music publishingmetadataAPIs

International Publishing for Independent Musicians: What Kobalt-Madverse Means for Your Metadata

mmulti media

2026-01-27

9 min read

What Kobalt–Madverse demands from indie musicians: precise ISRC, ISWC, PRO, and API-ready metadata to collect royalties globally.

Stop losing royalties to bad metadata — what Kobalt–Madverse means for indie musicians

Independent musicians and small publishers in 2026 face a familiar problem: great music, poor metadata. When your recordings and compositions travel across borders via partnerships like Kobalt’s deal with Madverse, incomplete or inconsistent metadata becomes lost revenue. This guide explains exactly which identifiers, rights data, and API-driven automation you must provide to benefit from global publishing administration — and how to scale those processes.

The 2026 context: why the Kobalt–Madverse partnership matters

In early 2026 Kobalt’s worldwide publishing network expanded reach in South Asia through a partnership with Madverse, enabling thousands of independent songwriters and producers to access Kobalt’s collection and administration services. That’s powerful: local creators gain global royalty collection, foreign sub-publishing, and data-driven reporting. But access isn’t automatic — accurate, standardized metadata and rights information are the currency.

Trends that make metadata king in 2026:

Streaming growth in new territories has increased cross-border complexity for mechanicals, neighboring rights and public performance.
Interoperability standards (DDEX ERN/RIN, ISRC, ISWC, GRid) have matured, and collection societies increasingly accept machine-readable submissions.
APIs from publishers, DSPs and some PROs allow automation of registrations and reconciliations — but only if your metadata is structured correctly.

Core identifiers every indie must supply

To unlock global administration from partners like Kobalt, prepare the following primary identifiers for every release and work.

ISRC — recording-level identifier

International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) identifies a specific sound recording or music video. Each distinct recording (edit, remix, or version) needs an ISRC. DSPs, distributors and collection societies use ISRCs to track recording usage and process sound recording royalties.

When to provide: every release upload to DSPs and registration with neighboring rights societies.
How to get one: national ISRC agencies (IFPI-managed) or your distributor. Maintain an internal ISRC registry to avoid duplicates.
Tip: include ISRCs in your DDEX ERN and in any RIN/metadata payload sent to the publisher.

ISWC — composition-level identifier

International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC) identifies the musical work (lyrics + composition). This is what PROs and publishing administrators use to match performances and mechanicals to composers and publishers.

When to provide: register the composition with your PRO and publisher before or at release.
How to get one: PROs typically assign ISWCs when you register the work. Some publishing admins require an ISWC during onboarding.

IPI/CAE and ISNI — contributor identifiers

Creators and publishers should have an IPI/CAE number (PRO identifier) and ideally an ISNI (International Standard Name Identifier). These identify songwriters, composers and publishers unambiguously.

GRid and Release identifiers

Use the GRid (Global Release Identifier) and catalog numbers for releases. GRid helps match releases across platforms and is increasingly required by publisher systems for mechanical splits reconciliation.

Rights, splits and publisher data — what to include

Publishing administration hinges on rights ownership and accurate split data. When you hand off admin to an international partner, provide this information up front.

Ownership percentages and the splits file

Every composition must include a clear split between all writers and publishers. Use these fields:

Contributor name
Contributor IPI/CAE or ISNI
Role (Composer/Lyricist/Producer — though producer shares depend on agreement)
Publisher name and publisher IPI
Percentage share (sum must equal 100% for the composition)

Common problem: ambiguous or missing publisher entries lead to a “split mismatch” and delayed payouts across territories. Fix this by using a normalized split sheet and making it machine-readable (CSV/JSON) for API ingestion.

Rights flags and territories

State whether you control:

Worldwide publishing rights
Territory-limited rights (list countries)
Mechanical rights vs. performing rights

Publishers like Kobalt and their partners need explicit rights claims to register works with foreign PROs and to sub-publish where necessary.

Which societies and collections to register with

Register with your local PRO and neighboring rights organization, then ensure works are registered with the publisher and globally via Kobalt’s administration. For example:

Performance rights: ASCAP, BMI (US), PRS (UK), IPRS (India), APRA (Australia), etc.
Mechanical rights: MLC (US), MCPS (UK), MCS (various territories)
Neighboring rights / sound recording: PPL (UK/India), SoundExchange (US), GRID-based societies

2026 update: several societies now accept API or DDEX-based bulk submissions; check your local society for programmatic registration endpoints.

Standards and machine formats — DDEX, CSV, and more

To scale, you must move away from manual PDF split sheets and embrace machine-readable standards.

DDEX ERN and RIN

DDEX (Digital Data Exchange) is the industry standard for release and recording metadata:

ERN (Electronic Release Notification) carries release-level metadata, contributors, and rights claims to publishers and DSPs.
RIN (Recording Information Notification) shares recording-specific metadata and ISRCs with upstream partners.

Publishers and DSPs increasingly accept ERNs/RINs. If you’re onboarding to a publisher network like Kobalt’s, provide DDEX-compliant payloads when possible — and keep a single, spreadsheet-first source of truth for release metadata.

CSV/JSON templates

For smaller teams, a strict CSV or JSON schema that mirrors the fields in your PRO and publisher portals works well. The keys should match the target API to reduce mapping effort during automation.

APIs and automation: build once, scale forever

Automation is the difference between handling dozens of songs manually and managing thousands. Use APIs to register metadata, push ERNs, and reconcile statements automatically.

Typical automated workflow

Pre-release: generate ISRCs and GRids through your distribution service or national agency; ensure contributors have IPI/ISNI numbers.
Compose a machine-readable release package (DDEX ERN or JSON) that includes ISRC, ISWC (if known), splits, and publisher claims.
Call publisher APIs (or upload to the publisher portal) to register the composition and rights. Capture the publisher-assigned IDs.
Push ERN/RIN to DSPs or let your distributor handle distribution with embedded metadata.
When statements arrive, match plays and payments back to ISRC/ISWC using automated reconciliation scripts and flag mismatches for manual review.

APIs to look for in 2026

Publisher administration APIs — allow programmatic work registration, splits submission, and statement retrieval.
DSP APIs or distributor integrations that accept DDEX ERNs and RINs.
PRO or society APIs (where available) for bulk registration and status checks.
ISRC/ISWC lookup APIs — to verify codes before submission (IFPI GRACe/ISRC databases and PRO endpoints).

Note: not every society exposes an open API. Use publisher-admin APIs as your hub and build connectors for the societies that provide endpoints.

Practical automation tips

Canonical metadata source: maintain a single source of truth (database or spreadsheet) where ISRC, ISWC, IPI, and split data live — see spreadsheet-first edge datastores.
Idempotent API calls: design your scripts so repeated calls don’t create duplicates. Use upsert endpoints or check for existing ISWCs before creating.
Validation layer: run a validation pass that checks for missing fields, invalid percentages, and mismatched contributor identifiers before any submission — you can use prompt-driven validation to generate edge-case checks.
Logging and reconciliation: store API responses and publisher-assigned IDs to reconcile statements later.
Error handling: auto-notify the team when a registration fails (common causes: split mismatch, missing PRO numbers, invalid ISRC format).

Common metadata errors and how to fix them

Metadata errors are the reason royalties go uncollected. Here are the frequent culprits and their fixes.

Missing ISRCs

Fix: assign ISRCs before release and update all downstream metadata packages. If a DSP or society received plays without ISRCs, use fingerprinting and claim routes through a publisher to recover plays.

Split mismatches

Fix: standardize contributor IPI/ISNI references and save a signed split sheet. When mismatches occur between DSP metadata and publisher records, raise a match request with the publisher using precise contributor identifiers.

No publisher registration

Fix: register the composition with your PRO and the administering publisher immediately. Many admin deals in 2026 include retrospective collection, but accurate registration speeds payment.

Case: A South Asia indie joining Madverse then Kobalt

Imagine a Mumbai-based songwriter who signs publishing admin with Madverse and gains access to Kobalt’s network. Here’s a practical checklist they must complete to ensure global collections:

Secure IPI/ISNI and register with IPRS (Indian Performing Right Society) and local neighboring rights body (if applicable).
Obtain ISRCs for each recording and GRids for releases.
Create machine-readable split sheets listing all writers, IPIs, publisher names and percentage shares.
Submit compositions to Madverse’s portal — ensure Madverse has the DDEX-compliant ERN or matching CSV/JSON payload.
Madverse pushes the works to Kobalt’s admin system; Kobalt registers ISWCs/works with global PROs and starts collection.
Use the publisher API (or portal) to monitor registration status; fix any split mismatches flagged in the first 60 days.

Result: the songwriter receives mechanicals, performance and neighboring rights collections from territories they could not access alone.

Advanced scaling strategies for labels and collectives

If you manage hundreds of releases, adopt these developer-centric strategies:

Metadata normalization microservice: a small service that ingests raw release data, enforces schema rules, normalizes contributor names and returns validated payloads.
Automated ISWC matching: when an ISWC exists for a similar work, use fuzzy matching (title + IPI checks + lyric snippets) to avoid duplicate ISWC creation — you can script fuzzy checks using AI-assisted prompts.
Webhook-driven processing: subscribe to publisher or DSP webhooks for status updates and auto-sync statements into your accounting system (edge-playbooks and webhook patterns are covered in ops write-ups).
Reconciliation pipelines: nightly jobs that cross-reference statements to internal play logs (via ISRC/ISWC) and flag discrepancies for human review — see spreadsheet-first reconciliation patterns.

Final checklist — before you hand off to a global admin

Every recording has an ISRC and is listed in your registry.
Every composition has a registered ISWC (or is submitted for one) and is registered with your PRO.
All contributors have IPI/ISNI numbers recorded in the split file.
Splits sum to 100% and match publisher agreements.
Release and track metadata are DDEX-compliant or mapped to the publisher’s API schema.
You have an automated workflow (or documented manual steps) for reconciliation and dispute resolution.

In 2026, metadata quality isn’t optional — it determines whether your music earns in every market it reaches.

Actionable next steps (start today)

Run an immediate audit: export every release and work into a spreadsheet and check for ISRC, ISWC, IPI, publisher name and split completeness.
Standardize the split sheet into CSV/JSON and add a validation script to check percentages and IDs automatically — you can prototype validation with prompt templates from AI prompt collections.
Ask your distribution partner to provide DDEX ERNs or to confirm they include ISRC/ISWC in DSP deliveries.
When onboarding with Madverse/Kobalt, request the publisher API spec and map your fields to their required payloads.

Closing — why attention to metadata pays off

Partnerships like Kobalt–Madverse give independent musicians unprecedented access to global royalty streams. But the door opens only if you speak the language of metadata and APIs. In 2026 the artists and teams that treat metadata as an operational system — not a checkbox — will collect faster, reconcile cleaner, and scale worldwide.

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