Songs vs Sound Recordings: Know the difference
Using Music Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
Two types of copyrights routinely cause frustration and confusion for many church leaders striving to honor copyright compliance. U.S. Copyright Law allows for eight specific types of works of authorship that can be copyrighted , and two of these are frequently misunderstood. They are music (or songs) – including any accompanying words, and sound recordings – aural reproduction of some material (music, speech or sound), which may or may not itself be copyrighted.It’s understandable that folks struggle to separate the two. For example, when your worship team needs to make copies of “God of Wonders” as recorded by Paul Baloche for rehearsal purposes, it’s a common misconception that you just need one license to do so. In fact, the song (written by Marc Byrd and Steve Hindalong) is a music copyright and owned by a the songwriter or publisher, in this case New Spring, Meaux Mercy and Storm Boy Music. Paul Baloche’s specific arrangement, rendition and recording of the song is a sound recording copyright and it is owned by the record label, in this case, Integrity Music. The music copyright is usually owned by the songwriter or one or more publishers, and the sound recording is owned by a separate party–the artist or more often a record company. The owner of the sound recording can usually be determined by locating the P symbol on the back of the CD. Note: the owner of the sound recording is often NOT the owner of the song.
It’s very important to grasp this basic distinction between songs and sound recordings to plan for obtaining licenses and paying royalties, as it impacts a variety of types of uses, exclusive rights, licensing types and fees.
Here are some examples of products and uses that may involve clearances for the rights for the music and the sound recording:
Making of audio recordings: This involves the “reproduction rights” to mechanically reproduce the music and the sound recording. The license for the music or song is called a “mechanical license,” and it must be obtained from the owner or administrator of the song. The compulsory rate for mechanical licenses is set by the U.S. Copyright Board and is currently $.091 per song per unit manufactured and distributed for up to 5:00 minutes or $.0175 per minute for over 5:00 minutes. This rate and license applies to both physical product (CDs) or audio digital files for download, which is called a DPD mechanical license. If you are making your own original recording of the song, you only need to obtain a mechanical and/or DPD license. However, if you’re reproducing the song directly from a third party recording (lifting it or burning it), then you also need to obtain a “master use license” from the record company, and the average royalty fee for the master is $.25 per track per unit. Record labels may choose to deny the master use license, so it is important to obtain the license prior to reproducing the audio track.
Synchronizing music to audiovisual products (DVDs or download files): This involves the “reproduction rights” to synchronize the music and the sound recording to your own original audiovisual product. A synchronization license must be obtained from the song owner(s), and the rates vary from publisher to publisher with an average of $.25 per song per unit (DVD or download), with minimum fees of $40-60/song ($150-500 for secular publishers); the master sync fees are $60-100/song ($350-$500 secular labels).
Streaming music online: This involves the “performance rights” to publicly perform via the internet or by digital transmission the song and the sound recording. Like the audio recording and audiovisual product, you must obtain separate licenses for each: synchronization license from the song owner, and a synchronization master license from the record company.
Performance rights organizations (PROs) represent the song internet performance rights on behalf of songwriters and publishers; ASCAP, BMI and SESAC in the U.S. You can obtain a blanket license directly from each PRO, or the one-stop WORSHIPcast license for churches and ministries, which covers 17 million songs represented by all three PRO songs and costs about $750-900 per year. These licenses do not, however, cover the digital sound recording performance rights, which must be obtained directly from the owner of each recording, or through SoundExchange, which licenses and collects royalties for digital sound recordings for internet satellite radio (such as SIRIUS XM), internet radio, cable TV music channels and similar platforms for streaming sound recordings.
Short URL: http://www.copyrightcommunity.com/?p=739
Posted by CopyrightSolver
on Sep 21 2010. Filed under Using Music.
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