Category: Music Business

In the UK, copyright lasts for a period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies. If the music originates from the outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), the copyright in its country of origin, if this doesn’t exceed 70 years. 

There are several types of Copyright Relevant to Music and here are the following:

Intellectual copyright is protection for anything you create that stops others using it unless they have your permission. Copyright is established as soon as you create any of the following things; original literature, drama, music, art and photography, original software, web content and databases, sound, music, film and television recordings, broadcasts and the layout of published music, drama and written works.

Your work be marked with the proper copyright symbol (©), it is however not required and does not affect the state of the copyright you have on something. Copyright lasts from when it is created until the death of the creator plus varying lengths after the creator’s death depending on what type of art it is. For written, dramatic, musical and artistic work this is 70 years, for sound and music recordings this is 70 years after the first publishing, for films this is 70 years after the death of the director, screenplay author and composer, for broadcasts this is 50 years after the first broadcast and 25 years from the first publishing of layouts for written, dramatic or musical works.

By having copyright for something you now have prevention from; people stealing and copying your work, selling or otherwise distributing it, renting out copies of it, performing your work (in public), adapting your work and putting it online. If you own copyright you have the right to sell it and can register the copyright with a collecting body who will collect any royalties for you and agree on terms for its use on your behalf. You can sell or transfer your copyright by signing an agreement. 

Sound recording copyright is represented by the ℗ symbol. It is used to show copyright for a sound recording. The ‘P’ stands for phonogram, this word is used to refer to sound recordings. It would contain the symbol, the year the sound recording was first published and some way of identifying the owner of the copyright. Copyright in sound recording usually is owned by the record producer. Like with intellectual copyright, sound recording copyright has specific rules to it regarding how long it lasts, this is dependent on whether or not it has been published or communicated in some way (such as radio or internet) to the public.

If a recording is not communicated to the public in anyway, nor published, the copyright will last for 50 years. If within 50 years of its initial creation it is published then the copyright lasts 70 years from the year it was first published. If within 50 years of its initial creation it is communicated to the public but not published the copyright will last for 70 years of when it’s first communicated. If it is then published at a later date the copyright will last for 70 years from when it’s first published. 

Performer’s copyright refers to the rights of the performer within sound recording copyright. If a recording is not communicated to the public or published then the performers copyright lasts 50 years from when it was first made. To be eligible for performers copyright the performer must be a qualifying individual or perform in a qualifying country. If someone makes a copy of a performers performance without the relevant permissions then they are infringing the performers rights.

Digital Rights Management is the term for the type of technology that allows the rights owners the ability to set (and enforce) terms to which other people can use their intellectual property. Usually these rights owners would be copyright-holding companies such as music, film or software publishers. The way DRM works is by encrypting a file and then having an authentication system to unlock said file. DMR is most commonly used for the protection of copying. This level of technology gives reassurance to copyright holders that their works will not be pirated. 

Piracy is intentional infringement of copyright on a commercial scale. In the 1990s compact disc piracy became global due to technology making duplication of CDs easier coming out. Piracy these days involves mp3s being distributed on sites like piratebay and limewire, often at a lower audio quality than if the music was actually purchased from a respective distribution company.

Due to modern technology making piracy so easy this is why it is increased so significantly. It is easy for someone who has paid for a piece of music to simply upload the file to a pirating site for others to download. Due to the large amount of people who do it, it is also hard for the government to police music (and any other media) pirating it’s done on such a large scale. It is still illegal though and if caught pirating material you could be fined up to £150,000 for each individual file as well as up to 5 years in jail. This doesn’t deter a lot of people though due to it being so hard to catch people.  
Illegal downloading is when someone downloads a piece of music illegally without paying for it, essentially you’re infringing the copyright of the person(s) music you download.

Within the Music Industry as a singer, songwriter or composer you will always be entitled to receive royalties due to the exploitation of your musical work. Therefore, every time your music is played you should make money, their is a handful of ways to make money from music like the following:

• Synchronisation Royalties – When your works are used in TV, Film, Advertisements, Video Games, online streaming, and any other type of visual media.
• Mechanical Royalties – They are generated for the physical or digital reproduction and general distribution of copyrighted works. This applies to all music formats such as vinyl, CD, cassette, digital downloads, and streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music and Soundcloud.
• Public Performance Royalties – These royalties generated for copyrighted works Performed, Recorded, Played and or Streamed in public. This also includes Radio, TV, Bars, Restaurants, Clubs, Live Concerts, Music Streaming Services, and anywhere else where music plays in public.
• Print Music Royalties – They are not a very common form of payment a owner can receive. This applies to the copyrighted music transcribed to a print piece such as sheet music and then distributed amongst musicians. Additionally, these fees are often paid out to the owner which is determined upon the number of copies made of the printed piece itself.

In the UK there are four collection societies, all in their own ways vary from the other and here are the societies below:

MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) – This society collects where Mechanical Royalties are payable, Record Companies must distribute details of all copies made each month to the collection society, the record companies will pay the MCPS quarterly and in return the MCPS enables the payment of royalties to the writers and or publishers of the music produced. They are a non-profit organisation which is funded by the commission it levies on the licence revenue it receives.

When going to apply as a musician, there is a one-off fee of £100, when you have joined as a ‘writer’ they will collect your royalties for you. When you have joined you eventually appoint them as the agent of your rights whereas when you join the PRS you assign your rights to them. They collect where your royalties are due for you on a monthly basis, however they will charge you admin rates for their service, this will ensure that the MCPS receive a small profit for their services, their admin rate is the lowest for collecting societies across Europe and the UK, charging around about 10% out of your royalties this is totally dependant on what type of royalties they are receiving from you.

As an MCPS member, they act on your behalf administering the rights to the following:

• Copies of your work, pressing CDs and creating digital downloads.
• Issuing copies of your work for sale and or promotion
• Renting or lending your work to the public.

PRS – Better known as the Performing Rights Society sell blanket licences to venues that play and or broadcast music to the public for a profit through enjoyment.

As a Musician and or Composer you are entitled to royalties every time you perform your music for entertainment purposes and every time your music is played at any form of profitable establishment and business such as; shops, music venues, clubs.

When you have a Blanket Licence it means as a venue, under one annual fee relevant to the venue, can now play and allow performance of all music under the licence without a limit to use under the one year agreement fee. 

Keep in mind that you’re only entitled to royalties if you have a PRS Licence, to join the PRS as a ‘writer’ there is a one-off fee of £100, just like the MCPS. PRS collect your royalties as and when your music is
played in public, this also includes live performance, Radio and TV broadcasts, films and adverts, streaming and downloading, ringtones and hold music for phones. They can then monitor any kind of music use and then they can collect any due royalties. 

PPL – the Phonographic Performance Limited Collect royalties for the copyright and sound/recording, they now sell a licence called “TheMusicLicence”. This enables businesses to play music for their customers/employees from the TV, Radio and any other digital devices or possible live performances.

This licence allows businesses to play music and to re-ensure that the musicians obtain their royalties when their music is played. There are many determining factors to how much a “MusicLicence” will cost here are the following:

• The type of venue.
• What circumstances you use music for on a daily basis.
• If it is being used for background music or specifically for entertainment purposes only.

VPL – the Video Performance Limited collect royalties for all forms of videos this would come in to play massively during our modern day and age especially when it comes to YouTube and or any other media platforms.

They specifically deal with the licensing of music videos when they are played or broadcasted on TV. The VPL have a database you can search to track information on music videos. VPL are within the same building as PPL so generally if you need to inquire about gaining royalties from a music video you will contact the PPL as those terms fall under TheMusiciansLicence.