Musicians, especially those new to the industry, are prone to get scammed or unable to protect their music properly. Your music should be the most important thing to you, so it’s more than important to know the basics of copyright law. This way, you can legally protect your music and ensure you get your due share of the profits from any licensing deals. That’s why today, we’re going to share things every musician needs to know about copyright and give you a glimpse of the case law, so you can begin to understand how copyright works.
Two Types of Work That Are Protected by the Law
Copyright in the United States is a form of legal protection given to original works of authorship. It covers both published and unpublished material, including music, lyrics, choreography, artworks, writings, and recordings. In the music industry, copyright law can be divided into two categories:
Sound Recording
This refers to the actual recording (master) of the song. It does not include the song itself, which …