Rights methodology

Separate rights layers

A single song page may involve several distinct rights objects:

• Composition (the musical work)
• Lyrics (the verbal text of a version)
• Arrangement (when applicable)
• Translation (often protected even when the source is free)
• Recording (a specific performance or media file)

Status on one layer never automatically transfers to another.

What we do not assume

• “Traditional,” anonymous, or old does not equal verified public domain
• A Creative Commons upload by a performer does not clear the underlying composition
• YouTube embeddability is a platform setting, not a copyright license
• AI-generated analysis or translation does not change copyright status of the source text

Confidence levels

Confidence badges describe how strong the supporting research is: verified, high, medium, low, or unknown. They help readers judge evidence quality. They are not certificates of legal clearance.

Review and expiry

Rights editors set determination reasons, jurisdictions when known, and next-review dates. Expired reviews are flagged for editorial follow-up before publication decisions rely on stale determinations.

Display capabilities

Whether SKB shows lyrics, translations, or embeds a recording follows computed capabilities from rights records. Blocked or disputed statuses suppress display. YouTube recordings, when shown, use the official embed only.