Rights and royalties
One ruled file for every master and right
Master rights, publishing rights, and royalty reporting explained — how AUX File Recordings documents ownership, codes, and payment so artists and rightsholders can see what they own and how usage is reported.
Rights and royalties are where music becomes a documented asset rather than a file on a drive. A recording has a master, a song has a composition, and each side has owners who are paid when the music is used.
Master and publishing
Master rights and publishing rights
Master rights cover the specific recording — the audio fixed in a studio or live session. Publishing rights cover the underlying song, which can be recorded again by someone else. The two sides can have different owners, different splits, and different terms.
Any agreement about a release should state which side it covers, because a transfer of one side does not automatically transfer the other. Before a song is released, the file should make clear who owns the master, who owns the composition, and what each party may license.
2 sides
One recording, one song
Master — the recorded audio
Who can reproduce and distribute that recording.
Publishing — the composition
Who can licence the song itself, in any recording.
Splits — shares on each side
Agreed in writing before release, stated per party.
ISRC, ISWC, and the codes that identify music
An ISRC identifies a recording, and an ISWC identifies a composition. Those codes let platforms, broadcasters, and royalty systems match usage to the right record. When a code is missing or reused incorrectly, payment can be delayed or sent to the wrong party.
The label documents the codes assigned to each recording and song as part of the catalog file, so a stream, download, or broadcast can be traced back to the correct master and composition.
How money moves
How streaming, downloads, and sync pay
Streaming and download income is reported through the distribution and sales chain, and it is divided according to the ownership record for the recording and the song. Sync licensing is different, because it is negotiated for a specific use and paid under a license.
Performance and mechanical royalties follow their own collection routes, including PROs for performance and the MLC for certain mechanical uses. Each route pays according to the registrations on file — which is why codes and splits need to match across systems.
Royalty reporting
What a clear royalty report should show
A clear royalty report names the recording or song, the period covered, the source of income, and the share applied. It should also show any deductions or fees that the agreement allows, stated in the terms the rightsholder signed.
Vague totals are hard to check. Itemized reporting lets a rightsholder compare a statement against their own records and ask a precise question if a figure looks wrong. That precision is the point: a report you can check is a report you can trust.
Recording or songnamed
Period coveredstated
Source of incomelisted
Share and deductionsshown
Keeping the catalog current
Rights administration and catalog care
Rights administration is the ongoing work of keeping ownership, splits, and registrations current as songs are recorded, released, and licensed. Downtown Music Holdings, based in New York, is known for publishing administration and rights services across several businesses in the rights stack. That example shows why administration has become a discipline of its own, and why independent catalogs need the same records at their own scale.
Catalog rights management covers the full life of a body of work, from the first registration to later reissues and licenses. Primary Wave, based in New York, is associated with acquiring and managing established catalogs and with the modern catalog market. For a rightsholder, the practical point is simpler: a well documented catalog is easier to license, easier to sell, and easier to hand to a collaborator.
Performance rights organizations and the MLC
PROs collect performance royalties, and the Mechanical Licensing Collective handles blanket mechanical licensing for certain digital uses in the United States. Those bodies pay according to the registrations they hold, which is why writer splits and work titles must match across systems.
Publishing support helps a catalog stay registered in the right places, so usage can be matched instead of sitting unmatched. If a title or split differs between systems, the payment has nowhere clear to land.
Read about publishing servicesTopics in the file
Distribution: income reported through the distribution and sales chain, divided by the ownership record for the recording and the song.
Publishing: registrations, writer splits, and work titles kept matching so PRO and MLC payments can be matched to the right works.
Royalty: itemized reports naming the work, period, source, share, and any deductions allowed by the agreement.
Splits agreed before release, in writing
Writing back
How the label communicates with rightsholders
AUX File Recordings communicates through the catalog record and through written responses to specific questions. If a rightsholder believes a credit or split is wrong, the label needs the recording or song title, the correct information, and any agreement that supports it. Corrections are then made against the record, and the change is reflected in future reports.
A precise question gets a precise answer. Naming the work and the figure you are asking about lets the file be checked line by line, rather than by a general impression.
Common questions
Splits, agreed early
Splits divide a song or recording among writers, performers, or owners. They should be agreed before a release, in writing, with each party's share stated. A split agreed after a release is harder to apply to income already reported.
The label asks for split information early, for the same reason it asks for ISRC and ISWC details early: once usage starts, the record is what every payment is divided by.
- Title of the worksend it
- Correct credit or splitsend it
- Supporting agreementsend it
Sacramento office
Ask about your rights
Bring the title of the recording or song, the question you want answered, and any agreement that supports it. The catalog record is where the answer starts.