At its core, a music publisher’s job is to administer the copyrights in songs and license your...
copyright law
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How to Keep Tabs on Your Record Label’s Books
IF YOU’RE SIGNED TO A LABEL, THE MONEY YOU EARN FROM RECORD SALES doesn’t flow directly from your...
LEGAL PAD: The End of the First Sale Doctrine?
AS A MUSICIAN, YOU WILL BUY AND SELL HUNDREDS OF ITEMS over the course of your career. From instruments to gear, tour vans to used albums, nearly everything you own – minus a handful of cherished...
Copyright Alert System: Can the Music Industry End Infringement?
PEER-TO-PEER FILE SHARING HAS ALLOWED COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT to become so commonplace that enforcement of the law is nearly impossible. Lawmakers and the recording industry have tried several...
Business Models of Pirating Websites Studied by Google in UK
Google and PRS for Music recently commissioned a study from data organization company BAE Systems Detica that discovered commercial purposes behind business models used by copyright infringing...
Catching up with Joe Rut on Recording Live, Copyright Battles & More
Joe Rut Live captures the iconoclastic “psychedelamericana” songwriter at his wryly-humorous best, in front of a sold-out crowd at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall. Backed by a shit-hot...
Legal Pad: Recording Covers & Mechanical Licenses
The compulsory mechanical license is a mechanism that allows anyone to record and distribute your composition (or allow you to make a cover of someone else’s work). There are several requirements...
Legal Pad: Copyright Basics & Registering Your Music
The U.S. Copyright office made significant improvements to their online registration system a few years back, rendering the old “long form” application process nearly extinct for registration of...
LEGAL PAD: What You Should Know About Likeness Rights
Album Art, Promo Materials and the Law Designing the artwork for your band’s gig posters, website, album covers and promotional materials is no easy task. Between artist designs, photographs...
LEGAL PAD: The Basics Behind Sync Licenses
What You Need to Know About Sound Recordings vs. Musical Compositions Every sound recording has two copyrights: a copyright for the musical composition and a copyright for the sound recording. Any...
Spotify: Is U.S. Launch Good for Artists?
On July 14, Swedish music streaming service Spotify made its U.S. debut. Will Americans grasp onto it as much as our mates across the pond have? On Spotify’s “Hello America” welcome page, the...
Legal Pad: Mashups in the Modern Copyright Era
The popularity of sampling and mashups is challenging the existing framework of copyright law and has ignited a fierce debate as to whether “transformative” or “de minimis” use of another’s work is...