The music industry is undergoing a transformation, with platforms like Tidal introducing tools that empower artists to better manage their royalties and track the music they’ve created. Recently, Tidal launched features enabling artists to monitor royalties, manage their songwriting credits, and track the performance of their music on the platform. This is an exciting step forward, but it highlights a critical issue that many independent musicians still face: the need for clear ownership rights to be established before the complex process of royalty collection and distribution begins.

The Complexity of Music Royalties: A Challenge for Artists

Music royalties are notoriously complex. In the U.S., any artist involved in creating a track—whether as a composer, songwriter, or performer—must register with a Performing Rights Organization (PRO) and obtain an Interested Party Information (IPI) number. This ensures they are recognized as rights holders, allowing PROs to track the usage of their work and pay out royalties accordingly.

However, the biggest challenge isn't just registering with a PRO—it’s tracking where your music is used and ensuring that royalties are collected across different formats. There are multiple types of royalties to consider, such as:

• Mechanical Royalties: For physical reproductions (CDs, vinyls) and digital downloads.

• Performance Royalties: For public performances, radio play, and streaming services.

Without the proper agreements and copyright documentation in place upfront, artists often face difficulties tracking these royalties, leading to missed payments and lost revenue.

Establishing Ownership: The First Step Towards Financial Control

As platforms like Tidal continue to innovate by adding tools to help artists manage their catalogs, it’s important to understand that these features only work effectively if the foundational data is correct. This is where establishing clear ownership through agreements and copyrights comes into play.

Before you can even think about splitting royalties or tracking payouts, you need to have a rock-solid foundation that defines who owns what. At Song Safety, we believe that the first level of data ownership is crucial for protecting your music. By using agreements to clearly outline ownership, royalty splits, and rights among collaborators, you set the stage for accurate data that platforms like Tidal and distributors rely on to pay you correctly.

Why Song Safety is Essential for Independent Artists

Imagine you’ve just released a new track and it’s getting traction on streaming services. Without proper agreements in place, there’s no clear documentation of who owns what percentage of the song. This can lead to confusion, disputes, and ultimately delays in royalty payments. That's why at Song Safety, we help artists:

1. Establish Agreements: Secure agreements that define ownership, royalty splits, and usage rights before you release your music.

2. Copyright Your Work: Protect your songs with a digital copyright record to establish your claim and timestamp your ownership.

3. Simplify Collaboration: Use our SMVRT Agreements to make the process of collaborating with other artists smooth, transparent, and legally binding.

By taking these steps, you ensure that the data flowing into platforms like Tidal, Spotify, and distributors is accurate from the start, enabling seamless royalty tracking and payment.

The Future of the Music Industry: Where We’re Headed

Platforms like Tidal are pioneering the way artists interact with their catalogs, making it easier to track where their music is used, verify metadata, and ensure accurate royalty splits. As Agustina Sacerdote, Tidal’s global head of product, noted, the industry has been using outdated tools that don’t serve the needs of today’s artists. Tidal is looking to change that by offering tools that simplify the royalty tracking process.

However, no matter how advanced these tools become, they still rely on accurate ownership data as their foundation. The music industry is clearly moving towards greater transparency and control for artists, but it all starts with clear agreements and copyrights.

Conclusion: Protect Your Music with Song Safety

At Song Safety, our mission is to empower independent musicians by providing the tools to protect their work from the very beginning. By establishing your rights upfront with clear agreements and digital copyright records, you’re not just securing your music—you’re setting yourself up for long-term success in an industry that’s evolving rapidly.

Take control of your music and secure your rights today with Song Safety. Because in this new era of the music industry, protecting your foundational rights is more important than ever.