Protecting the hard work and the creativity in your music is based totally on the copyrights of your work. Musicians have to protect their music because it’s the way of their earning.
Music copyrights and how they impact getting paid for your music is the important concept for the Artists all around the Globe. Copyrights are basically the set of rules and regulations that define on how the musician will get paid for the music they created. But these copyright rules are really confusing too sometimes…
What is music copyright?
Some laws posed by the government on the behalf that the intellectual possessions i.e. Music a person create, has certain rights on it.
Every Country or Region has different rules but every single rule is propagated to help the musician control his creation or recording and that it might not be miss used without his or her consent, defining the mechanism about how the artist would be paid for it.
What are the types of musical copyright?
Two different forms of music copyright exist.
- The copyright covering the composition (commonly called the song)
- The copyright covering the Master (commonly called the recording of that song)
These two copyrights can be in possession of two separate parties.
The Composition of the work might be of a different person and the recording might be by another person, so both the parties can earn for the original work as their copyrights are ensuring their concern with the music.
How do I copyright music?
To Register your music for copy rights you need to apply it a tangible medium and then you need to file an application for it in the Country’s Copyright Office. Follow all the further procedures about the registration provided by the office.
Copyrights are not mandatory for your music. It can help you by legal means if needed and if that’s not the case then it can at least guide the person who wants to your exploit your music about whom to contact for the permission.
The following format would be satisfactory for a song:
© Songwriter name(s) with the year the song was produced.
The following format would be satisfactory for a recording:
℗ Name of recorded master owner and the year it was recorded.
Any kind of Copyright Infringement gives the owner an authority to claim what’s his possession and is wrongly used without the consent.
What Rights does the Music Copyrights Cover?
The set of Copyright Rules and Regulations depend upon the rules that are defined by the laws of that Particular Country/Region.
Occasionally, the copyright laws provide the musician control over his/her work, how and what they want to do with it, similarly it defines how you can stop others that might try to exploit your work regardless of your consent.
Some common rights covered in the copyright set of rules are;
- The right to produce copies.
- The right to sell your work.
- The right to certify your work.
- The right to perform or broadcast your work anywhere.
Do I have to register my music copyright?
Not necessarily. No you don’t really need to register your music for copyrights but it won’t be safe either. Assume that the music you created is being misused without your consent and you want it to be either removed or you getting paid royalty, then you won’t have any document that’s legal to protect your music.
Every Country has a different policy about Copyright Registration, all you need to do is register your work in the copyrights office of the country rather than keeping it a thought in your head to avoid it being misused.
How does music copyright impact how I get paid for my music?
A music copyright provides you with rights for your intellectual property that are similar to other property rights.
Just like the type of property that you can hold in your hand, the concept of copyright permits you to sell your music, give others permission to use your music or restrict others from exploiting your intellectual property without your permission.
Getting paid for your copyrights can take on many forms.
Various ways that might get the copyright owner the royalty of his songs might include the usage of the song in video games, movies, performances on radios or live concerts, similarly if they are downloaded through the third party websites.
How do I make sure I’m getting all my royalties?
How the money flows to you takes on many forms as well? There are many administrators worldwide who facilitate payment from these varying uses to you, the copyright holder.
If you are not getting paid by any means of your music, while it’s being used on radio stations, streaming services, movie theaters and etc. Then you can institute legal proceedings against them till they pay you the Royalty of your song.
- Music distribution companies
- Record companies
- Etc.
These entities collect money from all parties who use your music and disperse that money to the copyright owners.
