Know what you actually own.

Most artists think owning the recording is the end of the story. It isn't. Every finished song is really two assets.

Master rights cover the sound recording itself, owned by the label or the independent artist who paid for it. The master controls distribution and earns from streams, downloads and sales.

Publishing rights cover the composition, the lyrics, melody and arrangement, owned by the songwriter and publisher. You get paid when anyone uses that composition, through radio, covers, live shows, streaming and sync.

So if Artist X covers your song, they need your publishing rights to make their own master. They may own the new recording, but you still get paid for the writing. Separate the two and you stop ignoring half of your business.

Think of a song like a dish.

The master recording is the final dish, the specific version people hear on streaming platforms. It is the finished product, owned by whoever paid for the recording.

The composition is the recipe, the ingredients you wrote: the lyrics, melody and arrangement. If someone covers your song, they use your recipe to cook their version, a new dish and a new master. You still own the rights to your recipe.

Songwriters deserve to own their own recipe. Don't give it away for free. Secure your publishing, protect your legacy.

Every song generates two types of royalties. Same song, two separate cheques. Most artists only know about one.

Mechanical royalties are earned every time your song is reproduced, on Spotify and Apple Music streams, CDs and vinyl, downloads, and in video games and apps. Collected by your distributor or publishing administrator. Every stream isn't just a play, it's a reproduction, and reproductions pay.

Performance royalties are earned every time your song is heard publicly, on radio and TV, at live concerts and venues, and in restaurants, hotels and shops. Collected by your PRO, which in India is IPRS.

And streaming triggers both. One Spotify stream pays a mechanical royalty to your publishing administrator and a performance royalty to your PRO. One stream, two royalties, two different places collecting them. Are both set up for you?

Every publishing royalty is split in two, at the collection society level, before any money is distributed. Most artists don't know this, and it's costing them.

The writer's share is yours, always. In most territories it cannot be signed away. It goes directly to the registered songwriter and is collected through your PRO (IPRS in India). Even if you sign away your publishing entirely, the writer's share is supposed to stay yours, but you must be registered to receive it.

The publisher's share is what publishers own. If you self-publish, you collect this too. If you signed to a label or publisher, they collect it. In a co-publishing deal it's split between you and them. If no one is administering your publishing, this money goes uncollected.

There are two things to split, and they're not the same: the master (who owns the recording) and the publishing (who owns the composition and lyrics). Get clear on both.

On the master, ownership is usually split between performers based on contribution, creative, technical or financial. The primary artist often takes full ownership and pays others a flat fee or a percentage; labels typically retain masters and pay artists royalties after recouping their investment.

On publishing, the traditional Indian model splits the author's share 50% to composer(s) and 50% to lyricist(s), with the producer credited as "arranger" on a flat fee and no royalty share. The emerging model recognises everyone who built the song, roughly 33% composer, 33% lyricist, 33% producer, because the producer shapes the sonic identity and adds melodies and hooks.

Other models exist too: an equal split for everyone in a songwriting session, or a complete buyout. None of these are laws, they're just different ways publishing gets split. Agree yours in the room.

When you're offered a deal for your work, it usually takes one of two shapes, and the difference is everything.

In a buyout, one party acquires the rights and pays you a single, usually higher, flat fee up front. You get paid once, you take no risk on how the song performs, but you give up any future royalties and ownership.

In a royalty deal, you keep an ownership stake and get paid over time, every time the song earns. The up-front money is smaller, but if the song works, it can pay you for the life of the copyright.

Neither is automatically right. A buyout can make sense for work-for-hire; royalties protect your long-term upside. What matters is knowing which one you're signing, and what you're giving up.

Sync is when your music meets visual media: films and web series, reels, YouTube and podcasts, video games and trailers, TV commercials and brand campaigns. Every time you hear a song in a scene, that's a sync.

Every sync deal needs two licenses. A master license is permission to use the recording, cleared with whoever owns the master. A sync license is permission to use the composition, cleared with whoever owns the publishing.

The person you need to know is the music supervisor or executive producer. They find and pitch music for films, shows and ads, and work with directors, brands and agencies. Most artists never reach them directly, that's where publishers and sync companies come in. They have the relationships, they know what supervisors are looking for, and they pitch your catalogue for you.

And if you don't own or control your publishing, you cannot clear the sync. If a label owns your publishing they negotiate, not you; if you signed it away you don't see the full fee; if you're not registered with IPRS the money goes uncollected.

A publisher doesn't take from you. They work for what's already yours. Four things, in order:

First, they secure your rights. They register your compositions with PROs, document your ownership before anyone else can claim it, and make sure your splits are clean and on paper. If your rights aren't registered, no one can collect on your behalf.

Then they collect what you're owed, money you're already earning but probably not seeing: royalties from radio and TV, streaming publishing royalties (separate from your master), live performance royalties, and international collection through sub-publishers worldwide.

They pitch your music for sync, using relationships with music supervisors, brands and production houses, putting your catalogue in front of films, ads and series, often before a brief is even public.

And they negotiate your deals, sync fees, licensing and co-writing agreements, so you never sign away more than you should. One bad deal can cost you years of royalties. Your music is an asset; make sure someone's managing it like one.

A PRO, or Performance Rights Organisation, collects performance royalties on behalf of songwriters, composers and publishers every time music is used publicly. They license music to broadcasters, platforms and venues, collect the fees, and distribute royalties to registered members. Every country has one.

Around the world that's ASCAP, BMI and SESAC in the USA, PRS for Music in the UK, GEMA in Germany, APRA AMCOS in Australia, and in India, IPRS. If your music plays internationally, multiple PROs could be collecting for you.

One key distinction in India: IPRS collects for the composition, while PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited) collects for the master recording, on behalf of performers and master owners. They are completely separate, and you need both. Not registered means not getting paid. Simple.

Metadata is the information attached to your music. Every file you upload carries data that tells the world who made the song, who owns it, and who gets paid when it earns.

That's the song title and alternate titles, artist and featured artist names, songwriter and composer credits, producer credits, publisher details, ISRC and ISWC codes, and split percentages and ownership information.

The mistakes seem small. They aren't. A misspelled name, a missing songwriter credit, a wrong ownership percentage, duplicate artist profiles, a missing ISRC, a blank publisher field, any of these means royalties go unmatched, your streams get split across two identities, or someone else collects your cut. Bad metadata equals money going to the wrong person, or nobody at all.

The acronyms that decide whether you get paid. Keep these straight.

PRO

Performance Rights Organisation. Collects performance royalties when your music is played publicly. In India, IPRS.

PPL

Phonographic Performance Limited. Collects for the master recording, where IPRS collects for the composition. You need both.

ISRC

International Standard Recording Code. A unique ID for each recording, your master's fingerprint. Every version (original, remix, live) gets its own.

ISWC

International Standard Musical Work Code. A unique ID for the composition itself, the lyrics and melody. Registered through your PRO.

UPC

Universal Product Code. The barcode for your whole release (album, EP or single) as a product. ISRC is for the song, UPC is for the release.

Split Sheet

A signed document recording who owns what percentage of a song. Lists every contributor, states each share, signed by everyone before release. No split sheet, no proof.