Before you submit a song
Confirm the legal song title and any alternate titles used on DSPs. Societies match text. A stylized marketing title that does not match the store listing is a matching risk.
List every writer with accurate legal names and agreed ownership percentages that add up correctly. “We’ll sort splits later” is how royalties stall.
Capture release context, artist credit, duration, and identifiers you already have (such as ISRC for the recording).
ISRC, ISWC, and IPI — what each one is for
ISRC identifies a specific recording. ISWC identifies the musical work (the composition). IPI identifies a writer or publisher party at societies. You can register a song before every identifier exists, but you should store them as soon as they are issued.
Publishing administration lives on the work. Distribution lives on the recording. Connecting ISRC context to the composition helps later matching when usage reports mention the recording.
Keep one source of truth
Use a single catalog system, like the Dark Lab dashboard, so song data, royalty status, and statements stay connected as your catalog grows.
When a co-writer, manager, or label asks for the split, you should be able to open one record — not reconstruct it from emails.