Music business glossary

360 Deal

An arrangement, sometimes called a multiple-rights deal, in which a single counterparty (e.g., a record label) participates in income streams beyond master recordings. Scope varies from narrow (masters plus a share of touring and merchandise) to extremely broad (masters, publishing, management, merchandise, image, and career direction under one contract, as in the Korean agency model and many independent-label deals). Defensible only where the counterparty is genuinely investing across all participating areas and absorbing meaningful risk across all of them.

Chapter 11, Chapter 12

Administration (Publishing)

The operational work of registering compositions, tracking usage, collecting royalties globally, and issuing statements to songwriters. Administration does not require ownership of rights, although the two are often bundled in traditional deals.

Chapter 12

Administration Deal

A publishing arrangement in which the songwriter retains ownership of their publishing and the full publisher's share, paying an administrator a fee (commonly 10–25%) for registration, collection, and reporting.

Chapter 12

Advance

Money paid upfront by a label, publisher, manager, or other partner, almost always recoupable from future earnings. An advance is not income until it has been recouped; it is structurally a loan secured against future royalties.

Chapter 11

Agent

A representative whose primary role is to secure live performance opportunities — shows, tours, festivals, and appearances. Agents are typically paid a commission on live performance income (often 10–15%) and do not usually negotiate recording or publishing deals.

Chapter 10

Algorithm

The automated recommendation systems used by streaming and social platforms to surface music. Algorithms respond to user behavior, not to artistic merit or intent, and can change without notice.

Artist CEO

The core concept of this book. An artist who operates through a properly structured company that owns their rights, centralizes decision-making, and invites partners to participate at the company level rather than at the rights level.

Chapter 16

Artist Company

The legal entity — typically an LLC (US), Pty Ltd (Australia), or limited company (UK) — that owns an artist's rights and enters into contracts on their behalf, allowing the artist and the business to remain legally and operationally distinct.

Chapter 16

Attribution

The accurate identification of songwriters, performers, rights holders, and representatives in rights databases. Attribution failures are one of the largest causes of unpaid royalties in the modern music system.

Chapter 13

Backend

The systems and processes that handle rights data, royalty calculation, and payments. Most artists experience the frontend (platforms, releases) but suffer losses in the backend.

Chapter 13

Black Box Royalties

Royalties collected by platforms, distributors, and collecting societies but which cannot be matched to a rights holder because of missing or inconsistent data. These funds are typically held in suspense for a period and, if still unmatched at the end of that period, redistributed according to market-share formulas.

Chapter 13

Business Manager

A specialist who oversees an artist's day-to-day financial operations — budgeting, royalty tracking, bill payment, and financial coordination. Typically paid either hourly, per project, or on a percentage basis for established artists with recurring complexity.

Chapter 10

Catalog

The accumulated recordings and/or compositions an artist or songwriter has created. A catalog is an asset that can generate income for decades after release, and can be sold, licensed, or used as collateral.

Chapter 16

Causality Strings

The chains of downstream consequences that any decision produces. A single decision does not produce a single outcome; it produces a branching sequence of outcomes that unfold over time. Causality strings can be partially traced before a decision is made using the pause, rewind, and fast forward method.

Chapter 4, Chapter 7, Chapter 16

CISAC

The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers. The Paris-based global federation of collecting societies — PROs, mechanical rights organizations, and reproduction rights societies — that governs the ISWC system and coordinates reciprocal collection agreements between member societies worldwide. Membership includes ASCAP, BMI, PRS for Music, APRA AMCOS, GEMA, SACEM, and roughly 220 other societies covering more than 100 countries.

Chapter 13

CMO (Collective Management Organization)

An organization that manages rights and collects royalties on behalf of rights holders. PROs and mechanical-rights societies are both types of CMO, and in many territories outside the US a single CMO collects both performance and mechanical royalties.

Co-Publishing Deal

A publishing arrangement in which the songwriter retains 100% of the writer's share and splits the publisher's share with the publisher (commonly 50/50). Ownership is shared rather than fully assigned.

Chapter 12

Composition

The underlying song itself — melody, lyrics, chord progression, and structure — as distinct from any specific recording of it. The composition is protected by one of the two copyrights that exist in every piece of recorded music.

Chapter 9

Copyright

The legal protection attached to original creative works. In music, two separate copyrights exist for each piece of recorded music — one for the composition, one for the sound recording.

Chapter 9

Cross-Collateralization

A contractual mechanism allowing income from one project or one right to recoup advances or costs from another. Often reduces transparency and delays payment to the artist.

DBA (Doing Business As)

A registered business name that allows an individual to operate under a different name. In the United States, a DBA can be used to register a simple publishing entity with a PRO.

Chapter 12

Delivery Requirement

A contractual obligation defining what must be delivered — a number of songs, albums, or masters — before a deal is considered fulfilled.

Chapter 11

Direct-to-Fan (D2F)

Any model in which artists sell music, merchandise, or experiences directly to their audience, generally with higher margins and stronger relationships than platform-mediated distribution.

Chapter 14

Distribution

The delivery of master recordings to streaming platforms and, for physical formats, to retailers, and the collection of the recording-side income they generate. Distribution does not automatically include publishing or performance royalties.

Chapter 12

DIY (Do It Yourself)

An approach in which artists retain control of their rights and their strategy while using third-party services for specific infrastructure rather than for ownership.

Chapter 12

DIY Distributor

A self-service distribution platform that enables upload, release management, metadata entry, ISRC assignment, and collection of recording income. Examples include DistroKid, TuneCore, and CD Baby.

Chapter 12

DSP (Digital Service Provider)

Platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and TikTok that host, stream, or distribute music to end listeners.

Exclusivity

A contractual restriction limiting where or how music can be released or monetized. Exclusivity is not inherently bad — it is often the price of investment or focus — but it reduces flexibility by design and should be agreed to deliberately.

Chapter 10

Fan Economy

The economic activity generated directly by fans, including merchandise, tickets, memberships, subscriptions, and direct support through platforms like Bandcamp and Patreon.

Chapter 14

Frontend

The visible layer of the music business — platforms, releases, marketing, audience interaction — as opposed to the backend systems that handle rights and payments.

Full Publishing Deal

A publishing arrangement in which the songwriter assigns 100% of the publisher's share to the publisher for a defined period, often in exchange for a larger advance and broader control.

Chapter 12

Gross Revenue

Total income generated before fees, expenses, or recoupment are applied. Gross numbers can be misleading without understanding the net outcome after deductions.

Integrator

A role that translates vision into sequence, prioritization, and execution. At artist-company scale, every artist is their own visionary, and every artist at sufficient scale eventually needs an integrator — a COO, general manager, empowered manager, or partner — to prevent the company from being whiplashed by its founder.

Chapter 8, Chapter 16

IPI (Interested Party Information) Number

A unique identifier linking songwriters and publishers to compositions in international rights databases.

Chapter 13

ISRC (International Standard Recording Code)

A unique identifier assigned to each sound recording, used to track usage and calculate recording income.

Chapter 9, Chapter 13

ISWC (International Standard Musical Work Code)

A unique identifier assigned to a musical composition, used to track publishing income.

Chapter 9, Chapter 13

Joint Venture / Profit-Share Deal

A record deal in which the label and artist share income, commonly described as 50/50 in principle. The real economics depend on how net is defined and what is deducted before the split is calculated.

Chapter 11

Label

A company that invests in, markets, and distributes master recordings. Labels typically own or control the masters they release, or take a significant share of the income those masters generate.

Chapter 11

Label Services Deal

An arrangement in which the artist retains ownership of their masters while paying the label for specific services — marketing, distribution, operational support. Increasingly popular with established independent artists.

Chapter 11

Manager

The commercial lead of an artist's career — the person responsible for strategy, negotiation, coordination with other team members, and long-term decision-making. Typically paid as a percentage of gross music-related income (most commonly 15–20%).

Chapter 10

Master Recording (Master)

The specific recorded version of a song, as distinct from the composition. Ownership of the master determines who earns income from streams, downloads, and master-side licensing.

Chapter 9

Mechanical Royalty

A royalty generated when a composition is reproduced — historically on a physical format, now primarily through streaming and downloads. Paid separately from performance royalties.

Chapter 13

Metadata

The data describing a song and its recording, including writers, splits, identifiers, rights holders, and representation. Metadata accuracy is critical to whether payment reaches the correct parties.

Chapter 13

Neighboring Rights

Royalties generated from the public performance of sound recordings, separate from the performance royalties generated by compositions. Paid to performers and master-rights holders.

Net Revenue

Income remaining after fees, distribution costs, and other contractually defined deductions have been taken from gross revenue. The definition of net in any contract is worth reading carefully.

Option Period

A contractual window during which one party can unilaterally extend an agreement for a further period. Options usually benefit the party holding them at the other party's expense.

Chapter 11

Pause, Rewind, and Fast Forward

A decision-making method for slowing down important commitments before making them. Pause the decision. Rewind through what came before and what pattern the current situation echoes. Fast forward through the three or four downstream consequences before committing.

Chapter 4, Chapter 7, Chapter 16

Performance Royalty

Income earned when music is publicly performed, broadcast, or streamed. Collected by PROs and paid to songwriters (writer's share) and publishers (publisher's share) separately.

Chapter 9, Chapter 13

Platform

A digital service that distributes, hosts, or monetizes music under its own rules and incentives. Platforms can disappear; the relationships an artist builds through them cannot.

Chapter 14

PRO (Performing Rights Organization)

An organization that licenses performing rights to broadcasters, venues, and digital services, then collects and distributes the resulting performance royalties to songwriters and publishers. Major PROs include ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC (US); PRS for Music (UK); and APRA AMCOS (Australia).

Chapter 9, Chapter 12

Publisher's Share

The half of performance income allocated to the publisher, covering administration, exploitation, and (under traditional deals) ownership. In the US, ASCAP requires a registered publishing entity to collect the publisher's share; BMI pays both shares to self-published writers.

Chapter 9, Chapter 12

Publishing

The ownership and administration of the composition, independent of any recording. Distinct from master-recording rights.

Chapter 9, Chapter 12

Recoupable

An amount, typically an advance, that will be deducted from the artist's future earnings before further income is paid. Almost all label and publishing advances are recoupable.

Chapter 11

Recoupment

The process by which a label or publisher recovers an advance and other costs from the artist's share of income before any further royalties are paid to the artist.

Chapter 11

Release Strategy

The planned approach to how, when, and why music is released. Strategy shapes momentum and audience response more than the quality of any single release.

Retention Period

The period during which a publisher continues to control works after a publishing deal's active term has ended. Retention periods often outlast the term itself by many years and deserve careful scrutiny.

Chapter 12

Reversion

A contractual provision under which rights return to the artist after a defined period. Reversion clauses vary widely and should be read carefully, as they determine how long the counterparty will actually control the rights.

Chapter 11

Rights Assignment

The transfer of ownership or control of rights from one party to another, sometimes for a defined period, sometimes permanently.

Split

The percentage allocation of ownership or income among collaborators on a song or recording. Splits should always be documented in writing before release.

Chapter 9

Streaming

Music consumption in which listeners access, rather than own, recordings. Streaming generates revenue through platform subscription and advertising fees, allocated across rights holders on a reconciliation basis rather than a per-sale basis.

Chapter 13

Sunset Clause

A provision in a management or representation agreement specifying what happens after the relationship ends — particularly which works remain subject to commission, and for how long. Sunset terms matter far more than many artists initially realize.

Chapter 10

Suspense (Royalties in)

The accounting status given to royalties that have been collected but cannot be matched to a rights holder. Money in suspense is typically held for a defined period before being redistributed under market-share rules.

Chapter 13

Sync License

A license granting the right to synchronize a recording or composition with visual media — film, television, advertising, games, online content. Paid as a one-off license fee and typically splits evenly between the composition (publishing) and the recording (master) sides.

Term

The duration during which a contract applies to new works. In publishing deals, the term must be read alongside the retention period, because the two together define how long the publisher actually controls the works.

Chapter 12

Visionary

The role of seeing the future, holding the long arc, and generating ideas. Every artist is their own visionary. At sufficient scale, the visionary needs an integrator to translate vision into execution.

Chapter 8, Chapter 16

Writer's Share

The half of performance income allocated to the songwriter. Always paid directly to the songwriter by PROs, regardless of any publishing deal. Distinct from the publisher's share.

Chapter 9, Chapter 12