frbd1-8, Exercise 2: A royalty calculation

Model answer (check the details):

Royalty per copy: 10 per cent of 15 euros = 1.50 euros. Shared equally between writer and artist: 0.75 euros each.

Copies needed for the artist to earn a given income from the album alone, for example 24,000 euros: 24,000 / 0.75 = 32,000 copies. For 18,000 euros: 24,000 copies.

For comparison, a modest album may sell only a few thousand copies, while the best sellers sell hundreds of thousands, which is why incomes vary so widely.

What the calculation leaves out:
- The advance, which is normally paid up front and counted against royalties, so the artist may receive nothing more until it is earned back.
- The royalty rate and the base (retail price or publisher's net receipts) vary by contract, and the real figure may differ.
- Other income: illustration work, commissions, teaching, sales of original art and festival fees.
- Tax, social charges and costs such as materials and a studio.
- The time spent: if the album takes more than a year, the annual income is lower.

Care: the figures are an illustration, not data; look for the author associations' surveys for real numbers.