Overview

The music industry has long distinguished the underlying song from any particular recording of it:

• Composition: The music and, where present, lyrics that form the work associated with publishing.
• Recording: A particular fixed performance and production of that work, known as the master.

The two can have different contributors, owners, and licenses. A studio version, a live take, and a cover can all record the same composition while remaining distinct masters. U.S. copyright guidance likewise treats musical works and sound recordings as separate works.

A release answers a different question: which recordings are assembled and distributed together? A single, EP, album, or compilation gives recordings an ordered place in a catalog. The same recording can appear on more than one release. The release is a distribution grouping, rather than a third class of song or master rights.

The Miso Music Protocol models these familiar distinctions in Sui Move, so concepts such as publishing, masters, and releases carry over for builders. Published as the miso_music package, its core fixes the identities and relationships among these objects. Separate packages define licensing, payments, credits, artwork, and other details. The protocol code is licensed under Apache License 2.0.

Composition<CompositionShare>          written work
  ↑ composition_id
Recording<RecordingShare>             a particular master of that work
  ↑ recording_id (one or more positions)
Release                                ordered recording IDs

Core object	What it fixes	What it deliberately leaves out
Composition<CompositionShare>	The written work’s identity and canonical share type	Title, writers, lyrics, recording commission
Recording<RecordingShare>	Its identity, share type, and immutable composition ID	Master audio, artist credits, version name, license terms
Release	Its identity and ordered, distinct recording IDs	Title, cover art, price, release-wide revenue split
ReleaseConsent	One recording admin’s permission for their recording to appear in a specific release	Payment terms and presentation metadata

A recording’s composition ID is a relationship, not proof of a license. The current core lets anyone create a recording that points to a composition. Apps that require permission to distribute the recording should check a recognized recording license or another agreement. A release is similarly a catalog relationship; a sales package determines its own commercial terms.

Immutable core, optional extensions

Each object is created and published in one transaction. Publication shares it and freezes the embedded relationships. An admin capability still grants uid_mut access to attach or change dynamic fields after publication. This is how metadata extensions add titles, credits, lyrics, artwork, and classifications without expanding or upgrading the core object.

The admin capability controls the object’s extension surface. Share tokens express fractional economic ownership; owning shares does not grant the admin capability. Treat an extension value as a statement made under that capability and apply the extension’s own trust rules.

Core offers one CompositionRegistry, one RecordingRegistry, and one ReleaseRegistry per package publication. Composition and recording IDs derive from the registry and their unique share types. Release IDs derive from the ordered recording list and a 32-byte salt. These registries are shared at package initialization and have no public constructor.

For a dependency entry and a creation flow, see Move Integration.

Where money flows

Core contains no royalty ledger, payout balance, composition commission rate, or release split. The royalty-pool package stakes a work’s shares and distributes a payout currency to registered stakes. The recording-license package can express a composition’s standing recording terms and hold its cut of recording shares. A sales or streaming package routes revenue into the appropriate pools. Read the specific package’s terms before assuming a revenue path is active.

Source: music-protocol README and its composition, recording, and release modules.