Your song is streaming on Boomplay in Dar es Salaam, playing on the radio in Kampala and being shared by the diaspora in Brussels and London. Money is being earned every time. But your stage name is spelt three different ways, you left the writer credits blank when you uploaded, and nobody on your team knows your IPI number, so the money cannot find you.
Every platform reports plays as data, and when the data does not match, royalties sit in unmatched pools known as the "black box", where unclaimed money can end up shared out among other rights holders. Three codes do the matching: the ISRC identifies your recording, the ISWC identifies your song, and your IPI number identifies you as a songwriter. Use exactly the same name spelling everywhere, fill in every writer and producer credit when you upload, and register each song with your society on release day. For money earned abroad, a publishing administrator can register your songs worldwide while you keep full ownership.
This week, list your songs in three columns: ISRC, ISWC, and each writer's IPI number. Every blank is money that cannot find you, so close the gaps with your distributor and your society. Music Rights & Copyright 101 shows you how to make every play, anywhere in the world, trace back to you. Take the course on Crux Global Academy: cruxmusic.global/academycrux.
