MUSIC COPYRIGHT
A copyright is a form of legal protection granted by the laws of
the United States to authors of "original works of authorship"
including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other
works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished
works. It covers your music, lyrics, sound recordings, logo artwork (not
band name) and website.
*A registered trademark can protect the name of your band.*
A copyrighted musical work may not be copied, distributed, reproduced or
publicly performed without the consent of the copyright owner. It is
imperative to register a copyright in order to protect your (original)
work and prevent plagiarism and outright theft. Not to mention it gives
you the ability and means to prove ownership of your hard work. Getting
a copyright is fairly fast and inexpensive. $$$
Exclusive Rights
Here is a breakdown of some of the exclusive rights you’re given as a
copyright owner:
Copyright ownership of a musical work/ composition gives you the exclusive
right to make copies, to prepare derivative works, sell or distribute
copies, and to perform the work publicly. Anyone else looking to use your
music in these ways must have permission to do so.
Copyright in a musical work/ composition also includes the right to make and
distribute the first sound recording. Although others are permitted to make
subsequent sound recordings, they must compensate the copyright owner of the
musical work under the compulsory licensing provision of the law.
*The Copyright process makes it a lot easier to seek and retrieve funds that
are owed to you*
By registering the copyright for your music, you will be entitled to receive
performance royalties whenever your composition is performed on radio, in
bars or other public places.
Copyright in a sound recording protects against unauthorized reproduction
and revision, unauthorized distribution of recording containing those
sounds, and certain unauthorized performances by means of a digital audio
transmission.
NOTE:
For works originally created on or after January 01, 1978, the
duration of copyright protection is for a term for the author's life plus 70
years after the author's death. For works made for hire, the duration of
copyright protection is 95 years from publication or 120 years from
creation, whichever expires first.
The following persons are legally entitled to submit a copyright
application:
The Author. This is either the person who actually created the work or, if
the work was "made for hire", the employer or whomever the work was prepared
for.
The Copyright Claimant. This is either the author of the work or a person or
organization that has obtained ownership rights from the author either by
written contract, assignment, will or other transfer of all rights by the
author.
The Owner of Exclusive Rights. Any of the exclusive rights that make up a
copyright can be transferred and separately owned. An owner of any of these
individual exclusive rights may apply for registration of his or her claim
in the work.
The Authorized Agent. Any person or organization duly authorized to act on
behalf of the author, other copyright claimant, or owner of exclusive rights
may apply for copyright registration.
Musical Compositions & Sound Recordings
Let’s say you’re at a show in some club and you hear one of the bands
playing music you have been working on. Some shady bunch of pricks ripped
you off and took credit and made money off of your hard work.
There are actually TWO separate works that are subject to copyright protection:
A. Musical Compositions
This consists of music, including any accompanying words. The author of a
musical composition is generally the composer, and the lyricist, if any.
Copyright in a musical composition is not the same as a copyright in the
sound recording of that composition.
B. Sound Recordings
This copyright protects the particular sounds that have been recorded
including the arrangement and production. If you record a new version of a
song you've written, you would have a new copyright of the sound recording,
but not in the original composition (because it's the same song).
For copyright purposes, the "author" of a sound recording is the performer(s)
whose performance is recorded, or the record producer who processes the sounds,
or both.
Music & Recordings - One Application
Good news. If you're a songwriter and a recording artist of a musical work,
then you can claim complete ownership of the two separate copyrights on a
single application - for one fee! This provides you with total ownership of your work.
Example:
You can register a CD (collection) consisting of several songs on one
application and pay a single fee. However, you must have created all of the work
or at least have/ had one author who contributed to each work individually.
*For registration purposes, the recording on the CD will be considered a single work
even when it contains several individual songs.*
On the application, you will need to give the entire collection a single
title. It’s not necessary to list individual song titles, but feel free.
Published works may only be registered as a collection if they were
first published as a collection and if other requirements have been
met.
If all band members have contributed to the musical composition and the
sound recording, a single copyright registration may be made for both if ownership of
the two copyrights is exactly the same.
If you have original artwork for the cover of your CD or a logo for your
band, you may also consider copyrighting that on the same application to
protect all of your creative work.
Application Protection
A Single Application Can Protect:
* The
sound recording
* Lyrics,
if there are any
* The
arrangement within a particular recording
* The
musical composition
* The
individual performances on each song
* The
design or artwork of the CD packaging
Separate Registrations (another option…)
In some situations you might want to register your works separately
instead of on a single application.
The benefit of a separate copyright registration for each musical
composition or recording is; it will result in a separate entry of the
individual titles in the catalogs and indexes of the Copyright Office. Works
registered together will be recorded in the records of the Copyright Office
only under the collective title.
Individual titles will appear in Copyright Office records only if each work
is registered separately or if an application for supplementary registration
is submitted to specify the individual titles in a collection. An
application for supplementary registration may not be submitted until
a certificate of registration has been issued for the collection.
*Separate registration may simplify identification of the work for purposes
of licensing, transfer, permission, and distribution of royalties. *
Registration By A Band
The creators of joint works (songs written by a band) are equal co-owners of
the copyright unless they have agreed to the contrary. Whoever contributed
to the composition of the work has an equal claim to the
entire copyright as a joint author. The copyright is not divided up
according to who did what.
Each joint author owns the copyright and
each author has rights to use or license the work as long they split any
money earned.
One joint author cannot prevent another from using the copyrighted work.
Depending on what Owner 1 wants to do with the joint work, written consent from
Owner 2 in the form of contract or release will be required for legal purposes.
Also, each contributor would have an undivided ownership interest in the entire
copyright and would have the right to perform, reproduce or license the work (or
any art of it) without the others' consent, provided each copyright owner is
paid a share of any revenue.
Generally, when one writes the music and someone else does the lyrics -
there's a 50/50 split of copyright ownership, unless there is a written
agreement to the contrary.
OK… Here It Is
Many bands create their music and recordings together as a group and then
proceed to obtain legal protection for that original work by registering the
copyrights. When songs have been written by a band, each member is usually
considered co-owner of the copyright unless the individual members have
agreed to the contrary. Each contributor to the work must be identified as
an "author" on the copyright application.
When registering the copyright for works created by a band, it is important
to identify each contributor and name all the individuals who contributed
authorship to the musical compositions, lyrics and/ or recordings. You may
indicate that the members are part of a band or performing group, but do
not name the band as the author. Why?
Naming only a band as author does not clearly identify who the authors are…
and bands break up now and again.
(For the sound recording, usually, whoever paid for the studio time owns the
copyright to the sound recording. If all the band members contributed to the
recording and performed on the recording, they would all equally own that
copyright unless they agreed otherwise in a written contract.)
