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Patanjali
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Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 203
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 Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2009 10:07 pm Post subject: |
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A good source for the various legalities involved in making music, is 'Music Business' by Shane Simpson:
www.amazon.com/Music-Business-Musicians-Australian-Dealmaker/dp/187687161X/ref=cm_pdp_rev_itm_title_1
The blurb I wrote on Amazon:
| Quote: | While this book is written principally for Australia and from an artist's perspective, it gives so much information about the intricacies of the music business that any one who is intending to make a career out of music should read it, regardless of what role you intend to play.
Shane covers all the major players in depth, including artists, record companies, publishers, producers, session musicians. More importantly, Shane covers all the facets of the typical contract arrangements between them. The detail provided helped me to ascertain whether it is better or even feasable to do one's own marketing, label, publishing or contract them out. The book also helped me to understand that even if I do some of these activities myself, say through a company, contracts are still required to keep everything in order. The arrangements have to be clear and explicit for royalty accounting.
While the examples focus on the Australian situation, they are always compared to US or European practice. This only served to deepen the understanding of the concepts behind why the business is so complex.
This book conveys that the music business is full of complexities, but it is so helpful in making actual business decisions that I felt it was better than Tim Sweeney's books, which were more directed at the marketing and promotion side.
Overall, while not leisuretime reading, I would consider this book an essential reference for anyone who wants a career in the music business. |
There are several types of 'rights' applicable to music, though some countries may not enforce or even recognise some of these:
- copyright in the words and music, for which one should get paid when anyone plays it live, makes a recording of it, plays any recording of it in public, even making a clip available on a web site. You sign away a % of the rights when you sign a publishing deal (usually 50% in the USA, less elsewhere).
- copyright in a recording made, which under trade deals made with the USA may specify that it be automatically equally split between all the musicians that played on the recording and the label. These can be signed away ('release'), such as when paid to perform. Unless a work in in the public domain, for a recording of that work, there will always be the copyright for the work and the copyright for the recording, usually handled by separate rights administration bodies.
- moral rights, in any work, specifies that you MUST be credited for your contribution to that work. Devised to counter the Tin Pan Alley type rip-offs, where writers were paid a pittance, but others got credited for their work. May be able to explicitly sign it away in writing.
- rights of a songwriter to specify restrictions on what can be done to a work, such as allowing changes to the words.
- rights of the songwriter to not have their work used for parody or to denigrate their reputation.
- rights of the owner of a recording to specify what forms (mediums) it may be available in. The digital age has meant a lot of changes to various legislation to allow licensees to transform to another medium, like CD to MP3, or even to allow all members of a household to have a copy while they remain members of that household.
- synchronisation, where a recording is used in another recording, typically music in films. Rights administration bodies usually do NOT handle this, and so the recording copyright holder must be approached directly.
There can be some tricky situations with covers, especially with digital downloads. We recorded our CD in Australia. When we got them manufactured, we had to prove to the CD presser that we had paid the songwriter's copyright for the number of CDs to be manufactured. One of the 10 is a cover - Van Morrison's 'Have I Told you Lately', handled by Universal. There is no further copyright fees to pay for those CDs when they are sold in the US or elsewhere.
When trying to get digital downloads organised through CD Baby, because they were to be made available on web servers in the US, their web site says that all we had to do was notify the copyright holder of our intention to make copies available and just pay them periodically. However, all enquiries to Universal told us to go to Harry Fox, but we could only purchase a packet of licences IN ADVANCE, valid for only one year (as if we knew how successful we would be, and CD Baby only tells us after they've sold), and only if we had a US bank account. Now, the law says that if we did not purchase enough licenses, we could be barred from seling the recording for life!
So guess what? We are not going to do any more covers. The CD on Amazon has 10 tracks, but the digital downloads only have 9.
Note that in Australia (and probably some other places), iTunes automatically pay the songwriters copyright directly to AMCOS/APRA (or whoever), whereas in the US, the label (or you as the recording entity) have to pay it. Really, the US situation needs an overhaul, which is being discussed.
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Patanjali
For a CD recorded, mixed and mastered in Cubase SX, see www.devaki.info (on AMD 2.4, etc).
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Discoworx
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Joined: 02 Mar 2009
Posts: 363
Location: Krakow
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| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 11:31 pm Post subject: |
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Hackenslash I have editted my post accordingly as I had made a mistake of typing REGISTERED .......and I meant PROVED as my folllowing text points out.
I have personally been involved with one of the highest profile and financially costly Sample Clearance cases in the UK........in its history...........(not bragging I assure you , just expensive to say the least  ...........but what I will reiterate to all and sundry that in NO WAY can you prove or safeguard ownership of copyright UNTIL your day in court.
Registering your copyright in the "poor mans way" as you voiced........is indeed not a foolprooof way of ownership of copyright, but what I think you and many others need to understand is that registration of copyright is in no way a guarantee of ownership. I reiterate for the uninformed............REGISTRATION OF COPYRIGHT IS NO WAY A GURANTEE OF OWNERSHIP.............just a starting block for the legal proceedings............You have to provide proof of ownership in a court of law, at the earliest point in time available, and the poor mans way is a cheap effective way to at least have some "proof" that you actually had ownership right at that date.
I speak from High Court in London, real world..........£400,000 IN LEGAL BILLS EXPERIENCE, that is why this is a grey area, it is why there cannot,and IS NOT ANY way you can safeguard your copyright......with any Copyright "Agency" ...........It does not exist. on a case by case basis, accordinging to UK law, it has and can ONLY be decided in a court of LAW.
A registration with any agency, PRS/MCPS or otherwise, wil NOT save your ass, If I can Prove ownership of the Intellectual Property BEFORE the registratiuon date.
This is why I am CAPSLOCKing the information I am giving. to emphasise that other peoples beliefs that registration is proof, I assure you and everyone else it isnt.
There is NO proof available that can safeguard Copyright Ownership.........It is only having as much "evidence" (and the Poor mans way is a viable alternative to only brgin with.
I apologise if capslocking is irritating you,and if you think my "Full coverage" of Copyright is wrong, then I will ask for your Legal dept to investigate my findings
Thi s is a very misunderstood area of the music industry, and I am giving solid VALID real world experience as to actually what our good friends here nay easily misinterpret.
if there was a safeguard that proved beyond all reasonable doubt of ownership of copyright, we would all be using it, Everyone would know about "IT"..........and the lawyers would have no way to extort "Advice" 
what I posted I stand beside, and really wish that our good friends here get the best advice possible..............I have already paid for that advice from some of the top Music lawyers in London, So I see no need for our colleagues to have to, ......there is NO WAY to prove copyright in its entirety at any stage, It is only "proven" when the judge decides the outcome on the day.
Patanjali. In Oz recently have had some really high profile Court cases,and the industry there has had amajor boot up the backside con cerning cover versions,and illegal bootlegs.......Very financially crippling for soem artists............(although in hindsight they blatantly sampled other peoples work , tries to sell their "Albums" without sample clearance so they got hammered....very heavily to boot moneywise.).
I do agrre that the ameriac an system needs an overhaul, and the Harry Fox agency aint the best ot get the right advice from........(there actually are a couple of rightsholder agencies...............but do yourself a favour and EVERYBODY else............ now go visit http://limelight.rightsflow.com/ClearanceHome.aspx
you'd be surprised .......the industry HAS to change its models in the current climate......and NOWs the time for us recording artists for the systems to work for us , not against us. Even Samppel clearance nowadays dhould be handled FULLY in 3-5 days but its not. 
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No I Dont Check My Typos..........Im Dyeslexic |
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