ISRC vs UPC vs ISWC: 3 Music Codes Every Artist in Cameroon Should Know

by with No Comment Cameroon Gospel MusicEntertainmentMusicMusic BusinessMusic DistributionMusic in CameroonMusic IndustryMusic MonetizationMusic Publishing

A lot of artists in Cameroon are dropping music every day, but many still don’t understand the codes that help their songs get tracked, registered, and paid properly.

Behind every release on streaming platforms, there are three important codes working quietly in the background:

ISRC — This identifies a specific recording or track.
Every version of a song has its own ISRC.
UPC — This identifies the release itself, whether it’s a single, EP, or album.
ISWC — This identifies the composition, meaning the actual song you wrote, including the lyrics and melody.

Think of it like this:

The song you wrote = ISWC
The recording you uploaded = ISRC
The project or release package = UPC

For many artists, producers, managers, and rights holders in Cameroon, missing royalties often comes down to something simple: incomplete or incorrect metadata. A song can perform well online and still fail to pay out properly if the information behind it is not correctly registered.

As Cameroon’s music scene keeps growing and reaching wider audiences, understanding ISRC, UPC, and ISWC is no longer just industry knowledge for labels and publishers. It is essential for every serious artist who wants their music to be properly protected and monetized.

Cameroon artists, managers, and music professionals: which of these three codes causes the most confusion for you? The ISRC, UPC, or ISWC?

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WHO REALLY COLLECTS THE MONEY?

by with No Comment EntertainmentMusicMusic BusinessMusic DistributionMusic in CameroonMusic IndustryMusic MonetizationMusic Publishing

One of the biggest conversations I have with artists across Cameroon is about royalties.

An artist releases a song, gets thousands of streams, hears the song on radio, performs it at events, sees it circulating online, and then asks a simple question:

“Where is the money?”

The truth is that the global music industry runs on a system that many African artists still do not fully understand.

Behind every stream, broadcast, public performance, and license is a network of publishing societies and collective management organizations responsible for collecting and distributing royalties to songwriters, composers, and publishers.

Organizations such as ASCAP and BMI in the United States, SACEM in France, GEMA in Germany, PRS for Music in the United Kingdom, and IPRS in India collect billions every year on behalf of rights holders.

Yet many artists in our part of the world focus only on recording and releasing music without understanding the systems that generate long term income.

In many cases, artists are not poor because their music is not making money. They are losing money because they are disconnected from the structures that collect it.

As the music industry becomes increasingly digital, knowledge of publishing, copyright, neighboring rights, royalty collection, and music administration is becoming just as important as talent.

The artist who understands the business side of music has a significant advantage over the artist who focuses only on the creative side.

This is why I continue to advocate for music business education across Cameroon and Francophone Africa. We cannot build sustainable careers if we do not understand how value is created, tracked, collected, and distributed.

The future of African music will not only be shaped by great songs. It will also be shaped by creators who understand ownership, rights, and monetization.

The question is no longer whether your music can generate revenue.

The question is whether you understand where that revenue comes from and how to claim it.