THE ENCORE JOURNAL
Practical guides to the paperwork behind your music. Built around official sources, useful checks and evidence—not promises of a payout.
The same track can involve a songwriter, a singer, session players and a recording owner. Those roles are not interchangeable—and neither are the organisations handling their royalties.
Read the guide →A new name can be a fresh start creatively. For catalogue research, the older names remain useful clues. Here is how we suggest keeping those clues organised.
Read the guide →An ISRC is useful when different catalogues describe a track differently. It is a reference for a recording—not a balance, a contract or a promise of payment.
Read the guide →A search result is a starting point. The most useful question is not just “did my name appear?” but “what exactly does this result establish?”
Read the guide →You do not need a perfect archive to begin. Start with a small, well-documented batch of older releases, and make the gaps visible.
Read the guide →If you contributed to a recording without being the headline artist, a review should describe what you actually did—not just whether your name is prominent on the release.
Read the guide →A good first enquiry is short. A useful review file is organised. You do not need to send your entire archive before you know what work is being proposed.
Read the guide →YOUR CATALOGUE, YOUR QUESTIONS
Tell us about your music. We’ll discuss whether a review could help.