If you don’t provide the right Data that describes other data, for example, information that describes creators, other rights holders, musical works, and sound recordings. at the point of creation of your An original musical composition with or without lyrics. or Typically, the recorded performance of a musical work protected as a phonogram under copyright law., you may not get paid correctly, if at all. This is why a significant amount of money belonging to Anyone who contributes to creating or performing a musical work, a live performance, or a sound recording. goes unclaimed every year.
For example, if a video using your musical work or sound recording is uploaded to a User Generated Content (UGC); a type of DSP that allows users to upload and share their own content, as well as discover new content from other users without accurate Unique alphanumeric codes used to identify creators, rights holders, musical works, and sound recordings. and metadata, it’s very unlikely that you will be paid for its use since it won’t be accurately identified and tracked. Now imagine this millions of times over all over the world. That can amount to a lot of money not coming your way.
When should a creator collect metadata?
Even if you have a A company that represents songwriters, supporting their career development, monetizing musical works, and protecting copyrights. , a A person who represents the interests of one or multiple creators, including artists, songwriters, music producers, or other roles., or a A company that invests in, manufactures, distributes, promotes, and monetizes sound recordings on behalf of the artist., there is no one other than you, the creator, who better knows the truth about who contributed to the creation of a musical work or sound recording. Therefore, when you create a musical work or sound recording, you should always make sure to collect the names of all contributors, A person who makes an original contribution to the creation of a musical composition or lyrics., In the context of music, a creator playing a musical work live or on a sound recording., and any other A person or company that has Intellectual Property Rights in a musical work, performance or sound recording, and include their Interested Party Information: a unique international identifier for songwriters and music publishers., International Performer Number: a unique international identifier for performers. and International Standard Name Identifier: a unique identifier for people, organizations, and companies involved in creative activities. identifiers, in the metadata during or right after the songwriting or recording process.
This sounds easy enough to manage. But remember writing and recording a musical work can happen over long periods of time, sometimes years, and across many countries and studios, with many people involved. So, it’s easy to lose track of the information. You are the best source of information, so capture it any way possible, paper and pen, email, or use special apps or the system that can do the job for you, as long as it is done accurately and as quickly as possible.
When it comes to responsibility for metadata, creators need to ensure their musical works and sound recordings are fully and accurately documented, whether they’re doing that themselves or have a music publisher, manager, or record label doing it for them. This information includes but is not limited to:
Title and alternative titles
International Standard Musical Work Code: a unique identifier for musical works. and International Standard Recording code: a unique identifier for sound recordings. numbers
Duration
Category, if applicable, for example, TV, radio, cinema, library)
A unique number generated when songwriters register their works with a music publisher.
Songwriter and performer names
IPI and IPN numbers
Roles, for example, composer/author, arranger
Also sometimes referred to as shares, the portion of ownership a rights holder has or the portion of income they are entitled to.
Music publisher and record label names
All other contributor names
Video credit: Tiffany Orvet, Dilun Riad Edmon, Pontus Norberg, Tobias Leo Nordquist, Ponny Höijer, William Engström, Parapix