Songs, versions & splits

In Catalyst a song is the composition: the melody and lyrics your company publishes (the app also calls it a work). Each song can have many versions, the recordings of it: a work tape, a demo, the master. Writers, splits and territories belong to the song; audio, BPM and key belong to each version.

Add a song#

1. 1Step 1: Press c anywhere (or choose New work in the Library).
2. 2Step 2: Enter the title and drop in any audio files you have. Each file becomes a version and uploads straight away; large WAVs are fine.
3. 3Step 3: Open the song to add writers, splits and the rest. Everything you type saves automatically; a small Saved tick confirms it.

Most songs arrive another way: by email delivery or an import.

The song page#

Each song has five tabs along the top. The tab you're on is part of the address, so a link can open straight to Writers & splits. With a tab focused, ← and → move between them.

Overview

The primary version ready to play, a summary of writers and splits, tags, the start of the lyrics and key facts (DOC, ISWC, also known as, territories). Each section has an Edit link to the tab that changes it.

Writers & splits

Who wrote it, their shares, publishers and control.

Versions

Every recording, with its audio, type, BPM and key.

Details & territories

Status, DOC, ISWC, alternate titles, lyrics, notes, artwork and territory exclusions.

History

Every change to the song: who, when, and the value before and after.

Versions#

A version is one recording of the song. Its type says what it is. Every workspace starts with Work Tape, Demo, Master, Instrumental, Acapella and Alt Mix; a version with no type shows as Unassigned.

• Add a version: the ghost row at the end of the Versions tab.
• Edit details (⋯ on the version): type, label (“v2”, “Radio edit”), ISRC, artist and notes.
• Set as primary: the primary version is the one the Library plays, filters and sorts by. The first version is primary until you choose another.
• Move up / Move down to put versions in the order you want.
• Replace audio: the new file becomes the version's audio. The old original stays in storage; nothing is overwritten.

Writers and splits#

On Writers & splits, choose Add writer and pick from your writers (or create one). For each writer, set:

Share %

Their share of the song. Shares on a song should add up to 100%.

Publisher

Who owns or administers that writer's share.

Controlled

Whether your company controls that share. New splits start from the writer's Signed to us setting and default publisher; you can change them per song.

Split evenly divides the song equally between its writers (three writers get 33.33% each, which counts as complete). If the total isn't 100%, Catalyst holds the change and asks you to confirm with Save anyway. The song is then flagged “incomplete splits” so it shows up under Incomplete in the Library and in the Needs attention view.

Territories#

A song is controlled worldwide unless you say otherwise. Under Details & territories, add the territories where your company does not control or administer it. Regional shortcuts (Europe, EU, Latin America, GSA, Benelux, Nordics, ANZ and others) add every country in the region at once; you can then remove individual countries.

Writers#

Each writer has a page (g then w) listing their songs, with these details:

Display name

How they appear across Catalyst.

Legal name

As registered with their PRO, if different.

Also known as

Stage names and other spellings they're credited under, separated by commas. Deliveries and imports that use any of these names match this writer.

PRO and IPI / CAE

Their performing rights organisation and IPI number (9–11 digits).

Default publisher

Pre-filled when you add them to a song.

Email addresses

The addresses they send from. Deliveries from these addresses are matched to them automatically.

Signed to us

Writers signed to your company. Their new splits default to controlled. If existing songs disagree, the writer page tells you how many and offers to update them in one step.

Photo and blurb

Used on their one-sheet.

Publishers#

Publishers (g then b) have a name, PRO and IPI. Pick them on a song's splits or as a writer's default publisher, and filter the Library by them.

Also known as#

Songs and writers both carry other names. A song's alternate titles (shown as “Also known as” on its Overview) are searched like its title, so “Midnight Drive (Acoustic)” and an old working title both find it. A writer's Also known as names are used when matching deliveries and imports, so a writer credited as “Ben Ortiz” in one email and “Benjamin Ortiz Jr.” in a spreadsheet stays one person.

Merge duplicates#

Duplicates happen: the same song delivered twice, or one writer under two spellings. Catalyst never merges anything on its own; when you find a duplicate, merge it yourself:

Two copies of a song

1. 1Step 1: Open the copy you want to remove, then ⋯ → Merge into another work…
2. 2Step 2: Pick the song to keep. Songs with the same title are listed first.
3. 3Step 3: Confirm. The duplicate's versions and audio move to the song you kept (identical audio isn't added twice); its lyrics, DOC and artwork fill in only where the kept song is blank; its title becomes an alternate title. The kept song's writers and splits don't change.

Two records for one writer

1. 1Step 1: Open the duplicate writer, then ⋯ → Merge into another writer…
2. 2Step 2: Pick the writer to keep and confirm. Their credits, folders and pending deliveries move across, blanks are filled in, and the duplicate's names are kept as Also known as.

The merged copy is removed from the catalog but not erased, and both records' History shows the merge.

History and deleting#

Every edit is recorded in the song's History tab (and in the History panel on writer and publisher pages): who changed what, when, from what and to what, including changes made by imports, deliveries and audio analysis. Deleting a song, version, writer or playlist (⋯ → Delete) hides it from the catalog; audio files stay in storage and nothing is lost.