Glossary

What is a 360 Deal? Why the Label Wants More Than Your Records

A 360 deal is a record contract that gives the label a percentage of multiple revenue streams beyond just recordings: touring, merchandise, sync licensing, sponsorship, brand deals, sometimes publishing.

Aggregator vs Distributor in Music: The Real Industry Distinction

In music, an aggregator and a distributor are not synonyms. They sit on different layers of the supply chain. The terms get used interchangeably in marketing copy, which leads to confusion when a working professional needs to choose a partner — or when someone writes that DistroKid is an aggregator and trips an entire comments section.

What is an Algorithmic Playlist? How Discover Weekly Actually Decides

An algorithmic playlist is generated by a machine learning system that picks songs for each individual listener based on their behaviour, similar listeners' behaviour, and the metadata of the songs themselves.

What are Black Box Royalties? The Unclaimed Money Pool Explained

Black box royalties are music royalties that have been collected by a society or platform but cannot be matched to a specific rightsholder, and after a holding period are redistributed by formula rather than by actual usage.

What is a DSP? The Streaming Platforms That Pay You, Listed Globally

A DSP is any digital service that delivers your music to listeners. Streaming platforms, download stores, fitness apps, livestream tools, the entire downstream universe that consumes a distributor's catalog.

What is DDEX? A Plain-English Guide for African Artists and Labels

DDEX is the standardised set of file formats and message specs that lets one music release move cleanly from a distributor to every digital service provider in the world.

What is an Editorial Playlist? How DSP Curators Actually Pick Songs

An editorial playlist is a curated playlist programmed by a human team inside a streaming platform. They remain, by a wide margin, the most powerful single discovery surface in streaming for indie artists.

What is an ISRC Code? A Guide for Nigerian Artists and Producers

An ISRC is a 12-character code that identifies a specific recording of a specific song, used by every DSP and royalty body in the world to track who gets paid for that exact master.

What is an ISWC? The Composition Code Every Songwriter Should Know

An ISWC is the unique 11-character code that identifies a musical composition, the underlying song, separately from any recording of it.

What is LUFS? Loudness Normalization Explained for Music Producers

LUFS is the unit streaming platforms use to measure the perceived loudness of a piece of music, so they can normalize playback volume across an entire catalog.

What is a Mechanical Royalty? A Guide for Afrobeats Artists and Producers

A mechanical royalty is the money the songwriter and publisher earn every time a copy of their song is reproduced — physically, digitally, or as a stream.

What is Master vs Publishing? The Two Sides of Every Song Explained

Every song carries two separate copyrights. The master covers the recording. The publishing covers the composition. They are owned, traded, and paid out independently.

What is Metadata in Music? The Spine of Every Royalty You Earn

Metadata is everything attached to your music that is not the audio file itself.

What are Neighbouring Rights? Master-Side Royalties Most Artists Miss

Neighbouring rights are the master-side cousin of performance royalties: the money paid to performers and master owners when a sound recording is publicly performed on radio, TV, in venues, or on certain digital services.

What is a Per-Stream Rate? Why the Number You Read Online Is Misleading

A per-stream rate is the average payout an artist or rightsholder receives per single play on a streaming platform.

What is a Performance Royalty? PROs, Radio, and Public Play Explained

A performance royalty is the money owed to songwriters and publishers every time a song is publicly performed — on radio, on TV, in a venue, on a stream, in a coffee shop, in a stadium.

What is a Pre-Save? The Release-Day Boost Most Artists Run Wrong

A pre-save is a fan action that automatically adds your release to their streaming library the moment it goes live.

What is a Publishing Admin Deal? Songwriter Royalty Collection Without Selling the Catalog

A publishing admin deal is a contract where an administrator collects your songwriter and publisher royalties from collection societies worldwide in exchange for a percentage commission, without taking ownership of your songs.

What is Recoupment? When an Artist Actually Starts Seeing Money

Recoupment is the process by which a record label or financier earns back, from the artist's royalty share, the money the label invested upfront before the artist starts receiving royalty payments.

What is a Smart Link? One URL That Routes Fans to Every DSP

A smart link is one URL that detects which streaming service a visitor uses and routes them straight to the right platform to listen.

What is a Splits Sheet? The Document That Decides Who Gets Paid

A splits sheet is the document that records what percentage of a song each contributor owns and is therefore owed when the song earns.

What is Sync Licensing? Film, TV, Ads, and Games Explained for Artists

A sync license is the permission to synchronise a piece of music with moving images. Film, TV, advertising, video games, YouTube content, and increasingly TikTok and Reels for branded use.

What is a UPC? The Release-Level Barcode Explained for Indie Artists

A UPC is the 12-digit number that identifies your release as a single commercial product across every DSP, store, and reporting system in the world.