IP Chains

In an IP Chain, you will specify who are the Composers of the Work, their writers share, and by which Publisher they are represented. Furthermore, you specify which part of the chain you control and should collect royalties for. This information is essential if you wish to use Curve to deliver your metadata to the societies or sub-publishers using CWR.

The IP Chain has multiple layers.

Territory – The territory (or territories, remember, you can create your own groups in the settings area) for which the following rights definitions will apply. NB Using “World” will select all territories that were checked on the Territories tab.

Publisher – Add the Publishers. Search from the list of Publishers entered in the Publishers area of your Catalogue. Multiple layers of Publishers can be added to describe sub-publishing agreements.

Composer – Similarly to Publishers these are selected from a list configured in the Composers area of the Catalogue.

For each Publisher & Composer selected the following will need to be defined:

Category – Is the publisher the Original, Sub-Publisher or Administrator? How did the Composer contribute to the Work? Did they write the Lyrics, write the Music, or did they arrange, adapt or translate the work?

Controlled – Check this if you publish this share & collect the royalties due for this share.

Owned Mechanicals – The share of Mechanical copyright this party owns.

Owned Performance – The share of Performance copyright this party owns.

Collected Mechanicals – The share of Mechanical royalties this party will collect. This may differ to the Owned Mechanicals share.

Collected Performance – The share of Performance royalties this party will collect. This may differ to the Owned Performance share.

Please note that you have the flexibility to hide or show parts of your IP Chains, using the little arrow in the very far right of your Chain. This functionality appears to be particularly beneficial for long and complex IP Chains, that differentiate in different Territories.

Partner-specific IP Chains

The Partner-specific IP Chains enable tailored Deliveries for individual Partners. This separate IP Chain works just like the default IP Chains, but here users can select the most precise chain for each Delivery Partner. For example:

When delivering to a U.S. Partner, such as Musicmark, only ASCAP-affiliated Composers can be included in the Work registrations, using your ASCAP-affiliated publishing entity. However, for all other partners, you can default to your home territory or "main" publishing company.
When registering Digital Mechanicals through UNISON, but any Digital Performance rights are managed through a traditional PRO, then a different IP Chain is required for each process.

Complexities as the above can be addressed via the Partner IP Chains. This feature allows users to customise IP Chains for specific partners. When a Partner IP Chain is set up, any delivery to that partner will automatically use the Partner IP Chain to generate the CWR delivery file.

IP Chain Examples

Original Publishing Agreement

Curve Publishing Group (CPG) is the original publisher of the full share of this work worldwide. You can see how the Owned & Collected shares are specified, with the publisher owning & collecting the full mechanical share (100). But the owned & collected performance share is split equally between the publisher (CPG) & composer (Dave Grohl). The four green boxes at the top right verify the shares total 100%. Also note how the Composer was added in the same chain as the Publisher, specifying a relationship. And how we check-marked the Controlled boxes, stating we fully control this work.

Sub-Publishing Agreement

In this example, CPG sub-publishes this work, whereas Foo Fighters Publishing is the Original Publisher. The Original Publishers own the full mechanical share & half the performance share. But the Sub-Publisher, will collect this share on their behalf. Again, please note how the Composers and Publishers are all part of the same chain, specifying a relationship. And how all the Controlled checkmarks are enabled, specifying we control these shares on the Work.

Admin Agreement

Similar to the above sub-publishing agreement, CPG administrates this work worldwide, whereas Foo Fighters Publishing is the Original Publisher.

Multiple writers & Publishers

In a work where multiple writers & publishers are involved, as many Publisher & Composer layers can be added as needed. In the below example, CPG is the Original Publisher of Dave Grohl’s share, whereas Foo Fighters Publishing is the Original Publisher of Nate Mendel & Pat Smear’s share. The check-marked controlled boxes notify the collection societies that we only control Curve/Dave’s share.

IP Chain Customisation

There are a few ways where you can apply automatic customisations to your IP Chains, allowing you to keep the IP Chains on your Works as simple as possible.

Insert a Sub-Publisher or Admin into the IP Chain upon Delivery

Insert Into IP Chain gives you the option to add an entity to the top of the IP Chain for any Deliveries you make to this specific Delivery Partner. For example, if you have a specific ASCAP entity that you want to add as a sub-publisher to the top of your regular IP Chain for any deliveries you send to ASCAP, you can add that entity on the ASCAP delivery partner. This would add said publisher to the top of the chain and hand it over the controlled collected shares. If the publisher you are looking to insert is the same publisher that is already at the top of the chain, then no change will be made to the IP Chain.

Storing a different Publisher Name and IPI on Publisher level

As a Publisher, you may be a direct member of multiple societies in different territories. Via your Publisher page on Curve, you can store this membership information. This allows Curve to automatically select the correct society membership and CAE/IPI number when delivering your catalogue via CWR to the societies. More info

IP Chain Validation

The moment you create or adjust a Work, we will instantly validate whether your Work is fit for CWR delivery. We will check for common mistakes such as the total ownership in the IP not adding up to 100, or no controlled Territories being selected; and notify you on the spot. Works that are fit for delivery will get a green tick on your Works page, Works that are not will get a red cross instead.

Works that are not fit for delivery will automatically be excluded from your CWR deliveries, though this status will not impact the royalty accounting process. Income for Works that are unfit for CWR delivery will still report as per usual.