Reference
Get plain-English definitions for every term you'll encounter on royalty statements or registration forms — your cheat sheet for industry jargon.
114 publishing and royalty terms, defined in plain English — no jargon explaining jargon. If a word from a registration form, a royalty statement, or one of our guides sent you here, look it up below.
Under this deal, a publisher (or admin like Davincii) handles song registrations, royalty collection, and licenses for you — without ever owning your copyright. In a co-publishing or full publishing deal, by contrast, the publisher receives an ownership share.
An upfront payment from a publisher to a songwriter that gets recouped from later royalties. Publishing administrators like Davincii usually offer no advances — in return, you retain 100% ownership and pay a far lower commission.
A publisher or songwriter with formal membership in a PRO or CMO. A society won't register your works or send payment until you're one of its affiliates.
Any other name appearing in a writer's credits — including a legal name, stage name, or former group name. Societies connect all AKAs to one IPI number, directing royalties from each name into the same account.
Along with BMI, one of the two major US performing rights organizations. It collects performance royalties from public song uses — including radio, TV, streaming, and live venues. Our ASCAP guide has the full breakdown.
ASCAP guideA legal change in copyright ownership from one party to another — such as a songwriter transferring part of a composition to a co-publisher. Administration is different because the ownership stays put.
A payment arrangement giving someone (a producer, a collaborator, a sync agent) a later percentage of royalties rather than an upfront flat fee.
Money earned when a song was streamed, played, or performed, yet left unpaid because the work was registered incorrectly or no writer match was found. Societies hold this money for a while, then redistribute it. How long depends on the right: mechanical royalties can stay claimable for years, while the performance side closes after about two.
See the scale of itOne license sold by a PRO that lets a radio station, venue, or streaming service publicly perform the PRO's whole catalog, instead of securing permission song by song.
Broadcast Music, Inc. — together with ASCAP, one of the two major US performing rights organizations. It collects performance royalties and distributes them to its affiliated publishers and writers.
BMI guideA song reproduction made for broadcasting can trigger this mechanical royalty — an internal track copy used by a radio station for airplay, for instance. Only a few territories commonly pay it, and it differs from a stream's mechanical royalty.
A sync license paid through one flat fee, with no continuing royalty. You'll often see these in ad placements and low-budget productions; when a song has meaningful reuse potential, they rarely favor the songwriter.
Every song that a writer or publisher owns or administers. When someone says "your catalog," they mean all compositions you've written, whether registered or not.
A written record tracing each song share from the original writers through later assignments, transfers, or estate inheritances. Before paying anybody, a licensor checks that this ownership history is clean.
The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers — a worldwide umbrella organization linking performing rights societies so reciprocal agreements can recognize one another's registrations.
Securing legal permission before music airs in a sample, cover, or sync placement. Without clearance, that use can become the basis for an infringement claim.
A broad name for a society collecting and distributing royalties for many rights holders together — including PROs, mechanical societies, and neighboring-rights bodies. Through reciprocal society agreements, your works can be collected across 240+ countries and territories worldwide.
Full CMO directoryTwo or more publishers or admins representing separate shares in one song — often because its co-writers signed with different publishing companies. Each one manages only the share belonging to its writer.
The writer retains their writer's share while sharing ownership of the publisher's share with a publishing company, typically receiving an advance and the company's promotional support in return.
Someone whose original contribution to a song includes lyrics, melody, or both, giving them ownership of a composition share. Correct payment requires registering every co-writer and their individual share.
Whoever creates a song's music — its melody, harmony, and arrangement. For a song with words, one credited writer may be both composer and lyricist, or two people may fill those roles.
The underlying song — melody, lyrics, and structure — rather than any one recording. Dozens of recordings (covers, remixes, samples) can all rest on a single composition copyright.
Under this US legal mechanism, anyone may record and release a cover once a song is already released, without seeking permission, provided they pay the statutory mechanical rate. That's what makes covers legal without negotiating directly with the original writer.
YouTube's automatic tool that compares uploaded videos with its database of registered recordings and compositions. When a Content ID claim is correct, ad revenue reaches the rights holder; if the match goes unclaimed, the revenue goes nowhere.
Some recording contracts use this clause to limit what the record label pays in mechanical royalties for the artist's own songs, often setting the cap below the statutory rate. Read it carefully before you sign a label deal.
Legal protection for an original creative work — in music, the composition and sound recording each receive a distinct copyright as soon as they're fixed in recorded or written form.
The US federal agency within the Library of Congress that formally registers a composition or recording, creating a public authorship record. This process is separate from — and unnecessary for — registration with a PRO, the MLC, or a publishing administrator.
The period before copyright expires and a work moves into the public domain. In the US, it generally runs through the last surviving author's life, plus 70 years.
A performer other than the original artist makes a new recording of an already released composition. Its composition royalties continue going to the original writers; the cover artist owns only the master royalties from the new recording.
A time-coded record listing all music in a film, TV episode, or show — its writer, performer, and duration. PROs rely on cue sheets to work out performance royalties from sync placements.
A standard electronic format publishers send to PROs for work registration — it packages song titles, writers, splits, and IDs into one structured batch, avoiding manual portal entry for every song.
A brief document stating an agreement's main points — payment, rights, and splits — signed ahead of (or in place of) a complete formal contract. It's common for quick collaborations and sync placements.
Sheet music, audio, or lyrics submitted as the work copy during formal Copyright Office registration — the exact evidence showing what the registration covers.
A remix, translation, interpolation, or other new creation adapted from an existing work. Making one will generally require the original work owner's permission.
The payment right triggered by digital performance of a sound recording — through satellite radio, webcasting, or non-interactive streaming. SoundExchange collects it in the US, apart from the composition's performance royalty.
SoundExchange guideAn agreement made straight between the music user and rights holder, outside a PRO's blanket license — frequently used for sync deals and certain digital platform arrangements.
A company (DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby) that sends recordings to streaming platforms and collects the resulting master/recording royalties. It doesn't handle composition royalties — publishing administration fills that missing piece.
The law's name for a permanent song download — the use category that first established download mechanical royalties in the era before streaming.
Tools that limit how digital files can be copied or shared — they have nothing to do with collecting royalties. It's different from "digital rights," generally meaning royalties due for online music use.
Music-business shorthand for listener platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music. A single DSP stream can produce both performance and mechanical royalties.
Permission giving one licensee sole use of a work in the stated manner — during the license term, even the owner can't authorize anybody else for that same use.
The industry's standard word for commercially using a song — by streaming, licensing, or performing it. Here it isn't negative; it simply means "the song is out there earning."
The recording's credited main performer. They receive master and neighboring-rights royalties for that performance, while composition royalties apply only when they helped write the song too.
Copyright eligibility begins at this legal point — once a work is captured tangibly, such as in written notation or a recording. An idea kept in someone's mind can't be copyrighted, but its written or recorded version can.
Rights for music performed within a dramatic theatrical work — such as a musical, opera, or ballet. They require separate licensing from the "small rights" for ordinary public performances handled by PROs.
Gross means everything collected by a platform or society before fees. Net means the amount reaching the writer after the society takes its administrative cut and, when applicable, the publisher or admin deducts a commission.
A US agency licensing mechanical rights, historically their primary issuer until the MLC assumed blanket streaming mechanical licensing in 2021. HFA remains active in licensing downloads and physical formats.
See HFA in the CMO directoryUsing a newly recorded version of an existing song's melody or lyric instead of sampling its original audio. Even without that recording, an interpolation still needs clearance from the composition's original publishers and writers.
Interested Parties Information number — the unique identifier each songwriter and publisher receives. PROs and CMOs use it worldwide to track who should be paid across stage names and territories.
The master-side identifier, a unique 12-character code attached to one recording. Each song version (original, remix, live) needs a separate ISRC, unlike the ISWC assigned to the composition underneath.
A composition's unique code, used across all recordings of that song. With a registered ISWC, a PRO or the MLC can connect streams of every cover or remix to the same underlying writers.
ISWC guideA composition in which two or more writers meant their contributions to form one song. Each co-writer holds an undivided interest in the entire work, rather than owning an isolated portion.
A stripped-down song notation showing its lyrics, chords, and melody — traditionally used in copyright registration and as a quick learning reference for musicians.
A basic document containing a song's words alone — useful for clearance, licensing requests, and registration, and distinct from a full lead sheet that includes chords and melody.
The credited writer of a song's words. Within a songwriting team, the composer and lyricist can divide the writer's share differently based on the contribution they've agreed upon.
A song's finished audio — the particular performance and production preserved in the studio. That master carries a copyright apart from the composition being recorded.
Rights in one specific recording, rather than publishing rights covering its underlying composition. The artist or a record label generally owns the master; a publisher or publishing admin manages the composition.
Approval to place a particular recording in an ad, show, or film — the master-side match for a sync license on the composition. Most placements require sign-off on both.
How a CMO links reported use (a stream, a play) with the right registered writer and song. If registration is missing or metadata doesn't correspond, no match occurs and the royalty remains uncollected.
Authorization to distribute and reproduce a composition through a stream, download, or physical record. In the US, compulsory licensing makes this mostly automatic when the statutory rate gets paid.
Every reproduction of a composition — including each on-demand stream — owes this royalty to its publishers and writers. The MLC handles it in the US; mechanical royalties lacking a registration or match make up the industry's biggest single black-box source.
The MLC guideA song and recording's identifying details — release date, splits, ISWC, ISRC, writers, and title. The leading cause of royalties failing to reach the correct writer is inaccurate or absent metadata.
A low-fee sync license for smaller uses like independent creator videos, modest YouTube channels, or social media content — unlike a traditional TV or film sync arrangement.
A US organization established under the Music Modernization Act to provide blanket mechanical licenses and collect streaming-service mechanical royalties for publishers and songwriters.
The MLC guideA business owning or administering composition rights by handling registrations, licenses, and royalty collection for the writer, traditionally receiving an ownership share in exchange.
Music-business shorthand for placing an existing song recording in a show or film instead of hiring someone to create an original score.
Payments to a recording's performers and master owner when it plays publicly beyond the US — on radio, at public venues, and through some streaming. They're the international counterpart to domestic SoundExchange collections, but cover far more public-performance uses.
Neighboring rights guidePermission that can be given to several licensees simultaneously for the same use. By default, most mechanical and sync licenses are non-exclusive.
A process under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act for asking a platform to remove infringing material — such as someone using your song without a license.
When public sources such as the MLC's database don't identify a song's original publisher or writer, this formal notice must be filed before releasing a cover under compulsory license.
A browser portal used by PROs such as BMI to accept individual or small-batch song registrations, rather than large submissions through CWR files.
Each publisher's and writer's percentage ownership in a composition — together, all parties must total 100%. Royalties are commonly delayed when splits are incorrect or a co-writer hasn't been registered.
Money due to a composition's publishers and writers for public performance — including radio play, streams, live shows, and TV use. ASCAP, BMI, and equivalent international PROs collect it.
Your entitlement to payment for a composition's public performance. A "performing rights organization" is named for the specific right it administers.
In US copyright law, the name for any digital or physical form holding a sound recording — including a digital file, CD, or vinyl pressing.
Putting a song forward for possible use in a game, ad, show, or film — generally through a licensing platform, music-supervisor connection, or sync agent.
A society handling performance-royalty collection and payment for publishers and songwriters — examples include ASCAP and BMI in the US, PRS in the UK, GEMA in Germany, plus dozens worldwide. Each songwriter should affiliate with exactly one.
Full CMO directoryThe producer's royalty portion, typically stated as points (percentage) of master recording revenue — independent of any composition credit they may also negotiate after contributing to the writing.
Works outside copyright protection that anyone may use without paying or obtaining a license — usually because their copyright term ended.
A composition played beyond a personal, private setting — at a venue, in a store, over radio, or through a streaming platform. This use is what triggers performance royalties.
Performance royalties directed to the publisher (or publishing administrator), rather than straight to the writer — generally half the total, paired with the writer's share.
Worldwide registration, monitoring, and royalty collection for a songwriter's catalog — while leaving all underlying copyright ownership with the writer, unlike a traditional publishing agreement.
Publishing admin guideA public fee schedule listing what a platform or licensor charges for particular music uses — a stock music library's prices across license levels, for example.
Two CMOs in separate countries agree to collect and distribute royalties for one another. Because your home country's PRO uses these partners to collect foreign earnings, you generally only need membership there.
Repaying an advance from a writer's later royalties before releasing any additional earnings to that writer.
Submitting a song's identifiers, splits, writers, and title formally to a PRO, the MLC, and other societies. Without registration, even millions of streams may produce no royalty payment for its writers.
All songs represented by a publisher, PRO, or society. "Songview" essentially lets the public search the combined ASCAP and BMI repertoire.
A provision that restores composition ownership to the original writer once a stated condition or time period is met — frequent in older publishing contracts but effectively unnecessary in administration agreements, where the writer surrendered no ownership.
Any label, publisher, co-writer, or writer legally owning part of a recording or composition. Each rights holder receives royalties based on their registered percentage.
A detailed record of a writer's earnings for a given period, separated by royalty type, territory, source, and song. Most admins and societies provide one every quarter.
An often-misread label — it doesn't say "no royalties owed." Rather, one license fee permits unlimited use, with no extra royalty charged each time.
France's PRO, and among the world's largest CMOs, handling performance royalties and certain mechanical royalties for writers affiliated in France and abroad.
See SACEM in the CMO directoryPermission to include part of an existing recording in another song — requiring approval for both its master recording (from the owner or label) and its underlying composition (from the original publisher/writers).
The smaller third US performing rights organization next to BMI and ASCAP. In contrast to both, SESAC is privately owned and accepts members by invitation only.
See SESAC in the CMO directoryA hired recording performer who receives no songwriting credit. Although session musicians generally earn no composition royalties, some territories may entitle them to part of certain neighboring-rights payments.
A particular publisher's or writer's percentage of composition royalties. For clean royalty payment, each registered song must reach 100% when every credited party's share is added together.
A publishing contract limited to one composition instead of the writer's full catalog — often used for one-off collaborations or particular placements.
ASCAP and BMI's shared public database of registered song splits, publishers, and writers — the nearest available authoritative public source for credits on a US-registered composition.
One or more people who create the lyrics, melody, or both in a composition. Their songwriting royalties remain distinct from earnings they may receive for appearing as a recording's featured or performing artist.
Copyright protection for one recorded song performance, owned separately from the copyright covering its underlying composition. Because these rights are divided, a publishing administrator and distributor collect entirely different royalty sets from the same song.
A US organization collecting master-recording digital performance royalties — generated by satellite radio and non-interactive webcasting — for payment to performers and master owners.
SoundExchange guideA session document where every co-writer signs off on each person's contribution and composition ownership percentage. Nothing matters more on paper for preventing royalty disputes down the road.
The mechanical royalty amount set by government for compulsory licenses — establishing what a platform or label must pay at minimum for each composition reproduction, whatever private negotiations say.
A foreign territory's local publisher representing a writer's catalog within that country — the historic way royalties traveled internationally before reciprocal agreements and direct global registration became normal.
Authorization to combine a composition with video content, games, ads, TV, or film. It applies only to the composition; the accompanying recording requires a separate master use license.
Sync licensing guideThe period an agreement remains active — from the start of a license, administration agreement, or publishing deal until its renewal or end.
The country or area covered by a royalty payment, registration, or license. One territory may have a song fully registered while another has no registration — and consequently pays nothing.
A business (like Davincii) managing catalog registrations and royalty collections for a writer while acquiring no ownership — today's alternative to giving a traditional publisher part of your songs.
A songwriter adding lyrics and melody to a ready-made beat or instrumental, a common role in electronic and pop co-writing sessions. Topliners are full co-writers with a right to composition shares.
The source composition behind a derivative use — whichever song is covered, interpolated, or sampled. Any new-use clearance begins by finding that underlying work's publishers and writers.
Royalties held by a CMO after a particular use because it can't reliably link that use to a registered writer — most often when metadata is missing. These royalties form the biggest single part of the industry's black box.
See the scale of itA sequence directing royalty revenue toward several advances or debts before any money goes straight to the writer — mainly relevant to label and traditional publishing deals, rather than administration agreements.
A deal making the music's commissioning person or company the outright copyright owner instead of its actual writer — common with commercial jingles and certain production-music libraries. Review it closely before signing because it can give away every future song royalty.
The songwriter's direct portion of performance royalties, kept distinct from the publisher's share. It can't ever be assigned elsewhere — ownership stays with whoever wrote the song.
About this glossary
Last reviewed: . For the organizations themselves — which PROs and CMOs exist, what they pay, how to join — see the full CMO directory.