​New guide launched to help artists understand royalties and recording codes

A new guide has been launched to help artists understand metadata, recording codes, and royalties, the Get Paid Guide.

Aimed at musicians looking to grapple pay and royalties, the Get Paid Guide is self-described as the “creator’s guide to data” offering simplified information.

The guide was curated in a partnership between PRS for Music, The Ivors Academy, the Music Publishers Association (MPA), and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), and offers explainer videos and checklists for understanding royalties.

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Speaking to DJ Mag, The Ivors Academy Board Director, Fiona Bevan, explained that the guide is there to make sure musicians “aren’t missing out on royalties”.

“This guide simplifies what seems complex by helping songwriters, composers, managers, and publishers understand what they need to know,” she said. “I hope it puts more money in songwriters’ pockets by taking some of the mystery out of data.”

The guide also gives information on International Standard Musical Work (ISWC), and International Standard Recording (ISRC) codes in short, simplified videos, and gives users the chance to take part in a quiz to better understand royalties.

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The website currently offers five step-by-step walkthroughs across data and recording codes, a ‘get paid checklist’, and a quiz titled: ‘are you royalties ready?’.

President of the PRS Members’ Council, Michelle Escoffery, added that the guide is a “crucial handbook” for songwriters. “Getting the data right at the point of works registration is vitally important and is often the difference between being paid or not,” she said.

Find out more about the Get Paid Guide here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter