Glossary
Music industry terms and identifiers explained
Identifiers
- Catalogue Number
- A product identification number assigned by the record label to a specific release. Used internally and in metadata submissions to uniquely identify a product within the label's catalog.
- IPI
- Interested Parties Information. A unique identifier assigned by collection societies (PROs) to rights holders — songwriters, composers, and publishers — for royalty tracking and distribution.
- ISNI
- International Standard Name Identifier. A globally unique identifier for individuals and organizations involved in creative works. Used to disambiguate names across rights management systems.
- ISRC
- International Standard Recording Code. A unique identifier for a specific sound recording. Each version of a song (original, remix, live version) gets its own ISRC. Used to track master recording royalties from streaming, radio play, and sales.
- ISWC
- International Standard Musical Work Code. A unique identifier for a musical composition (the song itself, not any particular recording of it). Assigned by collection societies and used to track publishing royalties.
- UPC / EAN
- Universal Product Code / European Article Number. A 12-14 digit barcode assigned to a released product (single, EP, or album). Required by distributors and collection societies to identify a specific release in physical or digital form.
Rights & Royalties
- First Maker
- Under the Copyright Act, "the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the first fixation of the sounds are undertaken" — the individual or company who paid for the cost of the sound recording (studio time, musicians, etc.). This is the initial copyright holder of the master recording.
- Master Rights
- Rights related to a specific sound recording. Owned by whoever paid for and created that recording (often artists, labels, or producers). Generate royalties when that specific recording is streamed, sold, or licensed.
- P-Line
- The sound recording copyright notice, formatted as ℗ [Year] [Label Name]. Indicates who owns the copyright in the sound recording and the year of first publication. Analogous to the © (copyright) symbol used for compositions.
- Publishing Rights
- Rights related to the composition — the lyrics and melody. Owned by songwriters and their publishers. Generate royalties when the song is performed, streamed, or licensed, regardless of which recording is used.
- Rights Holder
- The entity legally entitled to receive royalties for sound recordings — the copyright owner or controller. This could be the original maker, a label that acquired the masters, or a company controlling the copyright through a license.
Song Structure
- Composition
- The underlying musical work — lyrics, melody, and chord progression. Exists independently of any recording. In Songkeeper, this is represented by the Song entity.
- Master
- A specific performance and production of a composition captured as audio. In Songkeeper, this is represented by Recording Versions. One song can have multiple masters (original, acoustic, remix, etc.).
- Recording Version
- Songkeeper's term for a master recording. Each recording version belongs to a song and contains its own metadata, credits, files, and artist associations.