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Song Metadata

Songwriters, publishing splits, lyrics, and composition-level metadata

Song metadata describes the itself — the lyrics, melody, and who wrote them. This information stays the same no matter how many times the song is recorded. For metadata specific to a particular recording (credits, performers, master ownership), see Recording Metadata.

Why the split?
The music industry treats compositions and recordings as separate works with separate rights and royalty streams. A song's writers earn publishing royalties every time any recording of it is played. A recording's owners earn master royalties only when that specific recording is played. See Songs vs Recordings for the full explanation.

Songwriters

Every song has one or more songwriters — the people who created the composition. Each writer has:

  • Name — Their legal or professional name
  • Role — Composer (music), Author/Lyricist (lyrics), or Composer and Author (both)
  • number — Their identifier with collection societies
  • PRO — Their performing rights organization (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, SOCAN, PRS, etc.)
  • Publisher — Their publishing company, if applicable

Getting songwriter information right is essential for royalty registration. Collection societies use IPI numbers and PRO affiliations to route publishing royalties to the correct people.

Publishing Splits

Publishing splits define what percentage of each songwriter receives. When you add writers to a song, you assign their ownership percentage. The total must equal 100%.

Common scenarios include:

  • Solo writer — 100% to one person
  • Two co-writers — Typically 50/50, though any split is possible
  • Topliner + producer — The topliner writes lyrics and melody, the producer writes the music. Split varies by agreement.
Agree on splits early
Publishing splits should be agreed upon by all writers before the song is released. Disputes over splits after the fact are one of the most common sources of conflict in the music industry. Document your agreements in Songkeeper and use split sheets to get everyone's written confirmation.

The International Standard Musical Work Code is a unique identifier for a composition, assigned by collection societies. It's the composition equivalent of an (which identifies a specific recording). You can add an ISWC to your song once it's been registered.

Lyrics

Lyrics are stored on the song because they belong to the composition, not any particular recording. Songkeeper provides a collaborative lyrics editor with real-time sync — multiple people can edit lyrics simultaneously.

Other Song-Level Fields

  • Title and alternate titles — The official song title and any working titles or alternate names
  • Genre — The broad genre classification of the composition
  • Language — The language the lyrics are written in
  • Work type — Whether this is an original work, an arrangement, or a medley
  • Instrumental — Whether the composition has no lyrics
  • Copyright year — The year the composition was created