system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How do artists get their royalties from their songs being played on the radio?

I'd imagine all fees based on individual airplay with with difficult to enforce/calculate.  Perhaps radio stations buy in bulk package deals? Are their middlemen involved and how?
gpt
They go through a licensing organization like ASCAP, and deliver a list of what songs they played.  ASCAP is a business whose entire job is to watch for public performances of music (radio play is considered a public performance) and make sure that royalties are paid.

Performing artists do *not* receive royalties from public performances.  Songwriters do.  Sometimes that is the same person, but in the world of pop music, it is often different.  For instance, when "Juice" is played on the radio, Lizzo receives no money; a team of songwriters does.