Licensing Basics
The Song Licensing Glossary: Every Term, Plain English
By the Starchild Music team · September 28, 2026 · 7 min read
The short answer
The song licensing terms that actually matter: composition (the written song), master (a specific recording), license (permission to use), exclusive (only you can license it), sync (music paired with picture), PRO (royalty society like ASCAP/BMI), IPI (a writer's global ID number), stems (separated production elements), and royalty-free (pay once, no ongoing royalties). Defined in plain English below.
Licensing conversations fall apart on vocabulary. Two people say "the song" and mean two different things; someone asks for your IPI and you nod slowly. This glossary is the fix — every term you'll actually encounter, defined the way a friend across the table would put it.
The two halves of every song
- Composition — the song as written: melody, lyrics, structure. Owned by the songwriter(s) and their publisher(s). When you license a song to record, you're licensing the composition.
- Master — one specific recording of a composition. When you record your licensed version, you own that master. The demo you auditioned belongs to its producer.
- Publishing — the business of owning and managing compositions. A publisher administers the writer's share of song earnings.
The permissions
- License — written permission to use something you don't own, under stated terms. Not a purchase of the thing itself.
- Non-exclusive — others may license the same song too. The standard, affordable tier.
- Exclusive — only you can license the song during your term; it leaves the marketplace entirely. On Starchild: 3, 6, or 12 months from $60.
- Royalty-free — a payment structure, not a price of zero: pay once, no ongoing royalty considerations for the licensed use.
- Sync (synchronization) — pairing music with moving picture: film, TV, ads, games, video. A separate right from recording a song yourself. Adaptive sync licensing arrives on Starchild in fall 2026.
- Term — how long a license's special conditions last. Exclusivity has a term; your right to your own recording doesn't expire with it.
The identifiers
- PRO (Performing Rights Organization) — the society that collects performance royalties for writers: ASCAP, BMI, SESAC in the US; PRS, SOCAN, APRA elsewhere.
- IPI number — a songwriter's or publisher's global ID in the rights system. It's how the world's royalty databases know exactly which "J. Smith" wrote the song.
- Split — each writer's percentage of the composition. Good metadata states every writer, their PRO, IPI, and split.
- License certificate — the document proving your license: song, writers, publishers, licensee, package, term, order reference. Starchild generates one for every purchase.
The production terms
- Demo — the reference recording that shows the song. You audition it; you don't release it.
- Instrumental — the full production minus the lead vocal, for recording your voice over.
- Stems — the production separated into elements (drums, bass, keys, vocals…) so an engineer can rebalance or rebuild the mix.
- Adaptive song — a Starchild-format song produced in ~10 different styles you can audition live, with pitch, tempo, and vocal-balance controls. One composition, many productions.
Use it like a checklist
Before any release: do you have the license (and its certificate)? Do you know the writers, their splits, PROs, and IPIs (your certificate lists them)? Do you own your master? Is your term what you think it is? Four questions, and every one of them is answered by documents you can download from your Library. That's the whole game.