2. Music Publishing History
• Arrival of Gutenberg press - 15th Century
• Development of music copyright - 17th Century
• Arrival of the recording industry - 20th Century
• Writers access a new mass market audience beyond live
performance
• Publishers’ earnings include royalties from publishing
copyrights used in theatres and piano-rolls
• Music publishing was ready to go beyond physical media into
radio
• Sales of popular sheet music for home piano players were the
basis of the first music charts
3. Music Publishing History cont.
• Publishers provide repertoire to recording artists.
• Record deals remained pathetic.
• Artists write songs to earn additional income.
• Publishers - unaffected by the migration of music to the
Internet.
• They have lost some mechanical income as CD album sales
have dropped but radio and Internet broadcasting remains
strong alongside online sales.
• But PRS licensing for new broadcasters such as YouTube has
been slow to catch up with changing audiences.
4. Music Publishers Primary
Functions
ADMINISTRATION
- collecting license fees from commercial venues and
broadcasters, foreign royalty organizations and from sync
licenses, sheet music etc.
FULL PUBLISHING SERVICE
- pitching material to potential users to generate earnings for
the publisher and writer.
5. Music Publishers Trade Organizations
• Not generally called Majors and indies although all Major
record labels have big music publishing sister companies.
• EMI and Warners own the largest publishing catalogues.
• Music Publishers Association 1881
(about 260 corporate members representing 4,000 catalogues)
• MPA sponsors publishing royalty collectors MCPS and PRS
6. Music Copyright
• Copyright gives the creators material rights to control
ways their songs can be used.
• These rights start as soon as the material is recorded in
writing or in any other way.
• Covers copying, adapting, distributing, communicating
to the public by electronic transmission (including by
broadcasting and in an on demand service) renting or
lending copies to the public and performing in public.
• In many cases, the writer will have the right to be
identified on their works and to object if their work is
distorted or mutilated.
7. Copyright Criteria
• Copyright automatically subsists in a musical or literary work
provided that it meets the following eligibility criteria:
1. The work work must be original in the sense that it has not
been copied from any other work.
2. The work must be recorded in writing or otherwise (eg onto
CD, tape)
3. The writer is either a British Citizen or is domiciled or resident
in the UK (or the work is first published in the UK or a country
which has signed the Berne Convention.
8. Copyright in a Song
• Every song comprises two copyright works:
• The music itself (a musical work)
• The lyrics/words (a literary work)
When does MUSIC copyright expire?
• 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author
dies.
• Sound recordings was 50 years up-to 2011 Now 70 years from the
end of the calendar year in which the recording is made.
9. Proof Copyright?
• The recommended way to support a claim of ownership is to
keep sealed, dated masters with a third party (bank, solicitor,
etc.)
• A cheaper option is to post yourself a copy and keep it sealed
(with a clear postmark date).
• Neither is definitive and it’s useful to have witnesses, working
copies, documentation, demos, or some other evidence of
authorship and development.
10. Music Publishing Royalties
Definition the rights-owners’ share in a transaction
Different kinds of royalties
•income from record label sales (e.g. downloads)
•license fees charged for playing masters (PPL)
•license fees charged for performing songs (PRS)
•license fees charged for copying music (MCPS)
•third party merchandise sales
•royalties are also mentioned for the use of technology
patents e.g. CD media or Blu-ray players
11. Live music Income & Rights
• The venue pays performers or their agent directly
• Song owners are paid through the PRS venue license.
• If recordings are used in a live performance the recording
owner and performers are paid through the PPL venue
license.
