Free reference
Every term a label actually uses, explained in plain English. Free to read, no login.
Money a label pays an artist up front, before any sales. Recoupable — the label earns it back from the artist's share before payouts begin.
In Fannera: Add advances on the artist's Agreement tab; statements recoup them automatically, oldest first.
Telling stores and listeners which parts of a release were made with AI — vocals, instrumental, lyrics or artwork. Several platforms now require it.
The cover image for a release. Stores expect a square file, at least 3000×3000 pixels, with no logos, URLs or store names on it.
The people who actually engage with your music — not follower counts. An audience you can email is an audience you own.
In Fannera: Audience analytics show age, gender and city once you have enough fans.
Beats per minute — the tempo of a track. Useful for playlisting, DJ sets and sync briefs.
In Fannera: The free BPM detector reads tempo and key in your browser.
A marketing email sent to your fan list — a release announcement, a tour date, a thank you. (Not to be confused with radio/TV broadcast.) The cheapest reach you will ever own.
In Fannera: Send broadcasts to the whole list or filter by city and engagement.
Everything a label or artist has released. Older catalogue often earns quietly for years and is what buyers actually value.
The underlying song — melody and lyrics — separate from any recording of it.
The legal right to control copying, sharing and licensing of a work. Music has two: one in the composition, one in the recording.
In Fannera: Read the copyright policy for how claims are handled here.
The document a broadcaster files listing every piece of music used in a programme, with timings. It is how sync performance money gets paid.
The company that delivers your release to the stores and collects the money back. They take a fee or a cut before you see anything.
Data Processing Agreement — the contract covering how someone handles personal data on your behalf. Required under UK and EU data law.
In Fannera: Our DPA is public and signable.
Digital Service Provider — the streaming stores: Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon and the rest.
Asking for an email before a download or pre-save — turning a stream into a fan you own.
In Fannera: Every release and capture page can gate downloads behind an email.
Electronic Press Kit — the one-document pitch: bio, photos, key tracks, streaming numbers and contacts.
In Fannera: Generate a branded EPK PDF from the artist record.
A clause saying the artist can only release certain music through you, usually for a set term or number of releases.
In Fannera: The contract templates spell exclusivity out in plain English.
The emails, cities and purchase history of people who actually care. Platforms rent you reach; fan data is the part you keep.
In Fannera: Export the full list as CSV any time — it is your data.
All the money coming in before any fees or costs are taken out. Deals that split gross are rare and favour the artist.
A 12-character code that identifies one specific recording — a fingerprint for a track.
In Fannera: Stored per track; the resolver uses it to find and verify store links.
The code that identifies the song itself (the composition), separate from any recording of it.
The musical key of a track. DJs and playlist curators use it to mix and sequence; sync teams use it to match mood.
In Fannera: Detected alongside BPM in the free key finder.
The credit naming who owns the artwork, packaging and underlying song, and from what year — the counterpart to the ℗ line, which covers the recording.
The credit naming who owns the recording and from what year — for example ℗ 2026 Your Label Ltd.
The metadata sheet that travels with a release: titles, artists, writers, codes, release date, territories and credits.
Permission to use a recording or song for a defined purpose, time and territory — without transferring ownership.
The loudness measurement stores use to normalise playback. Master too loud and the platform simply turns you down.
In Fannera: The free audio analyzer reads LUFS from your master in the browser.
The original recording itself. Owning the master means controlling that recording.
Money owed to the songwriter and publisher when a composition is reproduced — on a stream, download or physical copy.
A recurring monthly payment from a fan in exchange for early access, extras or simply support. Predictable income beats one-off spikes.
In Fannera: Fan memberships are billed directly to your own payout account.
All the text around the audio: titles, credits, codes, genre, language. Bad metadata is the number one reason releases get rejected or paid late.
Non-Disclosure Agreement — a short contract keeping unreleased music, deals and plans confidential.
In Fannera: In the template library, UK/US/EU.
Money owed to performers and master owners when a recording is played on radio, TV or in public — separate from streaming royalties. Note: US terrestrial (AM/FM) radio pays performers nothing; only digital and satellite radio do, via SoundExchange.
The money actually left after distributor fees and approved costs — the base many indie deals split.
A track where a single party can clear both the recording and the composition. Sync supervisors strongly prefer one-stops.
Submitting an unreleased track to editorial or curator playlists ahead of release day, usually three to four weeks out.
A fan agreeing in advance to have a release added to their library on day one. Day-one activity is what algorithms actually notice.
In Fannera: Pre-save pages capture the email at the same time.
Performing Rights Organisation — the bodies that collect performance money for songwriters and publishers. In the UK the term is collecting society or CMO (PRS for Music); elsewhere ASCAP, BMI, GEMA and friends. Some, like PRS and GEMA, collect mechanicals too.
The business of the composition: registering songs, licensing them and collecting the writer's and publisher's shares.
The label earning back advances and approved costs out of the artist's share before any royalty is paid through.
In Fannera: Statements recoup automatically, oldest balance first, with the waterfall shown.
The day the release goes live everywhere. Deliver at least three to four weeks ahead if you want any editorial chance.
How income from a release is divided between label, artists, producers and features — agreed in writing before release, ideally.
In Fannera: The split calculator shows every party's share before you commit.
The report showing an artist what they earned and what was recouped.
In Fannera: Generated automatically from your sales.
Getting written permission to use part of someone else's recording and song. Both sides must clear, or the release is a liability.
One link that sends a fan to every store plus your own page.
In Fannera: Every release gets one automatically.
The form that records who wrote what percentage of a song, signed in the session.
In Fannera: In the template library, UK/US/EU.
The per-stream payment from a platform, which varies by country, subscription type and deal. There is no fixed rate, whatever anyone tells you.
In Fannera: Import distributor statements and see the real per-stream rate.
Licensing music to picture — adverts, film, TV, games. One of the best-paid uses. Strictly, a sync licence covers the composition; using it to picture usually needs a master use licence for the recording too. When one party controls both, that's a one-stop.
In Fannera: Sync licence templates are in the free template library.
The barcode for a whole release — every album, EP or single has one.
The order money is paid out in: costs first, then advances, then splits. Change the order and you change everyone's cheque.
In Fannera: See the waterfall on every statement before you approve it.
Telling a platform's content-ID system that a specific channel or video is allowed to use your recording without a claim.
A US copyright arrangement where the commissioned creator doesn't keep the copyright — it belongs to whoever paid. The UK has no true equivalent for freelancers: a session player or producer keeps their rights unless they sign a written assignment, which is what actually transfers ownership.
In Fannera: The session musician template assigns those rights properly.
Advances, splits, recoupment and statements — handled, with a 0% platform fee on your own sales.
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