Song Metadata and Publishing Splits
Track composition-level fields such as song title, alternate titles, writers, publishing shares, lyrics, ISWC, genre, work type, samples, and notes.
Song metadata describes the itself — the title, lyrics, writer ownership, publishing information, and related work details. It stays with the song even when you create multiple recording versions.
Put composition data on the song: title, alternate titles, writers, publishing parties, lyrics, ISWC, genre, work type, language, copyright year, samples, and composition notes. Put artists, performers, credits, master ownership, BPM, key, label, studio, and session dates on the recording version.
Song-Level Fields
| Field Group | What It Stores |
|---|---|
| Song information | Song title, alternate titles, instrumental flag, genre, work type, language, copyright year, ISWC, and sample details. |
| Writers | Writer names, email addresses, phone numbers, PRO affiliations, IPI numbers, roles, and writer shares. |
| Publishing info | Publishers, publishing shares, affiliated writers, PRO and IPI details, deal type, admin fee, and term end date. |
| Lyrics | The song's lyric text and lock state. Collaboration sessions are managed from the Lyrics tab. |
| Composition notes | Freeform notes, ideas, chord progressions, or other context about the composition. |
Songwriters and Writer Shares
Every song has one or more songwriters — the people who created the composition. In Songkeeper, each writer entry can include:
- Name — Their legal or professional name
- Role — Author, composer, or composer and author
- PRO — Their performing rights organization
- number — Their identifier with collection societies
- Writer share — Their ownership percentage of the composition
Writer shares must total 100% when writers are present. The writer form can also add your saved songwriter profile, add writers from saved songwriter contacts, and calculate even split percentages for the current writer list.
Publishing Parties and Publishing Shares
Publishing splits define what percentage of each publisher or publishing administrator controls. Publishing entries are separate from writer entries because a writer may control their own publishing or have a publisher, administrator, sub-publisher, or label entity attached to the share.
Publishing shares must total 100% when publishing parties are present. If writers are already added, the publishing form can start from the writer splits and let you edit publisher-specific details.
Composition Identifiers and Classification
- — The composition identifier assigned by a collection society after the work is registered.
- Genre — The song-level genre used for work registration context.
- Work type — Original, arrangement, or translation.
- Language — The language associated with the composition.
- Samples — Source title, source artist, optional label and publisher, clearance status, and notes for sampled material.
Songkeeper can store writer and publishing shares, but it does not decide the agreement for you. Confirm splits with the relevant parties before relying on the metadata for registrations, exports, or split sheets.
Lyrics
Lyrics are stored on the song because they belong to the composition, not any particular recording. The Lyrics tab supports autosaved editing, real-time collaboration, expiring guest links, session management, printing, lyric tools, and owner-controlled locking. See lyrics for the full workflow.
Song Metadata vs Recording Metadata
Do not put every music-business field on the song. If the data changes when you make an acoustic version, remix, live take, alternate master, or different release recording, it belongs on the recording version.
| Use Song Metadata For | Use Recording Metadata For |
|---|---|
| Song title and alternate titles | Recording version title and primary version |
| Writers and publishing parties | Artists, performers, credits, and master owners |
| Lyrics and ISWC | BPM, key, time signature, label, studio, dates, and countries |
For the full distinction, see song vs recording versions.