Sonifide · blog
Ownership, splits, registrations, and everything that has to be right before a track goes live.
August 2, 2026 · 5 min read
An ISRC is the fingerprint on a recording. It does not pay you directly — it is what lets every system that does pay you recognize your recording as yours. Duplicated or wrong ISRCs are a leading cause of lost royalties.
August 1, 2026 · 5 min read
Songtrust registers your songs with 60+ collection societies worldwide for a one-time fee plus commission. Whether that is worth it depends almost entirely on where your listeners are — and a lot of artists pay for it too early.
July 31, 2026 · 5 min read
The Mechanical Licensing Collective collects US streaming mechanical royalties on your compositions. Your PRO does not collect it. Your distributor does not collect it. It is free, and it is the gap most independent songwriters never close.
July 30, 2026 · 5 min read
SoundExchange is the only organization the US government designated to collect digital performance royalties on sound recordings. Registration is free, it pays artists directly, and unregistered artists routinely have money sitting unclaimed.
July 29, 2026 · 6 min read
Copyright protects your songs. It does nothing for your name. Trademark is what stops another act taking your identity — and USPTO fees changed substantially in January 2025.
July 28, 2026 · 5 min read
You own the copyright the moment you record. Registering it is what lets you enforce it — and the Copyright Office has proposed raising fees and eliminating the cheapest filing option, so the window to file at current rates is finite.
July 27, 2026 · 5 min read
You can only be a writer member of one. Here is the honest comparison — cost, ownership structure, payment timing, and why the difference matters less than the two years most artists spend choosing neither.
July 26, 2026 · 5 min read
ASCAP is a member-owned performing rights organization that collects composition royalties from radio, TV, venues and streaming. Writer application fees are currently waived, and it distributes about 88 cents of every dollar it collects.
July 25, 2026 · 5 min read
BMI collects performance royalties on your compositions — money from radio, TV, venues and streaming that nobody else collects for you. It is free for songwriters, and it is usually the first registration you should complete.
July 24, 2026 · 5 min read
Eight organizations pay independent artists, and each one pays for something different. Here is the whole map — what BMI, ASCAP, the Copyright Office, the USPTO, SoundExchange, the MLC, Songtrust and ISRC codes each do, and which ones you actually need.