What Software Do Independent Labels Use for Royalties?

A label manager spent three days every quarter manually calculating royalty statements. She would download CSVs from her distributor, import them into a spreadsheet, run formulas to apply splits and recoupment balances, and generate statements for each of her 14 artists.

In the second year, she found an error from six months earlier. A formula had referenced the wrong column. Three artists had been underpaid. Two had been overpaid. She spent a week fixing the statements, reconciling the payments, and explaining the mistake to 14 people.

That mistake prompted the switch to dedicated royalty software. What had taken three days now takes four hours. The statements are clean. The recoupment tracking is automatic. No formula errors.

This guide covers every major royalty software option for indie labels in 2026, what each one does well, how pricing works, and how to choose based on your label's actual size.

What You Will Learn

• What royalty software actually does that spreadsheets cannot
• A detailed breakdown of every major option available in 2026
• Pricing and what you get at each level
• A software comparison table
• How to choose by label size
• When a spreadsheet is still the right answer

What Royalty Software Does

Royalty software automates the calculation and statement generation process that takes days in a spreadsheet.

The core functions:

DSP income ingestion: Upload CSVs from your distributor or connect via API. The software maps income to releases and artists without manual data entry.

Split calculation: Enter the royalty percentages from each artist's contract. The software applies them automatically, including producer points and co-writer splits.

Recoupment tracking: Enter advances and recoupable expenses. The software calculates running balances per artist and applies earnings to the balance before calculating any payment due.

Statement generation: Produce branded, detailed royalty statements per artist with a few clicks. Statements show income by source, applicable deductions, recoupment activity, and net payment.

Multi-currency support: For labels with international income, convert revenue from multiple currencies and report in the artist's home currency.

Payment processing: Some platforms connect directly to payment processors (ACH, Stripe, PayPal) to send payments alongside statements.

The difference between a spreadsheet and dedicated software is not just speed. It is the elimination of the human error category entirely. Once your contracts are entered correctly, the math is automatic.

Royalty Software Options in 2026

eddy.app

Best for: Small to mid-size indie labels (1-20 artists)

eddy.app is built for indie labels that want a clean, accessible accounting system without enterprise-level complexity. It handles DSP payment processing, applies splits and recoupment, and generates artist statements.

The interface is straightforward enough for a label owner with no accounting background. Artists receive statements with DSP-level detail, which builds transparency and trust.

Pricing: Contact for current rates. The platform positions itself in the accessible tier for growing independent operations.

What it does well: Clean statements, easy setup, indie-label-focused feature set.

Limitations: Less suited for complex multi-territory deals or labels with very large catalogs.

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RosterRoyalties

Best for: Labels that want a clean payment workflow from DSP income to artist payment

RosterRoyalties is specifically built for the label-to-artist payment workflow. Upload a DSP income CSV, and the system automatically applies splits and recoupment based on each artist's contract. Statements are locked once approved, creating an audit trail.

The locked statement feature is particularly useful: once a statement is approved and sent, it cannot be edited retroactively without creating a new version. This protects both the label and the artist from disputed after-the-fact changes.

What it does well: Clean workflow, strong recoupment tracking, locked statements for accountability.

Limitations: Less integration with distribution compared to LabelGrid.

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LabelGrid

Best for: Labels that want distribution and royalty accounting integrated in one platform

LabelGrid combines music distribution with royalty accounting. You distribute through LabelGrid and the income flows directly into the royalty calculation system without manual CSV uploads.

Pricing (2026):

• Solo: $99/year, 85% royalty retention
• Pro: Contact for pricing, 90% royalty retention
• Custom: Enterprise pricing, up to 100% royalty retention

The integration between distribution and accounting is LabelGrid's main advantage. For labels releasing 10-50 titles per year, the time saved by not manually uploading and mapping DSP income is significant.

What it does well: Distribution-accounting integration, tiered pricing, clear royalty retention percentages.

Limitations: You are using LabelGrid's distribution network, which may not match the reach of standalone distributors like The Orchard or Ingrooves.

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Curve Royalty Systems

Best for: Established labels with complex catalogs (30+ artists, multi-territory operations)

Curve is enterprise-grade royalty accounting used by publishers and record labels handling significant catalog complexity. It handles automated processing of large income files, detailed reporting by territory and revenue type, and complex deal structures including sub-publishing arrangements and neighboring rights.

Curve is not a tool you set up in an afternoon. It requires implementation time and likely an in-house royalty administrator to operate effectively. But at the scale it is built for, it handles complexity that simpler tools cannot.

What it does well: Complex catalog management, detailed reporting, enterprise reliability.

Limitations: High cost, steep learning curve, overkill for labels under 30 artists.

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Exactuals

Best for: Labels with 50+ artists and complex contractual structures

Exactuals provides enterprise royalty processing used by major labels and larger independent operations. It handles advanced deal structures, multi-party splits, neighboring rights tracking, and batch payment processing at scale.

Like Curve, this is enterprise software. If you are reading this guide as the owner of a 5-artist indie label, Exactuals is not your next step. But understanding it exists helps you know where your accounting system can scale to as you grow.

What it does well: Scale, complex deal structures, multi-party payment processing.

Limitations: Enterprise pricing, not accessible for small labels.

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RoyaltyCloud

Best for: Labels transitioning from spreadsheets to dedicated software

RoyaltyCloud is cloud-based royalty accounting focused on accessibility for labels making the move from manual spreadsheets. It automates statement generation, handles recoupment tracking, and produces detailed reports.

What it does well: Accessible onboarding, standard accounting functions, cloud-based access.

Limitations: Fewer advanced features than Curve or Exactuals for complex catalog structures.

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Comparison Table

Pricing current as of 2026. Contact vendors directly for updated rates.

Sources: EDM Sauce "Best Label Management Software for Record Labels (2026)" and GitNux "Best Royalties Management Software: 2026 Expert Picks."

Choosing by Label Size

1-10 Artists: Spreadsheet or eddy.app

At this scale, a well-maintained spreadsheet works if you are disciplined about updating it monthly when DSP reports arrive. Set up separate tabs for: revenue by release, recoupment balances per artist, and payment history.

The risk with a spreadsheet at this scale is formula errors and version control problems when multiple people have access. If you want to eliminate that risk without enterprise software pricing, eddy.app is the natural first step.

10-30 Artists: LabelGrid or RosterRoyalties

At this scale, manual calculation is not sustainable. A formula error across 20 artists is a month of cleanup work. LabelGrid makes sense if you want to consolidate distribution and accounting. RosterRoyalties makes sense if you are happy with your existing distributor and just need better accounting infrastructure.

Budget: $99-$500/year for tools at this tier, depending on the platform and plan.

30+ Artists: Curve or Exactuals

At this scale, you likely already have a royalty administrator on staff. Curve or Exactuals give that person the tools they need to handle complex catalog management, multi-territory reporting, and batch payment processing. The implementation cost is real, but the alternative is a team of people in spreadsheets making errors at scale.

The Hybrid Approach

Some labels run LabelGrid or RosterRoyalties for active releases and maintain a simpler archive system for older catalog that is no longer recouping. This reduces software cost while keeping the active accounting clean.

The Spreadsheet Warning

Spreadsheets are not wrong. They are wrong at scale.

At 1-5 artists and 10-30 releases, a spreadsheet managed carefully by one person who knows the formulas is a reasonable system. The problems start when:

• A second person starts editing the file
• You grow past 10 artists
• Your release catalog passes 50 tracks
• You start handling multi-territory income in multiple currencies
• An artist requests an audit

When any of those conditions arrive, the migration to dedicated software becomes necessary rather than optional. The migration is easier if you have kept clean records in the spreadsheet from the beginning.

For full guidance on how label accounting works and what your statements need to include, read how to set up label accounting and royalty payments.

For understanding royalty disputes from the artist's perspective, see how to dispute royalty payments as an independent artist. For the broader royalty picture, read all the music royalties you should be collecting.

Use our publishing royalty split calculator to model your split structures before entering them into any software, and the advanced royalty calculator to verify your accounting numbers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I run royalty accounting in QuickBooks or Xero? General accounting software handles income and expenses well, but it does not natively handle the split calculation, recoupment tracking, and per-artist statement generation that label royalty accounting requires. You would need to build significant custom workflows. Dedicated royalty software handles these functions out of the box.

Do I need royalty software if I only have one artist? No. A simple spreadsheet works perfectly at one artist. Set it up correctly from the start (revenue by source, recoupable expenses tracked separately, running balance) and you will not need software until you scale.

How do I migrate from a spreadsheet to royalty software? Most platforms walk you through an onboarding process. You will need: all artist contracts (to enter royalty rates and recoupable terms), your complete revenue history by release (from distributor reports), and your advance and recoupable expense records. Plan 2-4 hours for setup at small label scale.

Does royalty software handle publishing royalties? Most label royalty software handles master recording royalties only. Publishing royalties (mechanical, performance, sync for compositions) are handled by separate publishing administration software or directly through PROs and mechanical royalty agencies. The two accounting systems are usually separate.

What happens if an artist disputes a statement generated by software? The software is only as accurate as the contracts and revenue data you enter. If a dispute arises, you need to trace the statement back to the source: the DSP income reports, the contract terms, and the recoupable expense records. Good software maintains an audit trail that makes this traceable.