Music Publishing and Copyright: Cover Songs - TuneCore

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1 THE BASICS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MUSIC PUBLISHING AND COPYRIGHT: COVER SONGS BY KEN GOES, FORMER MANAGER & PUBLISHING ADMINISTRATOR for THE PIXIES IMPORTANT: The information in this section is not intended as legal advice. This section is about music publishing. Music publishing is about the ownership of songs. Music publishing is about the rights of songwriters and song owners. And perhaps most importantly, music publishing is about money. Music publishing can be complex and confusing. Our aim here is to simplify the most basic concepts of music publishing as they relate to “covers.” Covers are normally songs written by established artists like, for instance, “Yesterday” by The Beatles. But covers don’t have to be popular songs. A cover can be a song that has been recorded by an unknown artist. The important thing to remember is that any song which you record that was written and previously recorded by someone else is a “cover.” is it a ‘sound recording’ or a ‘composition’? The first thing we have to understand is that a song and a recording of a song are two different things. They are two distinct properties. These two properties are called the “sound recording,” (sometimes called the “master”) and the “composition,” (sometimes called the “work”). Music contracts of all types use these terms to designate one or the other. Here we are mainly interested in the “composition.” The common everyday word we use for “composition“ is the word song. In the following,
whenever you see the word song, you can think composition and whenever you see the word composition, you can think song. These two words are synonymous and are used here interchangeably. Like all property, these two properties, the “sound recording” and the “composition,” come with rights. Just as you have a right to determine who uses your personal property, owners of the “sound recording” and owners of the “composition” (song) have the right to determine who uses their property. Who owns what? Let’s see by way of the following examples. Let’s say you record the Beatles’ song “Yesterday,” probably the most covered song in history. Since you have made the recording, you own the property called the “sound recording,” that is, your particular recording of the song. But the recording is a cover of a song. You did not write the song. You do not own the song. The song is owned by the Beatles, (or more likely a music publishing company, but more on that later). The song or “composition” is also property. Another example : Let’s say three separate bands record the song “Yesterday.” We still have only two properties : three of one kind : the “sound recordings,” and one of the other kind : the “composition.” To sum up, we have the “composition” and we have the “sound recording” of the “composition.” Two separate properties. intellectual property These kinds of property are called “intellectual property.” Other kinds of intellectual property are books, movies, paintings and so on. And, as mentioned earlier, these properties come with rights. The particular right you have to your “sound recording” and the particular right the Beatles have to the “composition” is called a COPYRIGHT. A copyright is the right to reproduce or make copies. This right is granted by the United States 2
Page 4 and 5: 3 Copyright Law and similar laws in
Page 6 and 7: 5 synchronization licenses We hope
Page 8 and 9: 7 BE YOUR OWN RECORD LABEL BY TUNEC

Music Publishing and Copyright: Cover Songs - TuneCore

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