Music Industry
Publishing, Royalties and Copyrights
A. Definition of Copyright
a. Limited duration monopoly
b. Intended to promote “progress”
B. What‟s copyrightable?
a. Tangible copy
b. Right to record, reproduce, distribute, perform, display and
make a derivative work
C. Compulsory liscense
a. According to 1909 copyright law, anyone is allowed to use
your song as long as it‟s
i. Non dramatic musical work
ii. It‟s been previously recorded
iii. The previous recording has been distributed
iv. It‟s only for phonograph records
b. They receive a compulsory license from the government for
mechanical royalties.
c. You MUST issue a compulsory license for
i. Cable rebroadcast, PBS, jukebox, digital radio, and
digital distribution.
d. Most publishers now adays deal directly with a recording
artists issuing a mechanical royalties license, and use the
compulsory license royalty rates for reference.
D. How to get a copyright
E. To pay a songwriter for a song, you have to pay mechanical
royalties on the use of their song.
a. Statutory rate: currently, 8 cents for a song up to 5 minutes,
and 1.55 for every minute after that
b. Most labels don‟t give the full statutory rate, they get a
percentage of statutory
c. First use
d. Harry Fox Agency: 6%
F. Publishing companies
a. Administration rights: 50% to songwriter, 50% to administrator
b. What do they do? Song pluggers, administrators, and other
staff
c. Big publishers: Warner/Chappell, EMI, Universal, BMG,
Sony/ATV, Famous Music (Paramounts company),
d. Major Affiliates: smaller publishers owned by majors
e. Stand-Alones: Hundreds of Thousands of independent people
managing their own publishing rights.
f. Reserves: important!
G. Controlled Composition Clause
a. definition
b. A Record Deal will include to put a cap on the maximum
amount they will pay in mechanicals – because they can‟t
take the money towards recoupment
c. Rate per song
i. % of statutory
ii. minimum statutory
iii. free goods
iv. limit on non-controlled songs
d. rate per album
i. ten times rate – not specific per song
ii. limit on non-controlled songs
e. videos
i. commercial use
ii. promotional use
H. Public Performance Royalties
a. Any public performance of your song requires your permission
b. Performing rights societies
i. ASCAP
ii. BMI
iii. SESAC
c. Blanket license
d. Allocation of proceeds
i. Radio
1. BMI vs. ASCAP
ii. Television
1. cue sheets – every song used
iii. Touring
1. top 200 tours each week – in pollstar
iv. Muzak
v. Webcasting
e. ASCAP and BMI can‟t collect for public performance of
movies
f. It is also split in half – 50% for the administrator, 50% for the
writer
i. They are paid separately
I. Sheet Music Sales
a. Matching vs. Mixed Folio
b. Personality folio
J. Synchronization license
a. Timed sync with the song in a visual work
b. Take my breath away..unchained melody…austin powers
c. For commercials and television, it‟s along with performance
royalties.
d. Black box monies!!!
K. DART (Audio Home Recording Act of 1992)
a. It said that it is NOT copyright infringement to make copies of
audiorecordings for personal use at home
b. Put a tax on digital audio tapes that was to be paid out to
record labels, publishers and songwriters.
L. Songwriter Deals
a. Like a record deal, an artist is „signed‟ by a publishing
company to write for them a certain number of songs to sell
to other artists to record.
b. Some are recording artists as well, some are just publishing
their work.
M. Duration of copyright
a. 1909 – 1978 – 2 periods of 28 years each
b. effective until the person died
c. in 1978, they switched to the authors life plus 50 years.
d. Right of Termination
i. 1978 law said that after 35 years, you had the option to
get your transferred song back if you signed with a
publishing company and you could start over.
e. Digital Performance Right and Sound Recording Act of 1995
i. Said that you have to pay royalties to play a song
digitally over any transmission IF…
ii. It‟s a digital public performance, audio only, and a
subscription based service
f. A compulsory license is legally obtained for digital
performance over the internet.
g. Digital Millennium Copyright Act
i. Online providers are not liable for copyright
infringement just for providing space on their server
(peer to peers are legal)
ii. They have to remove it though, once someone informs
them it‟s infringement
iii. Provided a compulsory license for webcasting
1. DMCA says webcasting is ONLY exempt from
public performance royalties if they are an FCC
licensed broadcaster.
2. all other webcasters have to obtain a license
3. the argument now is whether it‟s a transmission
(purchase) or a performance
4. 12 conditions for webcasters