already found you and agreed your price, so the 15% covers escrow, in-platform delivery and the payout, and nothing more.

Non-exclusive, exclusive, cover, what's the difference?

Non-exclusive vocals can be bought by unlimited producers, your steady passive income. Exclusive vocals sell once, at a premium, then come off the store automatically. Covers are your take on existing songs, licensed for producers who need a cover vocal.

Who handles VAT?

We do. The Vocal Market collects and pays the VAT on every sale for you, so you never have to deal with it. Your earnings are your share of the sale after that VAT is removed, VAT was never part of your cut to begin with (it belongs to the tax authorities).

Why does my payout vary slightly on the same-priced vocal?

Because VAT differs by the buyer's country. A €19.99 sale to a buyer in a 21% VAT country leaves a different net amount than a sale to a country with no VAT, so your 70% is taken from a slightly different net figure. The sticker price is the same; the net behind it isn't. Your Studio shows the exact earning for every sale.

Do I need to handle my own tax?

Yes, your income taxis yours to handle, the same as any freelance income, and you may need to register for VAT in your own country depending on where you live and how much you earn. We don't withhold anything from your payouts. If you're unsure, a local accountant can advise. You can download your earnings from the Studio for your records.

How and when do I get paid for ready-made sales?

Ready-made sale earnings are paid to your PayPal within a few days of each sale. Add your PayPal email in Studio → Payouts so we know where to send it.

How does custom-work payment work?

When a producer accepts your quote, they pay into escrow up front, so the money is secured before you record a note. The moment they accept your delivery, your 85% is released to your connected Stripe account, and if they go quiet it releases automatically 7 days after you deliver. Your 85% is taken from the project price after payment processing fees and any VAT. Set Stripe up once in Studio → Payouts.

Where can I see everything I've earned?

Studio → Earnings shows your lifetime earnings, a graph over time, a breakdown by vocal type, and every individual sale, including your full history from before the new platform.

What am I actually signing?

One agreement in three parts. Part A covers selling ready-made vocals as downloads and sets the 70/30 split. Part Bcovers custom work you're hired for and sets the 85/15 split, the escrow, and how your files and licence are handled. Part C is the optional enterprise data licensing pool, which you can skip entirely or leave at any time.

Do I have to do both streams?

No. Plenty of vocalists only take custom work, and others only upload ready-made vocals and never take a brief. Signing covers you for both so you never have to sign again if you add the other one later, and you're only ever paid on the split that matches the work you actually did.

Who owns the recordings?

You do, in both streams. You keep the copyright in your recordings and your songwriting share in any topline or lyrics you write, unless you expressly agree otherwise and are paid for it in a specific project. What a buyer gets is a licence, not ownership of your master.