ARTICLE ON COPYRIGHT CONTINUED: 6. in the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission. As stated in rule number one above, when you create a copyright, you are the only one who is allowed to reproduce the work. This is HUGE. It means that any time a work you hold the copyright to is reproduced physically (i.e. on a CD, vinyl, etc.) or digitally (download), the person who is doing the reproducing must get your permission to do so. If they dont get your approval, they are infringing on right number one of your exclusive copyright, and, so long as you have registered your copyright, you can take action against the infringing party — including suing them for infringement and, potentially, collecting both actual and statutory damages for the infringement. Because of this exclusive right, and because of the ability to sue and recover damages should this right be infringed upon, this right is a significant asset. It means that if someone - typically a label - wants to reproduce your copyright on, for instance a record or download, you have the opportunity to negotiate a fee in exchange for granting them a right to reproduce. MECHANICAL ROYALTIES V. ARTIST ROYALTIES This fee is negotiated via a legal instrument known as a Mechanical License. You, the copyright holder, grant the label the right to make a mechanical reproduction of your copyrighted work(s) in exchange for a payment from the label. So, imagine youre a songwriter who also performs the material you write. You hold the copyright to the songs youve written, and thus — in addition to the other five exclusive rights — have the exclusive right to reproduce this work. Now imagine that a label approaches you, and wants to put out a record of you performing your songs. The label will make a deal with you as a performer that (typically) grants the label the exclusive right to release the music you perform (whether you write the songs or not) for some period of time. In exchange for this exclusivity, the label will (in theory) pay you whats known as an artist royalty. This artist royalty is typically a percentage of the list price of the sale of the album. Youll hear, for instance, an artist say, I have a 15 point deal with my label.” This would mean that the artist receives 15% of the list price from the sales of records (after recoupment of certain expenses and costs associated with the sale of the record). (This percentage is dependent on your negotiation .) This artist royalty satisfies the labels obligation to compensate the performer for the exclusive right to release the album of the artist’s performances, but does not satisfy the labels obligation with respect to the songs themselves. Remember, as a songwriter with a copyright to your songs, you have the exclusive right to reproduce the songs. The label must therefore negotiate a mechanical license with you for the right to reproduce these songs on the album they release. This dual royalty — an artist royalty, paid to the performer signed to the label, and a mechanical royalty, paid to the writer of the song (whether he or she is signed to the label as a performer or not) — is one of the most misunderstood parts of the music business. Its a dangerous thing to misunderstand. What it fundamentally means is that the asset you created as a songwriter, and thus has a copyright to the song released on an album, are going to get paid two times (assuming you recoup costs associated with the artist royalty), while those who are performers, but arent songwriters will only get paid once (if that - remember, its hard to recoup). Equally important, as the owner of the asset (the copyright of the song that is being reproduced) you are to be paid from record one; irrespective of whether the label has recouped their recoupable costs that they must prior to being obligated to pay an artist royalty.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 13:46:36 +0000
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