Get Paid Guide hopes to "put more money in the pockets" of UK musicians by demystifying metadata and royalties

A new website has been launched to ensure UK musicians and songwriters are getting paid what they're owed for their music. 

The Get Paid Guide is a partnership between PRS for Music, the Music Publishers Association, The Ivors Academy and the UK's Intellectual Property Office. 

Aiming to "demystify" music metadata, the guide talks music-makers through the various bits of data that must be submitted when songs are released and registered with PRS in order to ensure rights holders are compensated down the line.

Musicians can access a checklist to help them manage their music data, watch short video tutorials on ISWC and ISRC codes, and test their knowledge using a quiz. The guide also offers answers to a number of frequently asked questions surrounding music data and royalties. 

In 2021, the DCMS Select Committee investigated the economic impact of music streaming on those making the music and the wider music industry. The committee found that incomplete or inaccurate metadata can lead to delays to musicians and songwriters being paid for the use of their works, or even mean that they're not paid at all.

Following the inquiry, a group of key industry players agreed to improve metadata on music streaming services in the UK in order to ensure music-makers are accurately credited and paid. The Get Paid Guide has been put together as a result of this agreement. 

“Without accurate song data you won’t get paid. It is so important that creators get this right from the beginning," says The Ivors Academy's Board Director Fiona Bevan. "This guide simplifies what seems complex by helping songwriters, composers, managers, and publishers understand what they need to know and what they need to do to make sure they aren’t missing out on royalties.”

Check out the Get Paid Guide. 

Revisit our feature on the fight to fix music streaming.