Roles that platforms commonly misname
Spotify, Apple Music and other platforms use terms such as “artist” or “performer” (in Czech “umělec”, “interpret” or “performer”) – but not always in the way Czech law or common sense understands them. This article will help you find your way around, so that you know what each platform means and why it does things that way.
English as the root of all the confusion
All the big streaming platforms were created in the English-speaking world and their systems are built on English terminology: Artist, Performer, Songwriter, Main Artist. Then, when it comes to localisation into Czech, translators reach for the nearest equivalent without understanding what it means – and that is where the chaos comes from.
In Czech, the word “umělec” (artist) is derived from the word “um” – meaning ability, skill, craft. So an artist is anyone who can do and create something: A singer, producer, composer, lyricist, sound engineer. The platforms, however, have narrowed this word down to a single technical purpose – labelling the profile in the database under which the music can be found.
How platforms use the terms vs. what they really mean
| Term on the platform | What the platform means by it | What it really is |
|---|---|---|
| Umělec / Artist | The name of the profile under which the release is listed in the catalogue. A purely database role. | In Czech, this should properly be the interpret (performer) – the main face of the release. The word “umělec” (artist) doesn’t belong here, because a producer or a songwriter is an artist too. |
| Interpreti / Performers | Everyone who contributed a performance to the recording – singers, instrumentalists. | The correct Czech term is “výkonní umělci” (performers, Section 67 of the Copyright Act). In Czech, “interpreti” suggests the lead singer rather than the whole ensemble. |
| Main Artist / Hlavní umělec | The primary profile of the release – the one on whose page the recording appears. | Correctly the primary artist (in Czech “hlavní interpret”). “Main” doesn’t mean that the other contributors are less important – only that the release belongs on that artist’s profile. In Bez Labelu forms, another such artist alongside you is entered in the “Additional primary artist” section. |
| Featured Artist / Hostující umělec | The artist named after “feat.” – a guest on the recording. | Correctly a featured performer or featured artist. This label is fine – Bez Labelu forms also use “Additional featuring artist”. The word “performer” (interpret) is more precise, because this is a performer, not an author or a producer. |
| Songwriter / Autor | The person who wrote the music or lyrics. | Correctly the author (composer, lyricist). This is one of the few terms where the platforms and the law agree. |
| Producer / Producent | The person who made the beat or directed the recording. | Correctly: Music producer or producer of a sound recording. Note – a producer in the musical sense ≠ a producer in the sense of the Copyright Act (producer of a sound recording). |
Why does it matter?
You may be thinking it’s just words. But it isn’t – terminology has a direct impact on how you understand your rights and obligations:
Legal terms carry weight
The Copyright Act defines precisely who is a performer, who is an author and who is a producer of a sound recording. Each of these roles has different rights and different entitlements to remuneration. If you mix up the terms, you can lose money you are entitled to.
Contracts and metadata
When you fill in metadata for distribution, you work with the platform’s terms – but these may not match what is in the contract or in the law. Always go by what the law or our documentation says, not by how Spotify labels it in its interface.
A specific example: The credits section on Spotify
For every recording, Spotify shows a section listing its contributors (the credits). This section is divided into categories – and this is exactly where the terminology gets most tangled. Let’s look at how Spotify names them in its Czech version and what it really means:
| Heading in the Spotify section (Czech version) | What Spotify shows there | Correct term |
|---|---|---|
| Umělec (Artist) | The primary profile of the release – the artist under whose name the recording is released. | Primary artist (in Czech “interpret”) |
| Interpreti (Performers) | All the performers on the recording – singers, instrumentalists. | Performers (in Czech “výkonní umělci”) |
| Psaní a aranžování (Writing and arranging) | Authors of the music and lyrics, arrangers. | Authors (composers, lyricists, arrangers) |
| Produkce a technika (Production and engineering) | Producers, mix engineers, mastering engineers. | Producers and engineers |
Spotify has the facts right – it’s just badly translated
The data in Spotify’s credits section is mostly correct – the problem lies in the Czech localisation. The English original uses terms such as Performers (in Czech “výkonní umělci”), but the Czech translation chose “Interpreti” – which in Czech suggests the lead singer rather than the whole group of performers.
In other words: Spotify knows what it is showing. It has just named it differently from what Czech legal terminology would require.
What appears in the credits section is determined by the details you fill in for the recording in Artists Bez Labelu. The basic roles (primary and featured artists, composer, lyricist, arranger, producer, mix, mastering, remix) are always in the recording form; the system adds the primary artists to the performers by itself. If you want to list other roles as well – instrumentalists, vocals, co-composers, co-producers, sound engineers and more – write to us about extended credits; once they are switched on, you fill them in yourself. The form will then gain the Additional performer roles, Additional writing roles and Additional production roles blocks. You will find an overview of all the options in the article All options for entering artists and their roles on a recording.
How we use the terms at Bez Labelu
In our system and documentation, we try to use terms so that they correspond to the Czech Copyright Act and at the same time make sense in the context of digital distribution. In the forms you will also find the labels “Additional primary artist” and “Additional featuring artist”, which are established in distribution – these refer to additional primary and featured artists. Here is an overview of how we understand it:
Primary artist (interpret)
The main face of the release – the person, artist project or band under whose name the music is released. This name is shown as the main one on all platforms.
Featured artist (featured performer)
A performer who takes part in a specific recording as a guest. Their name appears after “feat.” They are not the primary artist, not the producer and not an ordinary performer.
Author
The person who created the music or lyrics. An author does not have to be a performer as well – and a performer does not have to be an author. They are two different roles with different rights.
More about the individual roles
Want to know exactly what each role means, what rights it has and how to fill it in correctly for distribution? Read our articles:
Who is a performer?
Primary vs. featured artist
Who is an author?
Who is a producer?
Who is the producer of a sound recording?