Glossary

General Publishing Terms

Writer	A writer is the author of all or part of a musical work, including a composer or lyricist. Also referred to as “songwriter.”
Writer role	A writer role identifies who is responsible for different elements of a musical work. You can find a list of writer roles and explanations in the article here.
Recording artist	A recording artist performs a musical work that is recorded with the intent of releasing to the public.
Musical work	A musical work consists of the musical notes, melody and lyrics (if any) in a musical composition or song. It may be embodied in a sound recording, but they are separate.
Sound recording	A sound recording (sometimes referred to as the "master" version) is a recorded performance of a composition.
Music publisher	A music publisher is a person or entity that controls how a musical work is used and monetized. They own the musical work copyright.
Publishing administrator	A publishing administrator manages the music publisher’s copyright(s) and accounts for the income the copyright(s) earn. The administrator ensures the musical works are properly registered and collecting royalties wherever the works are being performed or sold, often by working with a Performance Rights Organization (PRO).
Digital service provider (DSP)	A DSP is an entity that uses a technology platform to deliver sound recordings to consumers as streams or downloads.
Music distributor	Music distributors are responsible for making sound recordings available to consumers. They take care of ISRCs and licenses for sound recordings, and distribute physical copies of recordings to retail environments, as well as place recordings on digital service providers (DSPs).
Performing rights organization (PRO)	A PRO ensures that songwriters and publishers get paid for the use of their works by collecting exclusively public performance royalties on behalf of the rights owner.
Interested Party Information (IPI) number	An IPI number is a unique, international identification number, usually 9–11 digits long. IPIs are assigned to songwriters, composers and music publishers by PROs to uniquely identify them as rightsholders.
ISRC	ISRC stands for “International Standard Recording Code” and is a unique code of 12 alphanumeric characters that identifies a specific sound recording. ISRCs are issued by distributors.
ISWC	ISWC stands for “International Standard Musical Work Code” and is a unique 11-character identifier that identifies a specific musical work. The same ISWC may be applied to multiple recordings – for example, a cover and a remix of a song will all have the same ISWC as each recording is using the same work. ISWCs can be obtained through PROs.
ISNI	ISNI stands for “International Standard Name Identifier” and is a unique 16-digit code that identifies individual writers, artists, performers and other creators.

Licenses

Mechanical license	A mechanical license is permission to reproduce and distribute a musical work in the form of a physical or digital phonorecord. An example of a physical phonorecord is a sound recording on a CD or vinyl record. Examples of digital phonorecords are sound recordings delivered as interactive streams, limited downloads, or permanent downloads.
Blanket license	A blanket license grants permission to use any music from an entire specific catalog in exchange for a fee.
Blanket mechanical license	A blanket mechanical license allows digital service providers (DSPs) to distribute music through their platforms in exchange for an annual fee. Established by the Music Modernization Act (MMA) of 2018, the blanket mechanical license replaced the previous song-by-song licensing system.
Master-use license	A master-use license grants permission to use a specific sound recording in a visual medium (such as a movie or TV show) or an audio project (such as using a sample in a new sound recording).
Compulsory license	A compulsory license is a type of mechanical license that permits a licensee to reproduce and distribute a musical work without securing permission directly from the copyright owner if the licensee follows the process and guidelines as stipulated in Section 115 of the US Copyright Act.
Voluntary license	A voluntary license is directly negotiated between the copyright holder and a third party. It is sometimes referred to as “direct licensing.”
Synchronization license	A synchronization license grants permission to incorporate a musical work and/or sound recording in visual media such as film, television shows, commercials, video games, and more recently, user-created content posted on YouTube and TikTok. It is also referred to as a “sync license.”
Public performance license	A public performance license grants permission from the copyright holder to the user to play a work publicly, including broadcasting the performance to the public.