Licensing Basics
What to Do If the Writer Info on a Licensed Song Changes
By the Starchild Music team · October 23, 2026 · 5 min read
The short answer
Writer information changes at the source: the songwriter updates their own PRO and MLC records, and you ask your distributor to resend metadata if credits on your release need correcting. Keep your original license certificate, because it records who the writers were when you licensed. Credits usually update on Spotify within seven days of a corrected delivery.
A writer gets married and changes their name. Another moves to a different PRO, or signs with a publisher. Your single is already out.
Do not panic. Writer data lives in a few systems, and most of the work belongs to the songwriter, not the artist. Here is how to sort out who does what.
What your certificate records
Your Starchild license certificate names the writers with their PRO and IPI at the time of the license. It is a snapshot of who the writers were then.
Keep it. If the writer's details change later, the certificate shows what they were when you released, and anyone can check it at /verify.
The songwriter updates their own records
The MLC's help center says members can edit their own works in the Member Hub. Self-service edits include the work title and adding new writers or publishers, while changes such as renaming an existing writer or publisher, removing a writer or publisher, or adjusting a publisher's share require the MLC team to process a request.
PROs have their own rules. Each one runs a process for name changes and share updates, and they sometimes ask for documentation. That is the songwriter's job, and you cannot do it for them.
You fix credits through your distributor
Spotify says credits are powered by the metadata your label or distributor provides. To fix a credit, you contact your distributor and ask it to resend the track's metadata with the correct credits.
Credits usually appear within seven days of Spotify receiving the update. Some distributors do not support credits yet, so ask first.
Check the public data
The MLC's Public Work Search lets anyone view ownership information in its database, free and without a login. It shows ownership shares and matched sound recordings.
If you notice something wrong, let the songwriter know. Our guide on who registers what explains why the artist cannot fix writer-side data.
When the change is a split
If the change is about who owns what share of the song, that is a conversation between the writers, not something to settle on your release. The MLC has a dispute policy for conflicts over ownership shares, built to be resolved directly among the parties involved.
A buyer should stay out of those talks. Your license is with the songwriter you licensed from, and you can always ask them for a current statement.
What to do, step by step
- Ask the songwriter what changed and what they will update.
- Check your distributor's credits against the corrected data.
- Ask your distributor to resend metadata if credits are wrong.
- Wait about a week and look at the credits on the streaming service.
- Add a note to your release folder with the date and what changed.
Why the artist should stay out of writer-side edits
Writer data is controlled by the people it describes. Systems like The MLC let a member edit only their own works, and larger changes go through the organization's staff.
A change to the writer record should come from the writer or their publisher. An artist who tries to change it can create mismatches between systems.
What the Copyright Office records
Circular 12 explains that recording a document with the Copyright Office is voluntary. The Office does not decide whether the document is legally effective, only that it meets minimum requirements.
For a non-exclusive licensee, recording is rarely the next step. Your best protection is your written license, so keep it close.
Telling Starchild
If you spot something in a certificate that looks out of date, contact Starchild through the site and say which song and which license. The writer's current details are theirs to update, but a quick note helps the team look into it.
Your original certificate remains a valid record of what you licensed and when. Do not discard it.
Common changes and who handles them
- A legal name change: the songwriter updates it with their PRO and in The MLC. You then ask your distributor to resend credits.
- A new PRO or publisher: the songwriter registers the change. Your certificate still shows the PRO and IPI from when you licensed.
- A new co-writer added after release: the writers settle it among themselves, and the records are updated by them.
- A typo in a credit on your release: this one is yours, so ask your distributor to resend.
Do not rush to re-release
You rarely need to take a song down because a writer's details changed. Credits can be corrected on a live release, and Spotify says updates usually show within seven days.
A new release would also reset your stream counts and playlist placements, which is rarely worth it. Make the correction and keep the original release.
Keep a change log
A short log saves you from guessing later. For each change, write the date, what changed, who told you, and what you did about it.
If you ever need to explain why a credit changed between two dates, the log answers in a sentence. Put it in the same folder as the certificate.
The log also helps if you work with a manager or a label later. Anyone taking over your catalog can see the history without asking you to remember it.