Your royalty statements look wrong — the numbers don’t match your gut about how your music is performing. Your contract gives you the right to check: nearly every label and publishing deal includes an audit clause letting you examine their books, usually once per year for a defined statement period. Labels count on you never using it. The artists who do routinely find money — industry auditors report finding underpayments in the majority of audits they conduct.
Don’t audit alone. Hire a royalty auditor — specialists who do nothing but tear apart label and publisher statements. Most work on contingency, taking 25 to 35 percent of what they recover, so there’s no upfront cost. They know every trick: unreported foreign income, wrong royalty rates applied, reserves never liquidated, packaging deductions that don’t apply to streaming, free goods that weren’t free.
Mind the clock. Audit clauses have time limits — typically you can only challenge statements within two to three years of receiving them, and some contracts shorten that further. Sit on a suspicious statement and your right to question it expires. When something looks off, send the audit notice promptly and in the exact form your contract requires (usually written notice to a specific address). Procedure matters; a sloppy notice can get rejected.
An audit isn’t war — it’s business hygiene, and labels expect it from serious artists. Frame it that way with your team. But go in with a real auditor, real questions, and real deadlines, because the findings fund themselves: recovered royalties often cover the auditor’s cut several times over and reset how carefully your statements get prepared going forward. Labels keep cleaner books for artists who check the math.
About the Author – Ruben Burgos: Ruben Burgos brings over 25 years of music expertise and more than 15 years of model guidance to the table. He is the indie major pinnacle to retaining credits for musicians and helping them navigate this wicked industry without the fuckery.