Music Glossary: business-and-copyright category

Contract for live shows: fee/door split, hospitality, tech rider, cancellation terms. more

Societies administer rights/royalties on behalf of rightsholders (e.g., PRS, MCPS, SoundExchange). more

Legal protection for original musical works and sound recordings; arises automatically upon fixation. more

Log of music used in a production for PRO royalty distribution. more

Getting music to streaming stores via aggregators (DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby). more

Limited exceptions for commentary/education/news; highly fact-specific—seek counsel. more

License grants limited use; assignment transfers ownership—know the difference. more

Ownership of a specific sound recording; distinct from composition (publishing) rights. more

Royalties from reproduction/distribution (pressings, downloads, streams). more

ISRC identifies recordings; ISWC identifies compositions; crucial for royalties. more

Author rights to attribution and integrity (varies by country); cannot always be waived. more

Royalties for sound recording public performance/broadcast to performers and labels. more

When one party can license both master and publishing quickly—valuable for sync. more

Collects public performance royalties (e.g., PRS, ASCAP, BMI, SOCAN). more

One-pager/assets for media: bio, photos, links, notable credits, stage plot if live. more

Rights in the underlying composition: melody/lyrics/harmony; administered by publishers. more

Scheduling singles, pre-saves, pitching, and assets for maximum impact. more

Attachments specifying tech requirements and hospitality to the booking contract. more

Label advances recouped from royalties before artist payout; understand recoupables. more

Using another recording requires clearance of both master and publishing; or re-record. more

Agreement documenting writer percentages and ownership shares; avoids disputes. more

License to pair music with visual media (film/TV/games/ads); requires both master & publishing. more

Barcode identifiers for releases required by distributors and retail. more

Commissioned work owned by the commissioning party by contract; check jurisdiction. more