Ownership & rights
Perpetual Worldwide Rights
Perpetual worldwide rights are rights granted for the full term of copyright, everywhere, with no expiry and no territorial limitation. They are the two contract variables that determine whether a music asset can be reused indefinitely or must be re-cleared, and they are frequently claimed in marketing while being qualified in the contract itself.
In practice
Read three clauses together: the grant (does it say perpetual and worldwide, or "for the duration of your subscription"), the termination clause (does the grant survive the end of the agreement), and the media list (does "worldwide" also mean all media, or only the platforms named). A perpetual grant that terminates with the subscription is not perpetual. Where these clauses conflict, the termination clause usually decides the outcome.
How SoniBuyout® handles it
The SoniBuyout assignment is perpetual, worldwide and irrevocable by construction — not as a scope granted to you, but because ownership of the master and composition moves to you. There is no termination clause that can reduce it.
Real questions
Is a perpetual licence the same as ownership?
No. A perpetual licence gives lasting permission but leaves ownership, enforcement and resale rights with the licensor, and conditions in the licence still bind you.
What is the biggest red flag in a "lifetime" music offer?
A termination clause stating that the licence ends when the agreement or subscription ends. That single sentence overrides the word "lifetime".
Related terms
Own the track instead of renting it
Sonify Music sells exclusive buyouts of catalogue tracks: one payment, full ownership, the track removed from sale and a named certificate of ownership.