Publishing, Royalties and Copyright Information
Understand and protecting your publishing and copyrights is an important part of managing your music career. The royalties earned through these protections are the way you get paid as a musician. Find out how to make sure you are on top of these often complicated matters.
Music royalty collection companies have a hard job, but sometimes they seem to do things that don't make a lot of sense. Going after people for singing carols or playing music in barn? Huh? What should royalty collection groups do? How far is too far? Should members dictate the agenda? Share your thoughts.
Performing rights agencies make sure songwriters get paid when people use their work. Learn about the different groups out there and find out who should sign up.
The internet has changed the way the music industry functions, and some would say the industry has been slow to catch up with the technology. Digital Rights Management systems are one way that many record labels try to keep control of their catalogs online, but the system does not have many fans among music lovers. Why the controversy, and who is right? Get the facts.
PRS is the Performance Rights Society, a UK based group responsible for collecting royalties for musicians and songwriters for live performances and radio play.
MCPS is the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society. This UK based group collects songwriting and publishing royalties for recorded materials based on the numbers of albums pressed.
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers - ASCAP - collects royalties for live performances and radio plays.
BMI is another US based royalty collection agency. They collect royalties from radio plays and live performances.
Free Legal Advice breaks down the four different music related royalty types for you, in a simple, concise guide.
A list of site that can help you make sure you have protected your intellectual property.
