Who owns a Song?
This is part #1 of the Music Copyrights Series written by Harshadewa.
Even though it is not rocket science to understand ownership of a song, the definition of ownership is not as clear as a physical item that you would create.
As songs belong under intellectual rights, it entails a ‘bundle of rights’ rather than a single right. Let's look at them carefully:
- Rights of songwriters
- Rights of producers
- Rights of Performing Artists
1. Rights of songwriters
Songwriters are basically the people who write the melody and the lyrics of a song.
There can be multiple songwriters in a song. Some songs have just one songwriter if one person has written both the melody and the lyrics. However, more and more pop songs seem to be written by a bunch of songwriters.
The person who creates a melody or a lyric becomes the copyright owners of that work. By the law, songwriters usually own their copyrights 70 years after death.
2. Rights of producers
The producer is the person who undertakes the initiative and the responsibility of making the sound recording of the song.
This person is the key person behind the sound recording which includes taking the initiative of this particular project (song), paying the costs of the sound recording including the fees of the songwriters, music arrangements, mixing, mastering, recording studio charges, publicity and etc.
It is very much like, if this person was not there, this particular song wouldn’t have been made.
Therefore, the specific sound recording is owned by the producer provided that the producer has an agreement with the performing artists who participated in the sound recording.
Sometimes, the producer is the artist him/herself, as the artist can play the role of the producer, becoming the primary sponsor of the song, taking the initiative and the responsibility of making the sound recording.
3. Rights of performing artists
Performing artists are simply the singers who sing in the sound recording. There can be multiple singers for a single song and depending on the agreement between the singers and the producers of a sound recording, the revenue of the sound recording royalties will be shared between them.
This is a simplified representation of who owns the copyright of a song. While there can be exceptions, this article explains how it works in most of the cases.
Read part #2 State of Sri Lankan Music Industry: Analog Radio + TV performance royalties — 2020 July
References
Sri Lanka Intellectual Property Rights Law: National Intellectual Property Office — Sri Lanka
https://www.nipo.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37&Itemid=156&lang=en
How to Make a Living in the Music Industry: World Intellectual Property Organization
https://www.wipo.int/copyright/en/creative_industries/music.html
