You own the work. Own the record of it.

02Writing

The business of an independent music career: the metadata, the agreements, and the admin nobody hands you a manual for.

• 47 · 2026-09-15

  What a “featuring” credit does to your royalty split

  One word in an artist field moves one royalty on its own, out of the artists’ share and not the owner’s. Which split it divides, how the default is changed, and the two it never touches.

• 46 · 2026-09-14

  What an IPI number is, and why your PRO keeps asking for it

  The eleven digits that identify you rather than the song. Which of your numbers goes on the form, where yours is, how to get a co-writer’s, and what a blank one costs.

• 45 · 2026-09-13

  Songwriter, composer, arranger: the metadata distinction

  Composer is the music, lyricist the words, songwriter both, arranger a change to a work that existed. Which word each system takes, and which of them pays.