Registrations

Every track needs to be registered in multiple places to actually collect everything you're owed:

• PRO (BMI / ASCAP / SESAC) — performance royalties
• MLC — mechanical royalties (US streaming)
• SoundExchange — sound recording royalties (US digital radio)
• U.S. Copyright Office (eCO) — copyright registration
• Songtrust — international mechanical collection (optional)
• ISRC.LINK — the code itself

Each platform has its own format requirements, columns, and quirks. Sonifide generates a registration-ready file for each, derived from your real metadata.

How it works

From /registrations, pick a release. You'll see a card for each platform with status (Ready · Awaiting metadata · Filed · Confirmed) and a generate-file button.

Click File + instructions (.zip) → — Sonifide bundles:

• The platform-formatted output file (CSV for MLC/SoundExchange/Songtrust, JSON for eCO, XML for BMI/ASCAP)
• An INSTRUCTIONS-{platform}.txt file with step-by-step submission guide (prerequisites, portal URL, what each field means, what happens after submit, cost, who it's for)

The instructions are real — for example the ASCAP guide explains Capacity codes (CA = Composer/Author, C = Composer only, A = Author/Lyricist), and the SoundExchange guide breaks down the 50/45/5 split (recording owner / featured artist / non-featured musicians via AFM/SAG-AFTRA).

Recommended order

The platforms have dependencies. Sonifide suggests this filing order:

1. PRO first (BMI / ASCAP / SESAC) — establishes you as the writer
2. MLC — uses your PRO writer identity
3. SoundExchange — sound recording side, independent
4. eCO — final copyright registration, takes longest to process
5. Songtrust — only if you want international mechanical collection (15% commission)

What about ISRC?

ISRCs identify your specific recording across every digital platform. Two options:

• Get your own prefix from the US ISRC Agency — $95 one-time, lasts a lifetime. Codes stay yours.
• Let your distributor assign them (DistroKid, TuneCore, etc.) — free, but the codes are tied to the distributor.

Sonifide stores whichever ISRC you use, then exposes it to every other registration filing.