Glossary

The words in the contract, explained plainly.

If a term shows up in an agreement, a royalty statement or a distributor dashboard, it should be here.

50 terms

360 Deal: An agreement in which a company shares in income beyond recorded music sales, such as touring, merchandise, endorsements or publishing. Which income streams are included varies by contract.; Before You Sign Anything: The Questions to Ask →
AI Disclosure: Identifying when AI tools generated part of a work. Copyright registration in the U.S. expects AI-generated material to be identified, and some platforms have their own disclosure policies.; How Independent Artists Can Use AI Responsibly →
Advance: Money paid to an artist before royalties are earned. Advances are often recoupable, meaning they are repaid from the artist’s future royalties before the artist receives further payments.; Before You Sign Anything: The Questions to Ask →
Brand Equity: The recognition, trust and familiarity an artist builds over time that make new work easier to introduce.; How to Build an Artist Brand →
Catalog: The full body of recordings and compositions an artist or company owns or controls. A well-documented catalog can continue to earn over many years.; Independent Artist Revenue Streams →
Composition (Musical Work): The underlying song: melody, lyrics and musical structure, separate from any particular recording of it. Compositions are the basis of publishing rights.; Who Actually Owns a Song? →Master Rights vs. Publishing Rights →
Conversion Rate: The share of visitors who take a desired action, such as joining an email list or making a purchase. Calculated as actions divided by visitors.; Music Marketing Without Begging for Streams →
Copyright: A form of legal protection for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible form. In the U.S., copyright exists upon fixation; registration with the Copyright Office provides additional legal benefits.; Who Actually Owns a Song? →
Cue Sheet: A document listing the music used in a film or television production, including timing and rights holders. Performance rights organizations use cue sheets to distribute royalties.
DSP (Digital Service Provider): A streaming or download platform that makes music available to listeners.; What Does a Music Distributor Actually Do? →
Direct-to-Fan: Selling music, merchandise or access directly to listeners through a storefront the artist controls, keeping the customer relationship and contact information.; How to Sell Music Directly to Fans →
Distributor: A company that delivers recordings and metadata to streaming and download platforms and passes back revenue and reporting. Distribution is delivery, not ownership.; What Does a Music Distributor Actually Do? →
EIN (Employer Identification Number): A federal tax identification number issued by the IRS to identify a business entity.; Should an Independent Artist Form an LLC? →
EPK (Electronic Press Kit): A single place containing an artist’s bio, photos, music, videos, notable facts and contact information for press, promoters and partners.; How to Build an Artist Brand →
Email List: A list of people who have given permission for an artist to contact them by email. One of the most durable forms of owned audience.; Streaming Audience vs. Owned Audience →
Exclusive License: Permission to use a right that only the licensee may exercise, often excluding even the owner, for the term and territory stated.; Before You Sign Anything: The Questions to Ask →
IPI Number: An identifier assigned to songwriters and publishers within the collection society system, used to match registrations and payments.; Metadata: Why It Decides Whether You Get Paid →
ISRC: International Standard Recording Code. A unique identifier for a specific sound recording. Each distinct version of a recording should have its own ISRC.; Metadata: Why It Decides Whether You Get Paid →
ISWC: International Standard Musical Work Code. A unique identifier for a composition, generally assigned through collection society registration.; Metadata: Why It Decides Whether You Get Paid →
Interactive Streaming: On-demand streaming where the listener chooses what to play. Interactive streams generally generate recording revenue plus publishing performance and mechanical royalties.; How Music Royalties Actually Work →
LLC (Limited Liability Company): A business structure created under state law that is generally intended to separate business liabilities from personal assets when operated properly.; Should an Independent Artist Form an LLC? →
Label Services: Services such as marketing, playlist pitching, funding or project management offered by a distributor or company, sometimes in exchange for a revenue share or other terms.; What Does a Music Distributor Actually Do? →
Master Recording: The original, final recording of a performance from which copies are made. “Owning your masters” means owning the copyright in your recordings.; Master Rights vs. Publishing Rights →
Master Use License: Permission from the owner of a recording to use that specific recording, for example in film, TV, ads or games. A sync license for the composition is usually needed too.; Master Rights vs. Publishing Rights →
Mechanical Royalty: A royalty owed to songwriters and publishers when a composition is reproduced, including in downloads, physical copies and interactive streams.; How Music Royalties Actually Work →
Metadata: Information attached to music — titles, names, credits, codes and splits — that connects each use of the music to the people owed money.; Metadata: Why It Decides Whether You Get Paid →
Neighboring Rights: Rights related to copyright that, in many countries, compensate performers and recording owners when recordings are publicly performed or broadcast. Rules differ by country.
Non-Exclusive License: Permission to use a right that the owner may also grant to others at the same time.
Non-Interactive Streaming: Radio-style digital streaming where the listener does not choose specific songs on demand. In the U.S., certain digital performances of recordings on these services generate royalties collected by SoundExchange.; How Music Royalties Actually Work →
Owned Audience: People an artist can reach directly without a platform’s permission, such as email subscribers or customers on the artist’s own site.; Streaming Audience vs. Owned Audience →
PRO (Performance Rights Organization): An organization that licenses public performance of compositions and distributes performance royalties to writers and publishers. U.S. examples include ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR.; How Music Royalties Actually Work →
Performance Royalty: A royalty paid to songwriters and publishers when a composition is publicly performed, including on radio, streaming services, venues and businesses. Collected by performance rights organizations.; How Music Royalties Actually Work →
Pre-Save: A link that lets listeners add an upcoming release to their streaming library automatically when it becomes available.; The Independent Artist 90-Day Release Plan →
Publishing: The business of owning, licensing and collecting income from compositions. Publishing rights relate to the song, not a specific recording.; Master Rights vs. Publishing Rights →
Publishing Administrator: A company that registers compositions and collects publishing royalties on a writer’s behalf for a fee, typically without taking ownership of the songs.; Master Rights vs. Publishing Rights →
Recoupment: The process of a company recovering advances and certain costs from an artist’s royalties before the artist receives further payment. Which costs are recoupable depends on the contract.; Before You Sign Anything: The Questions to Ask →
Release Plan: A timeline that covers preparation, launch and extension of a release, including paperwork, delivery, content, outreach and measurement.; The Independent Artist 90-Day Release Plan →
Reversion: The return of rights to the original owner after a set period or under specified conditions in an agreement.; Before You Sign Anything: The Questions to Ask →
Right of Publicity: A person’s right to control commercial use of their name, image, likeness and, in some jurisdictions, voice. Protections vary by state and country.; How Independent Artists Can Use AI Responsibly →
Royalty Statement: A periodic report showing how much a rights holder earned, from which sources, and what deductions were applied.
Sound Recording: A copyrightable work consisting of a series of recorded sounds, such as a specific recorded performance of a song. Separate from the composition.; Who Actually Owns a Song? →
SoundExchange: The U.S. organization designated to collect and distribute royalties for certain digital performances of sound recordings, such as on satellite and internet radio, to rights owners and artists.; How Music Royalties Actually Work →
Split Sheet: A signed document recording each contributor’s ownership share of a composition (and sometimes the recording), ideally completed when the song is created.; Who Actually Owns a Song? →
Sync License: Permission to pair a composition with visual media such as film, TV, ads or games. A master use license is usually also needed for the recording.; Master Rights vs. Publishing Rights →
Term: How long an agreement lasts. A term may be a fixed period, a number of releases, or tied to conditions such as recoupment.; Before You Sign Anything: The Questions to Ask →
Territory: The geographic area in which rights granted by an agreement apply.; Before You Sign Anything: The Questions to Ask →
The MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective): The U.S. organization that administers the blanket mechanical license for digital audio services under the Music Modernization Act, collecting and distributing digital mechanical royalties.; How Music Royalties Actually Work →
UPC: Universal Product Code. A barcode number that identifies a release product such as a single, EP or album.; Metadata: Why It Decides Whether You Get Paid →
Unclaimed (Unmatched) Royalties: Royalties that a collection organization cannot match to a rights holder, usually because of missing or inconsistent metadata or registrations.; Metadata: Why It Decides Whether You Get Paid →
Work Made for Hire: Under U.S. copyright law, a work created by an employee within the scope of employment, or certain specially commissioned works under a signed written agreement. The employer or commissioning party is treated as the author.; Who Actually Owns a Song? →

Free · Every few days, then occasionally

The MRG Artist Brief

A short series on ownership, getting paid, building an audience you own and releasing with a plan — then practical notes when there is something worth saying. Joining also unlocks every gated worksheet.