A

Adaptation - Rewriting a text, usually by translating it into another language. For example, Frank Sinatra's "My Way" is an adaptation of Claude François' "Comme d'habitude."

Administration Agreement - Publishing contract in which the songwriter retains full copyright and pays an administrative fee to the administrator/publisher.

Administration - Publishers act to register your music with Collective Management Organizations (CMO), issue licenses, collect and redistribute royalties, and all other responsibilities related to using your songs.

Advance - Payment when you sign a contract as a songwriter with a publisher. The value of the advance is usually recouped by the publisher from your first royalty payments.

Affiliation - The act of joining a Collective Management Organization (CMO) or Independent Management Entity (IME) and thus granting this organization rights/responsibilities relating to the commercial exploitation of your musical works.

Aggregator - Another word for a digital distributor who takes responsibility for making your tracks available on streaming platforms. DistroKid, TuneCore, or Amuse are digital distributors, so they are aggregators.

Arrangement - A new adaptation or a blend of instruments, sounds, and voices for a pre-existing musical composition. The creator of an arrangement may be credited as a sound writer for this work.

Artists and Repertoire (A&R) - A&R is the department of a record company in charge of discovering new talents, overseeing the recording process and artist development, and assisting with the marketing and promotion of artists.

Author - The creator of a musical, literary, dramatic, audiovisual, or choreographic work.

B

Beatmaker - Composer of instrumentals for rap, hip-hop, and contemporary R&B genres.

Black Box - Denotes the large number of revenues generated by all the music aired on the various platforms that remains unattributable to the artists who created it.

Blanket License - A license authorizing the use of an entire repertoire for a specified period.

Buy-Out Agreement - Publishing contract in which you assign 100% of the copyright of a song to the publisher with a maximum 50/50 split of publishing revenues.

C

Catalog - Collection of your tracks, controlled either by you as a songwriter, by a publisher, or by a label.

Collapsed Copyright - A term used in the US when a creator owns and controls the copyright of their sound recordings and compositions.

Collection Society - Organization that represents musical works of songwriters and publishers.

Commission - A percentage taken out of your collected royalties by a CMO or IME.

Composer - Any person who participates in the writing of the music of a song.

Composition - A combination of sound elements intended to constitute a musical work.

Co-Publishing Agreement - Publishing contract between two publishers in which a publisher shares royalties.

Copyright - Legally granted rights to the songwriter of an original musical work.

Copyright Registration - Registration of the creation date of a track to legally prove ownership.

Cover - Performance of a song written or made famous by another artist.

Co-Writer - Someone you work with on a text or composition.

Cue Sheet - A document listing all music used in audiovisual production.

Cue - Music track used at a specific time in audiovisual production.

D

Derivative Work - Musical work that uses elements of another musical work.

Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)

Software used for creating, recording, and editing audio.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Law outlawing bypassing copyright protection measures.

Digital Rights Management (DRM)

System guarding against unauthorized use of digital content.

Digital Service Provider (DSP)

Company providing digital music services.

Direct-to-fan

Act of selling music directly to fans.

E

Exclusive Songwriter Agreement

Contract in which a songwriter renounces certain copyright shares in exchange for advances.

Exploitation

Act of generating money from a musical work.

Extended Play (EP)

Compilation of audio recordings longer than a single and shorter than an album.

F

Fair Use

Exception allowing use of copyrighted works without permission under specific conditions.

I

Independent Artist

Artist not signed to a music label.

Independent Management Entity (IME)

For-profit organizations mandated to collect and redistribute copyright royalties.

Independent Publishers

Music publishing companies not part of the major companies.

Independent Songwriter

Songwriter without a publisher.

Infringement

Using or distributing a track without ownership or license.

Intellectual Property

Ownership of a created concept.

Interactive Streaming

Streaming where listeners choose tracks.

Interested Parties Information (IPI)

Nine-digit number assigned to identify a songwriter or publisher.

International Standard Recording Code (ISRC)

Code used to identify sound recordings.

International Standard Work Code (ISWC)

Code used to identify unique musical compositions.

J

Joint Work

Musical work written by several co-authors.

L

Label

Company that manufactures, distributes, and promotes recordings.

License

Legal agreement granting permission to use a musical work.

License Fee

Fee linked to a license agreement.

Long Play (LP)

Also known as an album.

M

Major Label

Multinational company representing large percentages of music sales.

Major Publishers

Warner Chappell, Universal Music Publishing Group, and Sony Publishing.

Manager

Professional representative and advisor for an artist.

Mastering

Process that balances sound elements of a mix.

Mechanical License

License authorizing reproduction of music.

Mechanical Rights

Rights generated when music is reproduced.

Mechanical Rights Organization

Organization collecting mechanical rights.

Micro-Sync Royalties

Revenues generated by music synchronized to short-form videos.

Mixing

Process combining multitrack recordings into final audio.

Music Distribution

Making tracks available in physical or digital formats.

Music Producer

Person supervising the recording process.

Music Publishing

Acquisition, protection, and promotion of copyrighted works.

Music Supervisor

Person choosing music for audiovisual productions.

N

Neighboring Rights

Rights granted to performers and producers of recordings.

Non-Interactive Streaming

Streaming services where listeners can't choose tracks.

O

Orphan Works

Works under copyright whose owners can't be identified.

P

Performing Artist

Person who performs a musical work.

Performing Rights

Rights generated when music is publicly broadcast.

Performing Rights Organization

Organization collecting performing rights.

Preemptive Right

Contract in which a songwriter grants exclusive publishing rights for a period.

Printed Music Royalties

Revenues from printed music sales.

Private Copy

Reproduction for personal use.

Public Domain Work

Musical work with no copyright protection.

Public Performance License

License authorizing copying and lending of music within the family circle.

Publisher

Company increasing income and protecting rights of creators.

Publisher Share

Royalty share belonging to a publisher.

Publishing Administrator

Third-party publisher controlling licensing and publishing money.

Publishing Agreement

Legal contract between creators and a publisher.

R

Retroactive Royalties

Revenues waiting to be paid when a songwriter was not previously affiliated.

Reversion Clause

Clause returning ownership of tracks under certain conditions.

Rights Administration Entity (RAE)

Organization delivering mechanical licenses and collecting mechanical rights.

Royalties

Revenues generated by track exploitation.

S

Sampling

Use of an existing sound recording in a new composition.

Songwriter

Someone who writes lyrics and music.

Sound Engineer

Person responsible for technical audio aspects.

Sound Recording

Adding sound onto a support so it may be played or streamed.

Soundtrack

Music composed for film, TV, or video games.

Split

Ownership percentage for co-authors.

Split Sheet

Document describing rights split.

Sub-Publishing Agreement

Contract allowing exploitation in specific territories.

Synchronization License

License authorizing music use in audiovisual products.

T

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC)

Organization providing blanket licenses to streaming services.

Topliner

Person creating melodies and lyrics over instrumentals.

U

Unallocated Royalties

Revenues that cannot be distributed.

User-Generated Content (UGC)

Content created by users that contains copyrighted music.

W

Work-For-Hire

Agreement to create work as an employee.

Writer Share

Part of performing rights paid to the songwriter.

360 Deal

Exclusive contract allowing a record company to receive a percentage of all revenues.