NAMES AND CREDITS

Two writers, one line

Some registrations carry a writer line that is two people: “SMITH AND JONES,” “SMITH/JONES,” a band name, a production duo. The MLC treats the line as one writer it has no record of. Both people go unpaid on that work.

One line, two people, zero IPIs

A writer line is supposed to be one person. Registrations arrive with lines that aren’t: two surnames joined by “and” or a slash, a group name standing in for its members, a duo’s brand name. The MLC stores the line as written. It is one party, it matches no IPI, and nothing the MLC does afterward will split it.

The share assigned to that line is then a share with no payee. If the registration also names a publisher, the publisher’s side may be paid while the writer side sits. If it doesn’t, the whole share waits for someone who can prove they are the two people on it.

How it happens

• Forms with one box. A registration form, a split sheet or a distributor’s metadata field with a single “writer” box, filled in with everyone.
• Inherited records. The Harry Fox Agency data the MLC started with was typed over decades, by many hands, to standards that didn’t require an IPI. One publisher told the Copyright Office in 2024 that each of its 184 works now carries seven different identifiers, and that titles and recordings were misaligned across them.
• Groups and duos. A production duo credited by its brand, a band credited by its name. The brand is not a writer.

Why it is worse than a typo

A misspelled name is one writer unpaid. A doubled line is two, and it is harder to see: the registration has the right number of names on it, the shares add up to 100%, and nothing is flagged. The only sign is that two writers who wrote the song are not on any statement for it.