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• ACTRA RACS(Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists + Recording Artists’ Collecting Society) is a Canadian not-for-profit performer collective that administers the collection of neighbouring rights royalties to performers (singers, instrumentalists, and session musicians) on recordings.(...) Read More
• ArrangerAn arranger reworks or reimagines an existing composition often with new instrumentation, orchestration, sounds, form, tempo, and/or rhythmic feel. For compositions that are protected by a copyright, arrangers receive no royalties as in the eyes of copyright law, the original composer owns the(...) Read More
• ArtistiCanadian collection society that administers the collection of royalties to performers (singers, instrumentalists, and session musicians) on recordings. In Canada this is one of three organizations that musicians choose from for this royalty stream (ArtistI, ACTRA/RACS and MROC). See also(...) Read More
• ASCAP(American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is an American performance rights organization (PRO) that represents songwriters, composers and music publishers. ASCAP collects licensing fees from users and distributes those funds to its members. See also BMI

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• CD BABY PROA for profit publishing administration service that collects royalties on behalf of its members. CD Baby Pro and publishing administrators like it, take a percentage (often around 15%) of your global performance and mechanical royalties. These aggregators claim to have networks and(...) Read More
• CMOA Collective Management Organization is an organization responsible for monitoring, licensing, and collecting performance and mechanical royalties for their clients. For example, GEMA in Germany and PRS in the United Kingdom. In Canada, performance royalties are handled by SOCAN and(...) Read More
• CMRRACanadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency collects reproduction (aka mechanical royalties) on behalf of music publishers. CMRRA issues licences to individuals or organizations for the reproduction of songs. Reproduction includes: Download and streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal(...) Read More
• CompositionA musical composition is an original musical creation. It can be instrumental or vocal, and with or without lyrics. Instrumental works are generally referred to as compositions whereas popular music compositions with lyrics are generally referred to as songs. In Canada, the moment a(...) Read More
• Composition RoyaltyA composition royalty is a financial payment given to the authors and publishers of an original musical work. Royalty payments compensate rights holders for the use of their intellectual property. There are two basic categories of composition royalties; performance royalties and mechanical(...) Read More
• CONNECTCONNECT Music Licensing is a Canadian organization that administers royalty collection for master recording owners. The organization also provides ISRC codes as a free service to Canadian musicians.
• CopyrightIn music, copyright is granted to composers, publishers, and sound recording owners. Copyright grants the owner the right to control the production or reproduction of the work in any form. For original compositions, both composition and publishing copyright is granted the moment a work is(...) Read More
• Cover SongA cover song is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song.Typically, the melody and structure is similar, though the cover may have a new arrangement. Once a song is published you have the right to cover it as a live performance,(...) Read More

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• Digital Service Provider (DSP)A Digital Service Provider is a company that allows users to stream and/or download music online. Examples are Apple Music, Spotify, and Bandcamp. Streaming is 80% (or more) of Digital Music Revenues. Streaming DSPs receive money from users in the form of subscription fees. Typically, DSPs(...) Read More
• DistributorA music distributor acts as an intermediary between the artist (or label) and record stores, digital marketplaces, and/or streaming platforms. A distributor is given the right to send your music to these marketplaces to be sold or streamed. Distribution “deals” vary greatly. Physical(...) Read More
• DISTROKIDDigital music distribution (DSP) service offers musicians the opportunity to distribute and sell or stream their music through online retailers such as iTunes/Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Deezer, iHeartRadio and others.

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• Fair UseFair use is a defensive legal term used against a copyright claim. Fair use of copyrighted material such as a song includes commentary, criticism, or parody. A licence or permission is not required for fair use.
• Featured PerformerThe term “featured artist” or “featured performer” refers to the individual (or group) most prominently featured on a sound recording. Canadian “featured artists” receive payments from Re:Sound (or its member organizations). For recordings released on pay radio (such SIRIUS XM), featured(...) Read More

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• Harry Fox AgencyHarry Fox Agency is an organization that collects and distributes mechanical licences to publishing entities and songwriters in the United States. Mechanical royalties are generated whenever a song is reproduced in any form and distributed to songwriters and publishers. The most common(...) Read More

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• Intellectual PropertyIntellectual Property (IP) is a broad umbrella referring to any original human creation. There are four categories of IP protection: patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. While a musical artist may trademark a name or logo, and a band may have trade secrets such as a mailing list(...) Read More
• IPIAn Interested Party Information (IPI) number is a 9 to 11 digit number assigned to songwriters and publishers by their Performing Rights Organizations. An IPI is like a social security number and it uniquely identifies a songwriter as a rights holder. In Canada, IPI numbers are issued by(...) Read More
• ISRCThe International Standard Recording Code. An ISRC enables sound recordings and music videos to be uniquely and permanently identified. An ISRC helps to avoid ambiguity among recordings and simplifies the management of rights when recordings are used across different formats, distribution(...) Read More
• ISWCInternational Standard Musical Works Code (ISWC) is a unique identifier used to identify a single composition. This number will be referenced in communications between PRO’s and third parties such as music publishers. The ISWC consists of the letter ‘T’ followed by nine digits and a numeric(...) Read More

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• LyricistA lyricist’s role is to write the text for a composition. While a lyricist may or may not compose the musical portion (melody and harmony), lyricists are entitled to receive composition royalties including writer and publisher shares.

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• Master RecordingThe master recording, commonly referred to as a “master” is the original, official recording from which all other copies are made. Master ownership refers to owning the copyright of a particular sound recording. In order for Canadians who own a master recording to receive royalties, the(...) Read More
• Mechanical RoyaltyMechanical royalties are generated whenever a song is reproduced in any form. The most common mechanical licence is from streaming, but historically, ‘reproduction’ has been in a physical format (print, records, CD, tapes, etc). Artists who record compositions they did not write themselves(...) Read More
• MROCThe Musicians’ Rights Organization of Canada is a not-for-profit performer collective that administers the collection of neighbouring rights royalties to the performers (singers, instrumentalists, and session musicians) who played on recordings. In Canada this is one of three organizations(...) Read More
• Music CanadaFormerly CRIA

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• Neighbouring RightsNeighbouring rights are public performance royalties due to the master owner and the performers on a sound recording. The copyright for master recording is typically granted to whoever paid for the recording. Master royalties are distributed from DSPs directly and by Re:Sound (and its member(...) Read More
• Nielsen BDSNielsen BDS is a North American organization that tracks monitored radio, television and internet airplay of songs. Nielsen BDS reports are a contributing factor to North American charts such as Billboard Hot 100, Canadian Hot 100, Airplay Monitor, and Canadian Music Network magazines when(...) Read More
• Notice of Live Music PerformanceA NLMP is a form that Canadian performers must complete in order for SOCAN to distribute royalties from the live performance to the songwriters. According to Tariff 4A, (https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2017/2017-05-06/html/sup1-eng.html) songwriters are entitled to 3% of gross ticket(...) Read More

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• Performance RoyaltyA performance royalty is generated any time your composition is publicly used. The royalty could be from terrestrial radio (AM/FM), a business playing music, a live event, or streaming. The performance could be by you or another artist covering your material cover. The songwriters and(...) Read More
• PerformerA performer refers to an instrumentalist or vocalist on a recording, each being entitled to receive neighbouring rights royalties. Performers are classified as either “featured” or “non-featured”. A “featured performer” is typically the lead vocalist, title artist, regular band members, or(...) Read More
• PointsPoints refer to a royalty percentage given to artists, composers, music producers and other contributors. Points refer to the percentage ownership of a composition and/or a master recording. These percentages are negotiated between the applicable parties.
• PROA Performing Rights Organization collects performance royalties on behalf of composers (includes songwriters and lyricists). The sole PRO in Canada, SOCAN, collects royalties for both the composer as well the publisher (unless assigned to an outside publisher). American PROs include ASCAP(...) Read More
• Public DomainCopyright that has expired, was never assigned, or was intentionally abandoned, is referred to as public domain. Exclusive intellectual property (IP) rights no longer apply. Music in the public domain can include compositions, sound recordings, or sheet music. Artists are able to collect(...) Read More
• PublisherPublishers collect royalties (performance royalties and mechanical royalties), issue licences (e.g sync, covers), and create revenue opportunities for a composition. Canadian composers without a publishing deal are de facto their own music publisher, and will receive their publisher share(...) Read More
• Publishing AdministratorA publishing administrator functions in a similar way to a publisher with a couple important differences: the artist retains all copyrights in exchange for a commission of the publishing royalties. A publishing administrator will not seek out opportunities or additional revenue for a song, but(...) Read More

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• Record LabelA record label is a company that works with music artists. Depending on their focus, labels have multifaceted roles including artist development, scouting, artist management, publishing, coordinating production, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, promotion, merchandise, and legal(...) Read More
• Reproduction RoyaltySee Mechanical Royalty.
• Re:SoundRe:Sound is a Canadian not-for-profit organization that collects and distributes neighboring rights and master recording royalties. In Canada, establishments such as restaurants, clubs, and gyms must pay a tariff to Re:Sound and SOCAN to obtain a license to play music. While SOCAN collects(...) Read More
• Rights HolderA music rights holder is an individual or organization that owns the legal copyright to publishing, a composition, or a recording. Rights holders are entitled to receive royalties for the use of their copyright.
• RoyaltyRoyalty payments are made to rights holders for the use of their copyright. In music, every recorded work has four rights holders who are entitled to earn royalties for their role in creating a musical work. These rights holders include the songwriter/composer, music publisher,(...) Read More

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• Session MusicianA session musician is an instrumentalist or vocalist that performs on a sound recording. Session musicians are typically non-featured performers and are entitled to a neighbouring rights royalty. See “performer”.
• SOCANSOCAN is a performance rights organization (PRO) that represents composers and music publishers. When a composition is used publicly (such as in radio, television, live performances, cinema, streaming, and pay audio), SOCAN collects a performance royalty and distributes the money to the author(...) Read More
• SOCAN RRSOCAN Reproduction Rights is a division of SOCAN devoted to the collection of mechanical royalties. See also CMRRA and SODRAC.
• SODRACSODRAC, now merged with SOCAN RR.
• SONGTRUSTSongTrust is a for profit publishing administration service that collects royalties on behalf of its members. Songtrust and publishing administrators like it, take a percentage (often around 15%) of your global performance and mechanical royalties. These aggregators claim to have networks and(...) Read More
• SongwriterA songwriter is anyone who creates original music. A traditional definition of a song (for rights holder purposes) includes only the lyrics and melody, however, a broader definition is generally applied in creative collaborations. Therefore a songwriter may include anyone who contributes to(...) Read More
• SoundExchangeIs an american organization that collects and distributes royalties for featured performers and sound recording owners (individual artists or labels) when a recording is played on a non-interactive digital service (satellite radio, pandora, internet radio etc). SoundExchange distributes(...) Read More
• Split SheetIs a written agreement between two or more creative contributors. The agreement defines ownership percentage of a composition, determining how much each contributor will receive from royalties generated by their music. “Songwriting splits” refer to percentage ownership of a composition, and(...) Read More
• Sync (synchronization)Synchronization is placing music to motion pictures. A typical “sync deal” is made between a music publisher and a film producer for the use of a song in a particular film, TV show, or video. Alongside a sync licence, a “master licence” is also required for the use of a particular(...) Read More

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• YouTube’s Content IDContent ID is a software algorithm that analyzes every single video uploaded to the platform to determine if a video contains any copyrighted material. If so, YouTube’s Content ID system automatically places a claim on that video on behalf of the rights holder. The technology essentially(...) Read More