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Hi I'm bibi.

I'm a singer songwriter and I'm from Brazil.

And just like you, music is my passion.

So we're here to talk about it.

Let's go!

We use this word song all of the time.

But to understand your rights as a creator and how the music industry works you really need to think of a song in two separate pieces.

For that we need some new vocabulary.

So one part is all the notes, the chords, rhythms, and words that make up the musical composition and the lyrics.

That's what we create as songwriters.

It's called the musical work.

The other part is what you get when you record that musical work.

It's what you hear when you listen to streaming music or even old school vinyl.

It's called the sound recording.

So as a creator you may be involved in both or not but you do need to keep them straight.

So the two things have different intellectual property rights.

And understanding those rights is the first step to getting properly credited and paid.

The good news for songwriters is that as long as the musical work you've created is original it belongs to you.

By original I mean something you've created yourself that involves some level of creativity.

Copyright protection is automatic, and you want to put it in what's called a fixed format.

So write it down or record it.

Okay?

But you can find out more about this in our copyright and rights and licensing topics.

Let's go.

Songwriting Basics

2 min read

October 8, 2026

What is songwriting?

Every song starts with songwriting, the act of creating music or lyrics, or both.

Under , this creation is called a .

So, what is a musical work?

A musical work consists of a composition with or without lyrics:

- the collection of original notes, melodies, chords, rhythms, , and .
- the words performed by singers, rappers, and other .

What's the difference between a musical work and a sound recording?

Before we begin, a quick note about the word . It is commonly used to describe what music creators create, but it's very important to understand that song can mean either, or both, a and a . So, whenever we speak of a song, we always mean both the musical work and the sound recording together.

It is essential to understand that songwriting and recording are two separate creative processes. As a , you can be involved in both. Songwriting creates the musical work, and recording it makes a . They have different and revenue streams.

Understanding these rights is the first step to getting you properly credited and paid. For a deep dive into rights, explore our topics on Music Creators’ Rights, Rights Transfer and Licensing and Scope of Protection.

A song consists of either or both the musical work and the sound recording.

How do I ensure my rights are protected?

Generally, protection is automatic. If the musical work is , it belongs to its creators.

However, it is always a good idea to put the musical work in a format; this can be, for example, written down or recorded as a sound recording. In some countries, it's a legal requirement to put the musical work in a fixed format for copyright protection to apply.

Under copyright law, your musical work may be protected, but in reality, there is more you need to do to get credited and paid.

Learn more about this in our Music Creators’ Rights topic.

You can also discover further information on our Songwriter Splits and Registering Musical Works pages.

How collaborating affects my rights

Each creator who makes an contribution to the musical work is a songwriter and, under , is referred to as an author. This may include collaborators such as , , , , , and . Each co-author can own a share of the rights and receive a share of earnings whenever the musical work is used.

You can learn more about your rights and how ownership of a musical work is divided among collaborators in the Music Creators' Rights topic and on the Songwriter Splits page.

Quiz

Test your songwriting knowledge

Video credit: Tiffany Orvet, Daniel Sundström, Eric Ivar Persson, Christine Miller, Nikki Skelly, Jeff Noble, Tony Bollas, Kelly Wright, Tobias Leo Nordquist, Ponny Höijer, William Engström, Parapix
Music credit: Niclas Molinder
Illustration credit: Jakob Vidkjær