The One Thing That Can Make or Break Your Music Royalties

You’ve poured your heart into creating a track. The mix is perfect, the master is shining, and the song is live on platforms. But here’s a truth that many Indian artists and labels learn too late, none of that matters if your track isn’t properly documented. In the music business, the single most important factor that decides whether your royalties arrive or vanish is accurate metadata and rights registration.

What Is Metadata, and Why Should You Care?

In music, metadata is the digital DNA of your song, the hidden information that tells royalty collection systems who created the track, who owns it, and how earnings should be split.

• Get delayed for months.
• Be paid to the wrong person or label.
• Disappear into the “black box” of unclaimed royalties.

The Two Pillars That Protect Your Royalties

1. Accurate Metadata

At a minimum, your track metadata should include:

• Song Title (exact spelling, no typos)
• Artist Name(s) (as they appear on official releases)
• Songwriters/Composers (full legal names, not nicknames)
• Publisher / Copyright Owner
• ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) for the master
• ISWC (International Standard Musical Work Code) for the composition
• Splits (percentage ownership between contributors)

Pro Tip: One missing name or wrong spelling can block your royalty payout entirely.

2. Rights Registration

Once your metadata is clean, you must register the track with the right organisations:

• For Publishing Royalties: Join and register with PRO or a sub-publisher.
• For Master Royalties: Use a trusted distributor that registers your ISRCs properly with DSPs.
• For International Earnings: Make sure your publisher or sub-publisher (like Giant Robot Entertainment) registers your works globally.

The YouTube Factor: How Asset IDs Protect Your Royalties

On YouTube, every piece of music in the Content ID system is linked to a unique Asset ID. This Asset ID is like your track’s fingerprint inside YouTube’s royalty network it tells the platform:

1. Who owns the music
2. Who should get paid
3. Which territories the rights apply to
4. What the usage policy is (block, track, or monetise)

When your song is uploaded whether by you, a label, or a fan YouTube's Content ID scans the audio.

• If it matches your Asset ID, the video is claimed, and ad revenue is routed to you or your publisher.
• If there’s no Asset ID, YouTube can’t link the music to you, and you lose all related earnings.

Example:

Your track appears in 50 fan-made videos, each with 20,000 views. With the correct Asset ID in place, you monetise every one of those plays. Without it, you get nothing even if the music is fully yours.

Your Royalty Protection Checklist

Before releasing your track:

Bottom line: In the music world, accurate metadata, complete registrations, and correct YouTube Asset IDs aren’t just technical details they’re your ticket to actually getting paid.

At Giant Robot Entertainment, we specialise in making sure our members’ tracks are registered and protected worldwide, so no royalty is left unclaimed.