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A woman is sitting with an acoustic guitar and talking to a man sitting in front of her A woman is sitting with an acoustic guitar and talking to a man sitting in front of her

Music Creators and Industry Rights


2 min read


What are the rights creators and other rights holders have in musical works, sound recordings, their identity, and image?

Creators and other rights holders have various rights that give them control or payment when their musical works, sound recordings, identity, and image are used.

The most common rights transferred or licensed in the music business that relate to the musical work are all included in songwriters' and music publishers' copyrights.

The most common rights transferred or licensed in the music business that relate to a performance or the sound recording are all included in rights owners’ related (or neighboring) rights (simply rights under copyright law in common law countries).

Rights can generally be defined as the moral or legal entitlements that protect people or entities and their interests.

In the music industry, most, but not all, of those rights are granted under National laws that protect creators' and other rights holders' moral and economic rights in musical works, performances, and sound recordings.. But we’ll get into that further in the sections that follow.

What’s important to understand for now is that An original musical composition with or without lyrics. and Typically, the recorded performance of a musical work protected as a phonogram under copyright law. can be used in different ways. And when they are, different rights come into play. Sometimes, that’s more than one right at the same time, and these can take on their own specific music industry or legal terms. We will explore all of these in detail, so keep reading.

The specifics of your rights will depend on where you live and where you create and To deliver sound recordings to DSPs and physical retailers. your musical works and sound recordings. There are different legal traditions, and each country may have different laws and terminologies. All variations around the world cannot be covered on this platform.

What follows is an overview of the types of rights that exist in musical works, In the context of music, when a musical work is played live or on a sound recording., sound recordings, and a Anyone who contributes to creating or performing a ​​musical work, a live performance, or a sound recording. identity and image, but specific rights questions can best be answered by a local expert.

There are different types of rights and legal and business terms that creators and A person or company that has Intellectual Property Rights in a musical work, performance or sound recording should know. Click on the titles below to learn more about each one.

Image credit: Eric Ivar Persson, Parapix