01THE SONG
Composition + Publishing
Melody, lyrics, and the underlying musical work.
- Performance
- PRO
- The MLC
- Administration
- Publisher / admin
ALO SOUND WORLDS · RED EDITION / RIGHTS LAB 01
KnowYourMusicRights.
A guided field map for artists, writers, producers, publishers, and labels trying to understand who collects what — before revenue starts slipping through the cracks.
Prototype route · designed for direct testing and feedback.
I.
The idea to remember
One release can carry two copyrights.
The song and the recording are related — but they are not the same asset.
II. FOUNDATION
Start with the split.
Most royalty confusion becomes easier once you separate the composition from the sound recording.
02THE RECORDING
Master + Sound Recording
The fixed recorded performance that listeners actually hear.
- delivery
- Distributor
- Digital performance
- SoundExchange
- Ownership
- Artist / label / master owner
PRO RULE
For your own writer affiliation, think choose a PRO, not “join every PRO.” ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR, and AllTrack sit in the performance-rights lane. The MLC and SoundExchange address different rights.
III. YOUR ROUTE
Build your rights stack.
Choose the role closest to your situation. This is a starting map, not a contract review.
RECOMMENDED STARTING PATH
Songwriter / Composer
You own or share in the underlying song: melody, lyrics, and composition.
Dotted terms define themselves. Underlined names jump to the guide below.
- 01
Choose one for your writer affiliation.
- 02
Register each composition with accurate co-writers and ownership shares.
- 03
If you self-administer publishing, connect eligible U.S. rights to .
- 04
Keep your legal name, writer name, , titles, and splits consistent across registrations.
IV. THE ECOSYSTEM
Different lanes. Different money.
Explore the organizations and partner layers that can sit around a music career.
ASCAP selected.
PERFORMANCEPRO
ASCAP
Performance rights · U.S. affiliation with international collection relationships
Who it serves
Songwriters, composers, and music publishers
Where it fits
A performing-rights organization for the composition side. Writers generally treat ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR, and AllTrack as affiliation alternatives rather than stacking them for the same writer-performance lane.
GLOBAL NOTE
“Global collection” is not one universal signup. Performance royalties often move through reciprocal society relationships; U.S. have their own MLC lane; can involve international or a mandated collection partner. Territory and contract language matter.
V. RELEASE READINESS
Before the music goes live.
Use this as a conversation checklist with collaborators, management, publishing, or counsel.
0
of 6 checkpoints reviewed
Showing 6 of 8 checkpoints for Songwriter / Composer. Change your role in step III to retune the list.
Other roles’ checkpoints (2)
Plain-English terms (6)
- IPI — Interested Party Information number
- A unique ID that collecting societies assign to a songwriter or publisher so every registration points to the same person. Your performing-rights organization normally issues it when you join.
- ISRC — International Standard Recording Code
- A 12-character ID for one specific recording, not the song itself. Your distributor or label usually assigns it, and it should stay the same everywhere that recording is released.
- CMO — collective management organization
- A society that collects royalties on behalf of many rights holders at once. A performing-rights organization is one kind; international neighboring-rights societies are another.
- DSP — digital service provider
- A streaming or download service, such as Spotify or Apple Music, that receives your release from a distributor and pays royalties for plays.
- Neighboring rights
- Rights for the performers and owners of a sound recording, separate from the songwriting copyright. Many countries pay them when a recording is broadcast or played in public; in the U.S., SoundExchange collects the digital-performance part.
- Mechanicals — mechanical royalties
- Royalties for reproducing and distributing the song itself — first records and downloads, now on-demand streams too. In the U.S., The MLC collects digital mechanicals from eligible services.
VI. SPLIT SHEET
Write the split down.
Agree the shares while everyone is still in the room, then keep a signed copy. Add each collaborator, make the shares total 100%, and print or save a sheet with signature lines.
Stays in your browser. Nothing you type here is sent anywhere.
0%100% still to assignUnder 100%.
- Add the song title.
- Add every collaborator’s legal name.
- Enter every share as a number from 0 to 100, up to two decimals.
- Shares must total 100% — they total 0% now.
VII. PILOT MODE
A rights guide that can grow with Sound Worlds.
This prototype is intentionally educational and role-driven. The next phase can add saved profiles, catalog-level checklists, territory views, release metadata audits, and authenticated artist tools after the pilot shows which questions people actually need answered.
Educational overview. Rights, eligibility, royalty flows, registrations, and international collection structures vary by contract, catalog, territory, and organization. Verify current requirements with the relevant organization and obtain professional legal or accounting advice when appropriate.
Built from each organization’s public pages. Not reviewed by an attorney.