For a Canadian songwriter with a non-Latin song title, the searchable title is a royalty detail. SOCAN’s 2026 member-portal guidance says songs can be registered in nearly 200 languages, including Cree, Ojibwe and Inuktitut. It also tells members to register non-Latin titles as alternative titles to help matching, because much usage arrives in Latin characters and international work databases accept Latin-based languages. That makes a title audit a practical task before a song travels.
A distributor can deliver the recording correctly while the composition remains hard for a rights society to identify. The recording and the song are separate rights records. For the writer, the immediate decision is which title variants belong on the work registration, and whether those variants match the names used by platforms, broadcasters, publishers and live-event reporting.
Why a second title can matter
SOCAN’s portal guidance is unusually explicit: use the Alternative Titles field for non-Latin titles to help matching. This does not mean changing the artistic title on a release. It means giving the composition record another way to be found when a usage report uses a transliteration or translated name.
CISAC, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, explains that CIS-Net connects societies’ musical-work databases so they can identify works and distribute revenue. Its work-database manual shows original and alternate titles as distinct fields supplied by societies. An alternative title is therefore part of the identification record, not a marketing nickname invented after a payment is missed.
The point applies beyond scripts. A French and English title, a commonly used abbreviation, or a spelling variation may deserve review if actual usage reports use it. Do not bulk-add guesses: inconsistent aliases can create more ambiguity. Keep the original title and document the variants that appear in real release, publishing or performance records.
Run a five-field catalogue check
Open the work registration and compare five fields against the release and any publisher records: original title, alternative titles, writer names, writer shares and the work identifier. SOCAN’s public repertoire search accepts title, creator, Interested Party Information number and International Standard Musical Work Code. IPI identifies a rights holder; ISWC identifies a composition. Neither is the recording’s International Standard Recording Code, or ISRC.
If you manage a multilingual catalogue, put the exact released title beside any Latin-script version that a broadcaster or streaming report might use. Confirm the co-writers approved the same title and shares in their own registrations. Where a publisher or administrator handles registration, send the agreed variants to that party rather than creating a conflicting work record yourself.
For a practical example, imagine a song released under a Korean-script title and billed with a romanized title in an overseas venue programme. The writer should check whether both names are attached to the same SOCAN work. That is a workflow example, not a promise that adding a title will unlock a specific payment; the underlying use must also be reported, licensed and payable.
Audit the statement, then investigate gaps
SOCAN says its quarterly statements break out domestic radio, television, internet, YouTube, concert and international performance income. Its member FAQ advises members to keep registrations current, tell SOCAN about international uses and review statements for missing royalties. Different foreign societies have different thresholds and payment calendars, so a blank line is a lead for investigation rather than proof of non-payment.
Keep a dated evidence folder for each suspected gap: the work number, both title forms, the platform or venue, territory, use date and any supporting report. SOCAN says it checks whether the use is payable and whether the foreign society has already remitted the relevant period before submitting a claim. That is a more useful escalation than asking a distributor to estimate composition income from recording streams.
For labels, this is a release checklist worth applying before delivery. A rights-aware distributor can keep recording metadata and royalty reporting orderly, while the songwriter or publisher maintains the work registration. Our earlier guides on matching IPI, ISWC and ISRC in Ghana and Canada’s separate recording-rights claims show why one clean upload cannot replace the other rights records.
