Publishing Definitions:
Advance: Money paid as a lump sum by a publisher or record company to a writer or artist as an advance payment of royalties due on the sale or exploitation of songs or recordings. This money is recoupable, meaning that in normal circumstances the writer or artist will not be paid further money until the advance has been repaid. Almost every publishing deal will incorporate advances, usually payable on signing of a contract and meeting a minimum release commitment, typically the release of an album or certain number of songs where the signing writer has made a contribution to the writing.
Co-write: The act of two or more writers writing a song together.
Cross-Colateralisation: is a term used when the collateral for one loan is also used as collateral for another loan. In the music industry, this situation could occur if the income generated by the use of a writer’s songs is used to repay the cost of recording that writer’s songs. This often happens when the writer’s publisher is also her record company.
Performance Fees: The money paid to a musician for performing at a gig, on the radio or a TV show etc.
Product Guarantee: It is typical in a publishing contract for the publisher to specify when the writer qualifies for more advances from the publisher. This is normally when their songs are released in a substantial form as described in the agreement, hence product guarantee. It is possible for a writer to work with a publisher for many years without being paid advances as the writer may not have fulfilled her product guarantee through no fault of her own.
Recoupable: In publishing and recording contracts, certain costs that are incurred by the publisher record company must be recovered by exploitation/sales before royalties are paid. These are known as recoupable costs, and typically include the cost of recording an album, half the cost of making a video and the costs associated with touring amongst countless others.
Ringtone: 21 st Century Mobile Phones often include the ability to play pre-defined melodies and backing tracks and whole audio files as the sound the phone makes when a call is coming in. A songwriter is paid a predefined sum every time a phone user downloads her song to use in this way Royalties: Money paid to a writer or artist from the exploitation or sale of songs or recordings. Royalties are typically paid when the recoupable costs incurred by the publisher or record company have been met, then the writer or artist will be paid a share of the money collected. A common share for a writer in a publishing agreement is 75% of monies collected, 15% is typical for a band in a record deal although both figures can vary enormously.
Song split: An agreement between several parties where the each has agreed how the income from the song is shared.
Track: In song-writing terms, this is the instrumental ‘backing’ to a song.
Top-line: The melody and lyric of a song i.e. the vocal part of a song. This can sometimes include raps and instrumental solos.
Copyright Definitions:
Monopoly: Monopoly is an economic term that describes a situation where one entity (such as a company) has complete or almost complete control over the supply of a good or service into a market.
Asset: Anything that can be owned or controlled to produce value and increases the wealth of an individual or company is an asset e.g. a house.
Intangible asset: Intangible assets are non-monetary (that is property that is not cash or similar) assets that cannot be seen, touched or physically measured. However, these assets must be created through time and effort and are identifiable as a separate asset. An example of an intangible asset could be the ‘know how’ of a team that’s very good at writing songs. However, the ‘happiness’ of an individual or team could not be described as an intangible asset.
Public Domain: When the intellectual property rights in a work have expired the work is said to be in the public domain. In practical terms this means that it is not possible for anybody to ‘own’ these works and they become ‘publicly available’ for anybody to use in whatever way.
Waive: To ‘waive’ means to voluntarily give up certain rights or privileges.