Which Credits Are Essential for a Release?

When releasing music, proper crediting is key to ensuring that everyone involved in the creation and distribution of your music is recognized and compensated. It’s also a requirement for many platforms. Here’s a comprehensive guide to the credits you need to add to your release:

1. Recording Copyright Owner (℗)

The recording copyright owner refers to the entity or person who holds the rights to the sound recording. This is often:

• The artist, if you’re self-releasing your music.
• The record label, if your release is through a label.

Properly crediting the recording copyright owner ensures that royalties from streams and sales are attributed to the correct entity. It can also help with protecting the rights of the copyright owner in case of a dispute.

2. Artwork Copyright Owner (©) 

The artwork copyright owner refers to the person or entity who owns the rights to the cover art or any visual material associated with your release. This might be:

• The photographer/designer,  if the artwork was commissioned.
• The artist or the label, if the artwork was created independently.

It’s important to credit the artwork copyright owner as it allows them to get properly recognized and to protect the visual elements associated with the artwork.

3. Artist Details

Artist credits are crucial for correctly identifying who is behind the music. These credits are broken down into three categories:

• Primary Artist
  • This refers to the main artist or band responsible for the release. It should be the name you consistently use for branding, promotion, and distribution. The primary roles an artist can have are: 
    • Main: This refers to the primary performer of the track or release. 
    • Meets: Used for collaborations where artists come together to create music.
    • VS: Suggests a musical duel or competition between artists or groups.
• Secondary Artist
  • With: Used when another artist collaborates but is not as a primary artist.
  • Featuring: Commonly used to highlight guest appearances by another artist.
• Presented By
  • This is often used for the producer who is driving or presenting the project. A same artist cannot be the presenter and the main artist of the same release. 
• Remixed By
  • This refers to the artists that are remixing the tracks. If you credit an artist as a remixer, you also need to add their legal name as Programmer in Performers details.

Accurate artist details are critical to make sure your fans can find your music and that all involved artists are correctly associated with the project.

4. Label

The label represents the company (or individual, if you’re independent) under which the release is distributed. If you are an independent artist, you can list yourself or  any name you want as the label. Choosing the right label name gives your release credibility, especially if it’s part of your own brand.

5. Contributor Details

Contributors are those who participated in the creative or technical production of the tracks. This includes:

• Composers
• Lyricists
• Arrangers (for classical music)
• Producers

Most digital platforms and rights organizations require the legal names of the contributors, not just their artist aliases. Make sure to credit the contributors correctly so that all individuals involved in the creation of your music are properly recognized and compensated, especially if you have registered your work to a PRO before distributing it with us. 

If the original composers and lyricists are unknown, you can write Traditional as first and last name. Please note that this is only reserved for songs in the folk repertoire!

6. Performer Details

Performers are the musicians and vocalists who played instruments or sang on the recording. Platforms like Apple Music require that performer details be included, and the legal names of all performers must be provided.These credits are important because they ensure that session musicians, backing vocalists, and other instrumentalists are recognized.

7. Publishers (for Cover Versions)

If you’re releasing a cover song, you must credit the publishers of the original composition. The publisher holds the rights to the composition and lyrics so it’s mandatory to credit them. Including the publisher’s details ensures that your release is legally compliant and that the original creators are credited.

Adding the right credits to your release is more than just a formality—it's crucial for copyright protection, proper royalty distribution, and ensuring that everyone involved in your project gets the recognition they deserve.

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