Copyright

Who can use Winamp Copyright?

Winamp Copyright is designed for artists who own or control copyright in musical works. 
This includes songwriters, composers, authors, lyricists, beatmakers, topliners, and independent artists who write their own music.

To register your work, you must:

• Own or control a share of the copyright
• Be listed as a contributor in the track’s credits or metadata
• Have a Spotify link for the release
• Not be affiliated with a collective management society, with the exception of BMI or ASCAP

Your release can be distributed through Winamp for Artists, added through your catalog import, or distributed through another distributor.

Can I use Winamp Copyright if I’m affiliated with another CMO or PRO?

Not while the same rights are still represented by another CMO. If you’re currently affiliated with a CMO such as SACEM, GEMA, SABAM, SIAE, or SUISA, you’ll generally need to withdraw the relevant rights from your existing mandate before switching them to Winamp Copyright.

The exact disaffiliation process depends on your CMO and may involve specific notice periods, deadlines, or withdrawal procedures.

Thinking about switching to Winamp Copyright? We’re here to help. 
After you complete your onboarding to Winamp Copyright, you’ll see a screen where you can contact our team. We’ll guide you through the steps needed to withdraw the relevant rights from your current CMO and complete your Winamp Copyright registration.

Already affiliated with BMI or ASCAP?

 You are still be eligible for Winamp Copyright.

BMI and ASCAP manage performance rights, which generate royalties when your composition is streamed, broadcast, performed live, or otherwise communicated to the public.

However, your musical work can also generate mechanical royalties, for example when it is reproduced through interactive streaming or digital downloads.

If your performance rights are already managed by BMI or ASCAP, Winamp Copyright can manage your eligible mechanical rights while leaving your performance rights with your existing collection soceity.

This means you can extend your copyright royalty collection without assigning the same rights to two different organizations.

What if I use a publishing administration service such as Songtrust?

 If you use Songtrust or another publishing administration service, the same copyright rights generally cannot be managed by both services at the same time.

Your current administrator may already be registering your works and collecting mechanical and performance royalties on your behalf. In this case, moving the same rights to Winamp Copyright could create an overlapping mandate.

Where does Winamp Copyright collect royalties?

Winamp Copyright collects eligible copyright royalties from both online and offline uses of your musical works.

• Online uses include more than 80 digital platforms worldwide, from major streaming services and DSPs to video, social media, and user-generated content platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, Deezer, TikTok, and Meta.
• Offline uses can include radio, television, live performances, concerts, events, and other public performances, depending on the territory and available local collection agreements.
  

Does Winamp Copyright collect royalties worldwide?

For online uses, Winamp Copyright has broad international coverage across eligible digital platforms and services.

For offline uses, coverage varies by territory and depends on the rights represented and Bridger’s local collection agreements. Bridger’s network covers major territories across Europe, Latin America, North and Central America, as well as selected countries in Asia and Africa.

Coverage continues to expand as new platforms and collection agreements are added.

Radio, TV, and Live Performance Royalties

Winamp Copyright can collect eligible performance royalties generated when your musical works are used through:

• Radio broadcasts
• Television
• Live performances and concerts
• Events and other public performances

Coverage depends on the territory, type of use, rights represented, and Bridger’s available local collection agreements.

Retroactive Copyright Royalties

When you register your works with Winamp Copyright,  our partner Bridger may be able to make retroactive claims for eligible copyright royalties generated up to 18 months before your registration.

This means you may be able to recover eligible royalties from music that was already available and generating streams before you joined.

Access Winamp Copyright

Winamp Copyright is set up and managed at the User level, rather than within a specific Artist profile.

You can access Copyright through your Artist profile, but you’ll eventually be redirected to the Copyright service at the User level. This is because copyright belongs to you as a songwriter, composer, or rightsholder, not to a specific artist profile. You may own or control works released under different artist names, or works you’ve written for other performers.

Managing Copyright at the User level allows you to manage all of your eligible works and rights in one place, regardless of which artist name they’re associated with.

To access Winamp Copyright:

1.  Log into your Winamp for Artists account.
2. Navigate to your Account Workspace.
3. Select Copyright from the navigation bar on the left-hand side.

Sign-up for Winamp Copyrights

To sign-up for Winamp Copyright:

1. Log into your Winamp for Artists account.
2. Navigate to your Account Workspace.
3. Select Copyright from the navigation bar on the left-hand side.
4. Click on Start Collecting.
   
5. Tell us if you're a Songwriter or a Publisher.  With Winamp Copyright being designed for independent songwriters and other rightsholders who own or control their musical works,  so publishers are not yet supported through the standard onboarding flow.
   If you've selected that you are a Songwriter, you can proceed to the next step.
6. Tell us whether you have a Publisher. Select “I don’t have a publisher” if you manage your rights independently. If you don't have a publisher, you can continue to the next step, as Winamp Copyright does not support songwriters whose rights are managed by a publisher.
7. Verify your identity, if you have not done so already. If you haven't, you can follow this tutorial to do so.
8. Sign the Mandate. Before we can start collecting copyright royalties on your behalf, you must review and accept the registration terms and sign the Bridger Mandate. The mandate authorizes us and our partner, Bridger to represent the eligible rights covered by your agreement and collect the corresponding royalties.
   

Your mandate with Winamp Copyright and Bridger is valid for an initial period of 12 months. During this period, Bridger is authorized to register your works and collect eligible copyright royalties on your behalf across the rights and territories covered by your agreement. After the initial 12-month period, your mandate is automatically renewed every 3 months, free of charge.

Once your account has been confirmed, you can start registering your works, contributors, and ownership splits.

Adding your Works

With Winamp Copyright, you can choose to register:

• Released works from Media, which have already been distributed via Winamp Distribution
• Released works from a URL, that have been distributed via a third-party distributor
• Works In Progress, that have yet to be released.

Add released Works from Media

To register works already distributed via Winamp Distributon:

1. Navigate to your Account Workspace.
2. Select Copyright from the navigation bar on the left-hand side.
3. Click Add works and select Released.
4. Select one or more of the already distributed tracks via Winamp Distribution in your Media library by searching their titles in the Search bar.
   
5. Next, select the option that best describes how you contributed to the musical work.
6. 1. I’m a writer and/or composer — select this if you contributed to writing or composing the work. In this case, you may be entitled to copyright royalties and can continue with the registration.
   2. I’m a producer or performer — select this if you contributed to the recording/master but did not contribute to the composition. In this case, you are not entitled to claim copyright royalties for this work through Winamp Copyright and cannot continue with the registration.
7. Confirm that the work is original: If you selected I’m a writer and/or composer, you will then be asked to confirm the originality of the work.
8. 1. The selected content is original — select this if the musical work is original and is not a cover, remix, medley, or other derivative of someone else’s work. You can then continue with the registration.
   2. I don’t have the full rights for this content — select this if the work is a cover, remix, contains samples, or otherwise includes rights that you do not fully control. In this case, the work cannot be submitted through the standard Winamp Copyright flow.
9. Once confirmed, click Next to add co-writers and define the ownership splits for the work.

Add released Works from a URL

To register works that are already released via a third-party distributor:

1. Navigate to your Account Workspace.
2. Select Copyright from the navigation bar on the left-hand side.
3. Click Add works and select Released.
4. Insert the Spotify URL to your already-released track in the Spotify URL field.
   
5. Next, select the option that best describes how you contributed to the musical work.
6. 1. I’m a writer and/or composer — select this if you contributed to writing or composing the work. In this case, you may be entitled to copyright royalties and can continue with the registration.
   2. I’m a producer or performer — select this if you contributed to the recording/master but did not contribute to the composition. In this case, you are not entitled to claim copyright royalties for this work through Winamp Copyright and cannot continue with the registration.
7. Confirm that the work is original: If you selected I’m a writer and/or composer, you will then be asked to confirm the originality of the work.
8. 1. The selected content is original — select this if the musical work is original and is not a cover, remix, medley, or other derivative of someone else’s work. You can then continue with the registration.
   2. I don’t have the full rights for this content — select this if the work is a cover, remix, contains samples, or otherwise includes rights that you do not fully control. In this case, the work cannot be submitted through the standard Winamp Copyright flow.
9. Once confirmed, click Next to add co-writers and define the ownership splits for the work.

Add Works that are In Progress

An In Progress Work is an unreleased musical work that lets you register and document your copyright ownership before the track is officially released, so you don’t have to wait until it’s available on Spotify or another DSP.

Once the work is released, you can return to it and add the DSP link to connect the recording to your existing copyright registration.

To register works In Progress:

1. Navigate to your Account Workspace.
2. Select Copyright from the navigation bar on the left-hand side.
3. Click Add works and select In Progress.
4. Add the title of your work and upload the relevant file.
   
   
5. Next, select the option that best describes how you contributed to the work.
6. 1. I’m a writer and/or composer — select this if you contributed to writing or composing the work. In this case, you may be entitled to copyright royalties and can continue with the registration.
   2. I’m a producer or performer — select this if you contributed to the recording/master but did not contribute to the composition. In this case, you are not entitled to claim copyright royalties for this work through Winamp Copyright and cannot continue with the registration.
7. Confirm that the work is original: If you selected I’m a writer and/or composer, you will then be asked to confirm the originality of the work.
8. 1. The selected content is original — select this if the musical work is original and is not a cover, remix, medley, or other derivative of someone else’s work. You can then continue with the registration.
   2. I don’t have the full rights for this content — select this if the work is a cover, remix, contains samples, or otherwise includes rights that you do not fully control. In this case, the work cannot be submitted through the standard Winamp Copyright flow.
9. Once confirmed, click Next to add co-writers and define the ownership splits for the work.

Adding Contributors to your Works

Once you've added your works, the next step is to add your Co-writers/Contributors and define the ownership splits.

When a work has multiple creators, each co-writer shares ownership, and these ownership splits determine how Performance and Mechanical Rights,  and the related royalties,  are allocated.

To add your Contributors:

1. Click on the small + button to add a new contributor.
2. Select the contributor from your contributors list or add a completely new one.
3. Select the role of each contributor: Songwriter, Author, or Composer
4. Enter the Performance Rights and Mechanical Rights split percentages.
5. 1. If you’re the sole creator, your share should normally be 100% for both right types.
   2. If you've co-created the work with more than one contributor,  make sure the total ownership for each rights category does not exceed 100%.
6. Click Next, review and confirm all contributor and ownership information, then click Submit to complete the registration and return to your Copyright dashboard.

How do I declare my ownership share?

When registering a work, enter the percentage of the musical work you own, based on your agreement with the other contributors or rightsholders.

For example, if you own 50%, declare 50% for yourself and allocate the remaining 50% to the other contributors.

Make sure the ownership shares are accurate and add up to 100% before submitting.

Can I register a work with multiple songwriters?

Yes. If a musical work was created by multiple songwriters, composers, lyricists, or other contributors, you can still register it with Winamp Copyright.

Simply add each contributor, add their role and declare their ownership share when registering the work. 

Make sure all shares are accurate and add up to 100% before submitting.

What if my co-creators are affiliated with another rights organization?

You can still register your share of the work.

When registering, add your collaborator and accurately declare their ownership share. Their affiliation with another CMO, PRO, or rights organization does not prevent you from using Winamp Copyright for your own share.

Winamp Copyright will manage the rights you assign to it, while your collaborator can continue to have their share represented by their existing organization.