What Happens to Your Royalties When You Die
By Written by Peter McVeigh
Most musicians spend years building a catalogue. Recordings, songs, production credits, co-writes, publishing deals. And most musicians have given almost no thought to what happens to any of it when they die. This is understandable. Nobody wants to think about it. But the financial consequences of not thinking about it - for the people you leave behind - can be significant. Copyright income can flow for seventy years after your death. The decisions you make (or fail to make) now will affect how that money is received, by whom, and whether it's received at all. This guide covers how royalties work after death in the UK, what rights are involved, how to make sure they go where you want them to go, and what happens if you'ven't made a will. Important note: this guide is intended to give musicians a clear, practical overview. It'sn't legal advice. For your specific situation - particularly around wills, estate planning, and complex publishing arrangements - you should consult a solicitor who specialises in music industry estates or intellectual property law.
Copyright Does Not Die With You
The first thing to understand is that your music copyright doesn't expire when you die. Under UK law - specifically the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 - copyright in a musical work or literary work (lyrics) lasts for seventy years after the end of the calendar year in which the author dies.
So if you die in 2026, your copyrights don't expire until 31 December 2096.
That's a very long time. During those seventy years, every time a song you wrote is streamed, broadcast, performed live, synchronised in a film or advert, or physically reproduced, royalties are generated. Those royalties belong to whoever inherits your estate.
For performers - as opposed to songwriters - the situation is slightly different. Sound recording copyright (for the actual recorded performance, distinct from the underlying song) currently lasts fifty years from the year of release in the UK, or seventy years if the recording is released commercially within the first fifty years of its creation. This affects performers and record labels, not just songwriters.
The Different Royalty Streams and Who Administers Them
To understand what happens to your royalties when you die, you need to understand what types of royalties exist and who is collecting them on your behalf right now.
PRS for Music collects performance and communication royalties - money generated every time your music is performed publicly (on the radio, in a venue, in a shop), streamed, or broadcast. PRS operates on behalf of songwriters and publishers.
MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) - also part of PRS for Music - collects mechanical royalties for the reproduction of your music: streaming, downloads, physical CDs, vinyl, and digital reproductions.
PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited) collects royalties on behalf of performers and record labels for the broadcast and public performance of sound recordings. If you're a featured or session performer on a recording, PPL holds royalties for you.
SoundExchange (if you've US activity) collects digital performance royalties in the United States for non-interactive streaming on behalf of recording artists and rights-holders.
Your publisher or self-publishing setup - if you've a publishing deal, your publisher administers your music copyright and collects synchronisation and other income streams.
All of these royalty streams continue after your death. The question is: who do they flow to?
PRS Writer Shares: What Happens After Death
Your PRS membership and your writer share are yours personally. They can't be transferred to another living person to hold in their name as a PRS member. However, they can - and should - be passed through your estate to your beneficiaries.
When a PRS member dies, PRS needs to be notified. Your estate (the executor of your will, or the administrator if there is no will) should contact PRS directly to inform them of your death and to begin the process of transferring your writer share to whoever inherits your estate.
PRS will continue to collect and hold royalties in your name during the administration of the estate. Once probate is granted and the estate is settled, those royalties and future earnings from your catalogue are paid to the beneficiary named in your will - or, if there is no will, distributed according to the rules of intestacy.
The practical steps for your estate: 1. Notify PRS of the death (they've a dedicated process for this) 2. Provide a copy of the death certificate and grant of probate 3. Identify who inherits the musical copyrights under the'll 4. PRS then redirects future royalty payments to the inheriting party
If the person inheriting is also a PRS member (a co-writer, for example), there are mechanisms for transferring ownership of specific works directly. If they'ren't a PRS member, payments are made to the estate and distributed from there.
PPL: Performer Royalties After Death
PPL handles performer royalties differently. Unlike PRS writer shares (which are registered per song), PPL royalties for performers are collected based on your registered performer identity.
When a PPL performer member dies, the estate should again notify PPL. PPL will continue to collect royalties due on recordings you performed on and will hold them for the estate. The beneficiary of your estate can make a claim for those royalties - they don't automatically become a PPL member, but they can receive the income.
If you're both a songwriter (PRS) and a performer on your own recordings (PPL), both organisations need to be notified separately. they're distinct organisations with distinct processes, even though both operate under the same umbrella for most artists.
Your Publishing Deal and What Happens to It
If you've a publishing deal, your publisher holds a share of the copyright in your songs (the publisher's share) for the term of the deal. What happens to your writer's share - the part you retained - on your death depends entirely on the terms of your contract.
Most publishing contracts include provisions for what happens in the event of the songwriter's death. Some revert to the estate. Some pass automatically to a named beneficiary. Some involve the publisher continuing to administer the rights and paying to whoever is named in the writer's will.
If you've a publishing deal, you should read the contract carefully and identify the relevant clause. If you don't have the contract to hand or can't interpret it, contact your publisher directly and ask them to explain what happens in the event of your death. they'll have had this question before.
If you self-publish - you own all your copyrights and collect through a publishing administrator like Songtrust, or directly through PRS/MCPS - your situation is simpler: the copyrights belong entirely to your estate and pass with it.
Making a Will: Why It Is Essential for Musicians
A will is the only document that allows you to specify who inherits what. Without one, your estate - including your music copyrights, your royalty income, and any physical assets - passes under the rules of intestacy, which are rigid, impersonal, and may produce outcomes you'dn't have chosen.
For musicians, there are specific reasons why a will is more important than it might be for someone with no intellectual property:
Your catalogue may be worth more in the future than it's now. Songs generate royalties for seventy years post-death. A catalogue that earns modestly while you're alive might appreciate significantly if your music is synchronised, covered, or rediscovered. Your will determines who benefits from that.
Copyright ownership needs to be explicit. Your will should explicitly address who inherits your musical works, your PRS writer shares, your PPL performer rights, and any publishing interests. Ambiguity creates disputes and delays that can hold up royalty payments for years.
You may have co-written songs. Your will should be clear about what happens to your co-writer share. The other co-writer(s) retain their own shares regardless; you're only dealing with yours.
Your digital music accounts may not pass automatically. Your distribution accounts, your Spotify for Artists profile, your distribution relationships - these are held in your name. Your executor will need to contact each platform individually. Make sure someone knows what accounts exist and has access to the relevant login information through a secure means.
The Rules of Intestacy: What Happens Without a Will
If you die without a will - dying intestate - English and Welsh law determines who receives your estate through a fixed hierarchy. The rules are as follows (as of 2026):
If you're married or in a civil partnership, your spouse or civil partner inherits everything up to £322,000 (the statutory legacy amount, which is reviewed periodically). Everything above that's split: half to the spouse, half divided equally among children.
If you'ren't married or in a civil partnership but have children, everything goes to your children equally. Unmarried partners receive nothing under intestacy, regardless of how long you've been together.
If you've no spouse and no children, the estate passes to parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives.
If you've no living relatives at all, your estate - including all your music copyrights - passes to the Crown.
For musicians who are in long-term relationships without being married, the intestacy rules are particularly stark. A partner of twenty years who isn't legally married to you receives nothing. Your music catalogue, your royalties, your PRS income - none of it goes to them without a will. This is one of the most common and most devastating outcomes of dying without one.
Naming Beneficiaries and Practical Steps
Beyond making a will, there are specific actions you should take to ensure your royalties reach the right people.
Register with PRS and PPL if you'ven't already, and make sure your contact details are current. Both organisations can't pay royalties to someone they can't find.
Document everything your estate will need. Create a document - keep it updated - listing every royalty stream you've, every platform you distribute through, every organisation you're registered with, every publishing deal you've signed, and the relevant account numbers or membership IDs. This is the document your executor will be grateful for. Without it, they'll spend months trying to reconstruct your music business from scratch while your royalties sit uncollected.
Consider a letter of wishes. Alongside your will, a letter of wishes is a non-binding document explaining what you want to happen to specific assets and why. It can't override your will, but it can provide context and guidance to your executor and beneficiaries that a legal document can't contain.
Talk to your co-writers. If you've significant co-written material, it's worth having a conversation about what each of you wants to happen to your respective shares if one of you dies. Some writers include provisions in their wills for each other to have the right of first refusal to buy the deceased's share.
Moral rights - your right to be identified as the author of your work and to object to derogatory treatment - can also be bequeathed by will. If you want your heirs to be able to protect the integrity of your work, specify this.
Useful contacts: PRS for Music (prsformusic.com), PPL (ppluk.com), the Musicians' Union (musiciansunion.org.uk), and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (step.org) for specialist solicitors.
Don't wait until this is relevant. Make the'll, document the catalogue, and let the people close to you know where to find everything. The music you've made matters. Make sure it goes where you intend.
Peter McVeigh is the founder of Music Manager Resource. This article is for general information only and doesn't constitute legal advice.