What rights documentation to keep

What this guide covers

Maintain records that show you are authorized to distribute the music and artwork you submit.

Rights workflows exist to make sure the person distributing a release has authority over the master, composition, artwork, samples, and other protected material involved.

Before you start

• Gather contracts, licenses, permissions, and ownership records.
• Separate master rights from composition rights.
• Identify any third-party material used in the release.
• Do not submit a dispute unless you can support the ownership claim.

Step by step

1. 01

   Keep artist and label agreements.

2. 02

   Keep producer, beat, sample, and feature licenses.

3. 03

   Keep cover-song or composition licenses where required.

4. 04

   Keep artwork permissions, model releases, and other applicable approvals.

5. 05

   Store the documents somewhere you can access quickly if review requests them.

Check your work

• The release party actually has distribution rights.
• Samples and covers have the permissions required for the intended use.
• Content ID or claim information is consistent with ownership.
• Requested documentation can be produced if review asks for it.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming possession of an audio file equals ownership.
• Confusing a cover license with permission to use the original master.
• Submitting a dispute without evidence.
• Ignoring territory or term limits in a license.

What happens next

Keep rights records available for the lifetime of the release and contact support when a claim cannot be resolved through the available self-service workflow.

If the result on screen does not match what this guide describes, stop before creating duplicate catalog records or repeating a financial action. Use the visible status and error information when contacting NORTH support.