Welcome to the Music Royalties Glossary, your comprehensive resource for understanding the complexities of registering music and receiving royalties. Navigating the music industry’s financial landscape can be challenging, especially for emerging artists and songwriters. Knowing the terminology is a crucial first step in managing your music’s business side effectively.
This glossary has been meticulously crafted to help musicians, composers, and industry professionals familiarize themselves with key terms related to music registration and royalty collection. From understanding the different types of royalties to grasping the nuances of copyright laws, our glossary provides clear and concise definitions.
Whether you are new to the music scene or looking to deepen your understanding of the industry’s financial aspects, this glossary will serve as an invaluable tool. It aims to empower you with knowledge, ensuring you’re well-equipped to protect your rights and maximize your earnings from your creative endeavors.
Dive into our glossary and start your journey towards mastering the business of music!
Blanket License: A license issued by a Performing Rights Organization (PRO) that allows the licensee to play any of the music in the PRO’s catalog. This is commonly used by radio stations, TV networks, and venues.
Collective Management Organization (CMO): An organization that manages copyright-related rights on behalf of creators. These include PROs for performance rights and agencies for mechanical and digital reproduction rights.
Compulsory License: A legal provision that allows someone to use copyrighted material without the copyright holder’s permission, provided they pay a set fee.
Composer Royalties: Earnings paid to composers when their music is performed publicly, broadcast, or streamed. These royalties are usually collected and distributed by PROs.
Controlled Composition Clause: A clause in a recording contract that reduces the amount of mechanical royalties paid to the artist for songs they’ve written.
Copyright: A legal form of protection granted to the original creator of a work, including music, literature, and art. It gives the creator exclusive rights to use, distribute, and modify their work.
Copyright Infringement: The use of copyrighted material without authorization or exceeding the scope of authorization, which violates the copyright holder’s rights.
Copyright Law: The body of laws that governs the rights of creators over their works and the terms under which others can use these works.
Copyright Notice: A statement placed on copies or phonorecords of a work, indicating the work’s copyright status. Typically includes the copyright symbol (©), the year of first publication, and the name of the copyright owner.
Copyright Ownership: The possession of the rights granted by copyright law to a creator of a work, or someone who has been assigned those rights.
Copyright Registration: The process of registering a work with the copyright office, which provides legal advantages, such as the ability to sue for infringement and claim statutory damages.
Copyright Term: The length of time that copyright protection exists for a work. In most cases, it lasts for the life of the author plus an additional number of years (typically 70 years).
Cover Song: A new recording or performance of a previously recorded, commercially released song by someone other than the original artist or composer.
Digital Performance Royalties: Royalties earned when a recording is played on digital platforms like internet radio, satellite radio, and online streaming services. These are collected by organizations like SoundExchange.
Digital Rights Management (DRM): Technologies used by publishers and copyright holders to control access to digital content and devices, limiting the use of copyrighted works.
Digital Service Providers (DSP): Platforms that offer digital music services, such as streaming or downloading. Examples include Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
Direct Licensing: The process where rights holders license their works directly to users, without going through an intermediary like a PRO or a CMO.
Distribution Agreement: A legal contract between an artist or record label and a distribution company, outlining the terms for distributing the artist’s music.
Distribution Rights: The rights held by a distributor or an artist to sell, market, and distribute a work, such as a music album or song.
Exclusive Rights: The rights granted to a copyright holder to be the sole entity to produce, sell, or use the copyrighted work in a specific way.
Fair Use Doctrine: A legal doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, typically for purposes such as commentary, criticism, teaching, or research.
First Use Rights: The right of a copyright holder to control who makes the first public distribution of a new work.
Harry Fox Agency (HFA): An agency that specializes in collecting and distributing mechanical royalties on behalf of music publishers in the United States.
Intellectual Property: A category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, names, and images used in commerce.
International Standard Recording Code (ISRC): A unique code assigned to a specific recording of a song, used to track the usage of recordings across different platforms and media.
Master Rights: The rights to the original recording of a song or performance, typically owned by the record label or whoever financed the recording. These rights allow the owner to reproduce, distribute, and license the recording.
Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC): A U.S.-based organization established by the Music Modernization Act to administer mechanical licenses and collect and distribute mechanical royalties for digital music streaming.
Mechanical Rights: The rights to reproduce a piece of music in a physical or digital format. This includes CDs, vinyl, digital downloads, and streaming services.
Mechanical Royalties: Royalties earned from the mechanical reproduction of a song, such as when it is streamed, downloaded, or physically produced. These are paid to songwriters and publishers.
Music Clearance: The process of obtaining permission and licenses to use copyrighted music in various media like films, TV shows, commercials, or other public presentations.
Music Licensing: The act of granting permission to use a piece of music in exchange for payment. This can be for various uses, including synchronization, performance, and mechanical reproductions.
Music Publishing: The business of managing and monetizing a song’s composition (lyrics and melody). This involves licensing, collecting royalties, and sometimes promoting the music.
Music Reports Inc. (MRI): A company that specializes in music rights administration, helping to manage licensing and royalty accounting for various stakeholders in the music industry.
Music Royalty Calculator: A tool used by artists and music industry professionals to estimate potential earnings from royalties based on factors like streams, downloads, and airplay.
Neighboring Rights: Rights related to the public performance or broadcast of a sound recording. They are paid to performers, producers, and record labels.
Performance License: A license obtained by a venue or broadcaster to legally play music publicly. This license compensates songwriters, composers, and publishers for the public use of their music.
Performance Rights Organization (PRO): An organization that collects and distributes performance royalties to songwriters, composers, and music publishers. Examples include ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.
Performance Royalties: Royalties that are earned when a song is performed publicly, such as on radio, in concert, or through a streaming service.
Performing Rights License: Similar to a performance license, it’s a permission granted to use music in a public performance, ensuring the rightful owners of the music are compensated.
Phonorecords: Physical forms of recorded sound (excluding the sound accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work), such as CDs, vinyl records, and cassettes.
Print Rights: Rights related to the distribution and sale of printed music, such as sheet music and songbooks.
PRO Member Account: An account held by a songwriter, composer, or music publisher with a Performance Rights Organization for the management and collection of performance royalties.
Public Domain: Works, including music, that are not protected by copyright and are thus free for public use without permission or payment of royalties.
Public Performance: Any performance of copyrighted music in a public space or broadcast. This can include concerts, radio broadcasts, or music played in businesses.
Publisher’s Share: The portion of performance royalties that is paid to the music publisher. It represents the publisher’s compensation for exploiting the composition.
Publishing Rights: Rights held by the music publisher or songwriter that allow them to use, license, and monetize a musical composition.
Recoupment: A process in the music industry where record labels or other funding entities recover their investment from an artist’s earnings before the artist receives payment.
Reproduction Rights: The rights to copy or reproduce a piece of music in various formats, including physical (like CDs) and digital (like streaming).
Residuals: Ongoing compensation paid to creators, actors, or musicians for the reuse of their work, such as syndication of TV shows or re-airing of commercials.
Royalties: Payments made to rights holders (songwriters, composers, recording artists, and publishers) for the use or sale of their musical works.
Royalty Advances: Payments made in advance to an artist against future royalty earnings. These are typically recouped from the artist’s subsequent earnings.
Royalty Audit: A formal examination of royalty accounts and records, usually conducted by an independent party, to ensure that royalty payments have been accurately calculated and paid.
Royalty Collection Agency: An organization that collects royalties on behalf of music rights holders from various sources like radio stations, streaming platforms, and public performances.
Royalty Free Music: Music that is free from royalty payments. Users can pay a one-time fee to use the music without paying ongoing royalties.
Royalty Rate: The percentage or amount paid in royalties to a rights holder for the use of their intellectual property, such as a musical composition or recording.
Royalty Split: The division of royalties among various rights holders, typically outlined in contracts or agreements.
Royalty Statements: Documents provided by record labels, publishers, or distribution services detailing the amount of royalties earned in a specific period.
Sampling: The act of taking a portion of a sound recording or a musical composition to use in another recording.
Songwriter Royalties: Earnings paid to songwriters for the use of their compositions, such as mechanical, performance, and synchronization royalties.
SoundExchange: A non-profit organization in the U.S. that collects and distributes digital performance royalties for sound recordings played on digital radio, satellite radio, and online streaming services.
Split Sheet: A document that outlines the percentage of ownership each contributor has in a song and how royalties are to be divided among them.
Standard Industry Contracts: Standardized contracts used within the music industry to outline terms and agreements between various parties (artists, labels, publishers, etc.).
Statutory Royalties: Royalties set by law, such as those for mechanical licenses in the U.S., which are set by statute rather than negotiated between parties.
Streaming Platforms: Digital services that allow users to stream audio and video content, including music, such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
Streaming Royalties: Payments made to rights holders when their music is streamed on digital platforms.
Sub-Publishing Agreement: An agreement between a primary music publisher and a second publisher, allowing the latter to administer publishing rights in a specific territory.
Synchronization (Sync) Royalties: Royalties earned when a song is used in sync with visual media like movies, TV shows, commercials, or video games.
Synchronization Rights: The rights required to use a piece of music in conjunction with visual media. These rights are typically obtained through a sync license.
Sync License: A license that permits the holder to synchronize music with visual content, such as in a film, TV show, or commercial.
Territorial Rights: Rights granted for the use or exploitation of music within a specific geographical area.
Trademark: A symbol, word, or phrase legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product, used to distinguish it from others.
Traditional Royalty Systems: Conventional systems used in the music industry to calculate and pay royalties, often based on physical sales or broadcast plays.
Work for Hire: A situation where an artist or creator produces work that is automatically owned by another party, usually the one who commissioned the work.
Writer’s Share: The portion of performance royalties that is paid directly to the songwriter, not going through the publisher.
YouTube Monetization: The process of earning revenue from uploaded videos on YouTube, either through ads, paid subscriptions, or other revenue streams offered by the platform.
