DISTROBOLT ARTIST GUIDES
A worked example of a royalty recoupment waterfall
A recoupment waterfall describes an agreed order for recovering eligible costs before or alongside ordinary allocations. The following model is hypothetical and is not a DistroBolt payment rule, contract or automated feature.
Define the model explicitly
Assume an eligible net pool of EUR1,000 after any upstream deductions. The fictional agreement first recovers an approved EUR600 recording cost, then an approved EUR250 marketing cost, and finally splits the remainder 60/40. These priorities, cost eligibility and percentages are assumptions for this example, not defaults that can be imposed on collaborators.
Work through the first period
From EUR1,000, recording recovery uses EUR600, leaving EUR400. Marketing recovery then uses EUR250, leaving EUR150. A 60/40 allocation of that remainder gives EUR90 and EUR60. All uses reconcile to EUR1,000. Record which party receives each recovery and the supporting approved expense reference.
Show an insufficient-income period
If the pool were only EUR700 with the same starting balances, recording recovery would use EUR600 and marketing EUR100. Marketing would retain an unrecovered EUR150; nothing would reach the final split in that model period. Do not reset balances or charge an unagreed deficit to another release. Keep opening balance, recovery and closing balance traceable.
Verify the real agreement and implementation
WIPO discusses recoupment as a contract-dependent music-business issue. Real arrangements can use a different base, recovery share, priority or limit. Obtain appropriate review of the actual agreement and confirm the supported accounting workflow before applying it. Preserve historical balances and ordinary accepted splits; no live allocation or recovery is changed here.
Sources and review
Reviewed 4 November 2026. Platform requirements and plan terms can change. Examples are planning aids, not a promise of account access, release acceptance or earnings.
Continue your release planning
- Reported earnings versus available balance versus bank payment
- Export royalty statements for your bookkeeping
Ask the DistroBolt team about your release. Send a concise question and release reference; never send account passwords or verification codes.