Music industry glossary
The terms that run distribution, publishing and royalties, explained in short, precise entries.
ISRC
An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a unique 12-character identifier for a specific sound or music video recording. Managed by IFPI, it follows the format CC-XXX-YY-NNNNN: prefix code, registrant code, year of reference, and a five-digit designation. Streaming services and collecting societies use the ISRC to track plays and pay royalties for that exact recording.
ISWC
An ISWC (International Standard Musical Work Code) is a unique identifier for a musical work — the composition and lyrics, independent of any recording. It follows the format T-123456789-C: the letter T, nine digits, and a check digit. Collecting societies in the CISAC network assign ISWCs when songwriters or publishers register a work, and use them to match publishing royalties worldwide.
UPC/EAN
A UPC (Universal Product Code, 12 digits) or EAN (European Article Number, 13 digits) is the barcode number that identifies a release as a product — a single, EP, or album. Streaming services and stores use it to group tracks into one release and report sales. Each release needs its own code; the recordings inside are identified by ISRCs.
IPI Number
An IPI number (Interested Party Information) is a unique 9- to 11-digit identifier for songwriters, composers, and music publishers. You receive it automatically when you join a collecting society such as GEMA, ASCAP, or PRS. The global IPI database, maintained within the CISAC network, uses it to link work registrations and royalty shares to the correct rights holder.
CWR
CWR (Common Works Registration) is a standardized file format developed by CISAC for registering musical works with collecting societies and publishers in bulk. A CWR file carries work titles, ISWCs, songwriter and publisher IPI numbers, and ownership shares in a machine-readable structure, so societies like GEMA can ingest thousands of registrations without manual entry.
GEMA
GEMA (Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte) is Germany's collecting society for composers, lyricists, and music publishers. It licenses public performance, broadcast, and reproduction of musical works, collects the fees, and distributes them as royalties to its members. Through reciprocal agreements in the CISAC network, GEMA also collects for German works used abroad.
PRO
A PRO (Performing Rights Organization) is a collecting society that licenses the public performance of musical works and pays the resulting royalties to songwriters, composers, and publishers. Examples include GEMA in Germany, ASCAP and BMI in the US, and PRS in the UK. Members receive an IPI number and register their works so plays can be matched and paid.
DDEX
DDEX (Digital Data Exchange) is the standards body that defines how data moves through the digital music supply chain. Its message formats (like ERN for release delivery and DSR for sales reporting) let labels, distributors, and streaming services exchange release metadata, audio, and usage data in one machine-readable language.
ISNI
An ISNI (International Standard Name Identifier) is a 16-character code defined by ISO 27729 that identifies the public identity of a person or organisation involved in creative works. In music, artists, songwriters, producers, and labels use ISNIs so streaming services, databases, and metadata systems can tell identically named contributors apart.
Mechanical Royalties
Mechanical royalties are payments to songwriters and music publishers for the reproduction of a musical composition — pressing vinyl or CDs, selling downloads, and the reproduction share of interactive streams. They are separate from performance royalties and from recording revenue: mechanicals always follow the composition, regardless of who recorded it.
Neighbouring Rights
Neighbouring rights are the rights of performers and recording owners to be paid when a sound recording is broadcast or played in public — on radio, on TV, in clubs, bars, and shops. They sit next to the songwriter's copyright: publishing royalties pay for the composition, neighbouring rights pay for the recording and the performance on it.
Recoupment
Recoupment is the process by which a record label recovers an advance and agreed costs from an artist's royalty share before paying royalties out. It is not a personal debt: the label recoups only from royalties the deal generates. Once the account is recouped, the artist's share flows through with every statement.
Split Sheet
A split sheet is a written agreement, signed by everyone who worked on a song, that records each contributor's ownership percentage. Writer split sheets cover the composition; master split sheets cover the recording. The agreed percentages become the reference for society registrations, licensing, and every royalty payout that follows.
Royalty Escrow
Royalty escrow is the practice of holding earned royalties in a dedicated account until the rightful recipient can receive them — for example, a collaborator who has not yet registered for payouts. The money stays attributed to the recording and the person, and is released as soon as they can be paid.
Pre-Save
A pre-save is the streaming equivalent of a pre-order: a fan saves an upcoming release to their library before release day, and it appears there automatically the moment it goes live. Pre-saves concentrate first-day listening, build follower counts, and give playlist algorithms an early engagement signal.
Content ID
Content ID is YouTube's automated rights-management system. It compares every upload against reference files supplied by rights holders and, on a match, applies the owner's chosen policy — most commonly running ads and collecting the revenue, or tracking the video's statistics. For labels, it turns fan uploads and re-uses into a revenue stream.
Put it into practice
Many of these terms are built-in features on bbn.music: splits, ISRC codes, pre-save pages and publishing.