Welcome to the InterSpace Daily glossary \u2014 plain-English definitions of the terms that actually move money and metadata in the music business, written for African artists, producers, and label owners.<\/p>\n
Every entry is built around three things: what the term is, why it exists, and what it specifically means for Nigerian and African releases. We add new entries every week. Use it as a quick reference, or send a link to a co-writer who keeps confusing mechanicals with performance royalties.<\/p>\n
What is a 360 Deal? Why the Label Wants More Than Your Records<\/p>
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.<\/p><\/a><\/div>
Aggregator vs Distributor in Music: The Real Industry Distinction<\/p>
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 \u2014 or when someone writes that DistroKid is an aggregator and trips an entire comments section.<\/p><\/a> Anghami: The MENA Region’s Leading Music DSP, Explained for Indie Artists<\/p> Anghami is the dominant music streaming service in the Middle East and North Africa. Here is how Arabic metadata, charts, and payouts work for indie artists.<\/p><\/a> Audiomack: The African and Hip-Hop Discovery DSP Explained<\/p> Audiomack is a free streaming service dominant in Africa and the global hip-hop scene. Here is how it pays, how discovery works, and who should prioritise it.<\/p><\/a> What is AI Music Detection? How DSPs Identify Generated Tracks<\/p> AI music detection is how distributors and DSPs flag tracks made by Suno, Udio, and similar tools. Here is what gets caught and what the rules are in 2026.<\/p><\/a> What is an Algorithmic Playlist? How Discover Weekly Actually Decides<\/p> 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.<\/p><\/a> What is Apple Digital Masters? The High-Fidelity Standard for Apple Music<\/p> Apple Digital Masters is the audio quality standard that gets your release the AAC 256 best-in-class master on Apple Music. Here is the technical spec, plain.<\/p><\/a> What is Audio Fingerprinting? Chromaprint, Echoprint, and How Music Recognition Works<\/p> Audio fingerprinting turns any recording into a unique acoustic signature for matching. Here is how Chromaprint, Echoprint, and DSP systems actually work.<\/p><\/a> What is Audio Watermarking? Inaudible Tags That Track Music Use<\/p> Audio watermarking embeds an inaudible identifier inside a recording. Here is how it differs from fingerprinting and why it matters for promos, radio, and AI.<\/p><\/a><\/div> Boomplay: Africa’s Largest Music DSP, Explained for Indie Artists<\/p> Boomplay is Africa's largest music streaming service with 90M+ users across the continent. Here is how it pays, how to get on, and why it matters for indies.<\/p><\/a> What are Black Box Royalties? The Unclaimed Money Pool Explained<\/p> 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.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is Catalog Acquisition? How Music Rights Get Bought and Sold<\/p> Catalog acquisition is the purchase of music rights as a financial asset. Here is how deals are structured, who is buying, and what indie artists should know.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is a DSP? The Streaming Platforms That Pay You, Listed Globally<\/p> 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.<\/p><\/a> What is DDEX? The Music Distribution Delivery Standard Explained<\/p> 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.<\/p><\/a> What is DSR? Digital Sales Reporting, the Royalty Standard Explained<\/p> DSR is the DDEX message every DSP uses to report streams and revenue back to your distributor. It is the source of truth for any royalty dispute.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is an Editorial Playlist? How DSP Curators Actually Pick Songs<\/p> 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.<\/p><\/a> What is ERN? Electronic Release Notification, the Core DDEX Message Explained<\/p> ERN is the DDEX message that delivers a release from a distributor to a DSP. Here is what it carries, why deliveries fail, and which version matters.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is Hi-Res Audio? FLAC vs WAV and the High-Resolution Music Standard<\/p> Hi-Res Audio means 24-bit recordings above CD quality. Here is what FLAC and WAV actually do, which DSPs care, and what indie artists should deliver.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is an ISRC Code? The Recording Identifier Every Artist Needs<\/p> 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.<\/p><\/a> What is an ISWC? The Composition Code Every Songwriter Should Know<\/p> An ISWC is the unique 11-character code that identifies a musical composition, the underlying song, separately from any recording of it.<\/p><\/a><\/div> JioSaavn: India’s Largest Music DSP, Explained for Indie Artists<\/p> JioSaavn is India's dominant music streaming service with 100M+ users. Here is how Indian-language metadata, regional charts, and payouts actually work.<\/p><\/a><\/div> KOMCA: The Korea Music Copyright Association and K-pop Royalties, Explained<\/p> KOMCA is the Korean PRO that collects performance and mechanical royalties for almost every K-pop song. Here is what KOMCA does and why it matters globally.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is LUFS? Loudness Normalization Explained for Music Producers<\/p> 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.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is a Mechanical Royalty? Songwriter Payouts on Reproductions Explained<\/p> A mechanical royalty is the money the songwriter and publisher earn every time a copy of their song is reproduced \u2014 physically, digitally, or as a stream.<\/p><\/a> What is Master vs Publishing? The Two Sides of Every Song Explained<\/p> Every song carries two separate copyrights. The master covers the recording. The publishing covers the composition. They are owned, traded, and paid out independently.<\/p><\/a> What is Metadata in Music? The Spine of Every Royalty You Earn<\/p> Metadata is everything attached to your music that is not the audio file itself.<\/p><\/a> What is Music Sub-Distribution? The Layer Between Labels and Global DSPs<\/p> Music sub-distribution is the B2B arrangement where regional labels plug into a global distributor's DSP network. Here is how the layer works and who it serves.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What are Neighbouring Rights? Master-Side Royalties Most Artists Miss<\/p> 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.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is a Per-Stream Rate? Why the Number You Read Online Is Misleading<\/p> A per-stream rate is the average payout an artist or rightsholder receives per single play on a streaming platform.<\/p><\/a> What is a Performance Royalty? PROs, Radio, and Public Play Explained<\/p> A performance royalty is the money owed to songwriters and publishers every time a song is publicly performed \u2014 on radio, on TV, in a venue, on a stream, in a coffee shop, in a stadium.<\/p><\/a> What is a Pre-Save? The Release-Day Boost Most Artists Run Wrong<\/p> A pre-save is a fan action that automatically adds your release to their streaming library the moment it goes live.<\/p><\/a> What is a Publishing Admin Deal? Songwriter Royalty Collection Without Selling the Catalog<\/p> 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.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is Recoupment? When an Artist Actually Starts Seeing Money<\/p> 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.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is a Smart Link? One URL That Routes Fans to Every DSP<\/p> A smart link is one URL that detects which streaming service a visitor uses and routes them straight to the right platform to listen.<\/p><\/a> What is a Splits Sheet? The Document That Decides Who Gets Paid<\/p> A splits sheet is the document that records what percentage of a song each contributor owns and is therefore owed when the song earns.<\/p><\/a> What is Spatial Audio? Dolby Atmos Music and the Immersive Format Explained<\/p> Spatial audio in music means Dolby Atmos: object-based immersive mixes that pay more on Apple Music and Tidal. Here is what it actually requires.<\/p><\/a> What is Streaming Fraud? Bot Streams, Click Farms, and How DSPs Fight Back<\/p> Streaming fraud is the inflation of music streams using bots, click farms, or stream-buying services. Here is how it works, who pays for it, and the penalties.<\/p><\/a> What is Sync Licensing? Film, TV, Ads, and Games Explained for Artists<\/p> 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.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is a Take-Down Notice? DMCA and Music Copyright Removal Explained<\/p> A take-down notice is the legal request that pulls infringing music from a DSP or platform. Here is how DMCA works and how indie artists actually use it.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is a UPC? The Release-Level Barcode Explained for Indie Artists<\/p> 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.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is White-Label Music Distribution? The Back-End Layer Powering Labels and Aggregators<\/p> White-label music distribution lets labels, aggregators, and managers run their own branded distribution platform on someone else's DDEX rails.<\/p><\/a><\/div> What is YouTube Content ID? Music Fingerprinting and Royalty Collection Explained<\/p> YouTube Content ID matches your audio across every upload on YouTube and lets you claim, block, or monetise it. Here is how it actually works for indie artists.<\/p><\/a><\/div>B<\/h2>
C<\/h2>
D<\/h2>
E<\/h2>
H<\/h2>
I<\/h2>
J<\/h2>
K<\/h2>
L<\/h2>
M<\/h2>
N<\/h2>
P<\/h2>
R<\/h2>
S<\/h2>
T<\/h2>
U<\/h2>
W<\/h2>
Y<\/h2>
Z<\/h2>