Every song has two copyrights?
Young artists sign bad deals because they don't know the difference. Learn this before anyone hands you a contract.
Composition (the song)
Lyrics + melody. Owned by songwriters. PRO royalties (ASCAP/BMI/SOCAN) pay on public performance of the composition.
Master (the recording)
The actual audio file. Owned by whoever paid for the session — often the artist, sometimes a label or producer. Streaming and sales pay on the master.
Why it matters on Alabasta
- You can own your master and still split composition with co-writers
- Beat leases often give you master rights but not composition ownership of the beat itself
- Register composition with PRO · keep master files and licenses in your folder