A Clear Explanation
: DefinitionsOverview
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Ethical Foundation Our
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Music
Licensing Dictionary
www.easySongLicensing.com
Copyright, 2008
Legacy Productions
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Index
Annual
Statement of Account
Arrangement
Arranger
Audio Streams
Cassette Tapes
Compact Discs
Composer
Compulsory Licensing
Compulsory Mechanical
Licensing
Copyright
Copyright Date
Cover Tune
Custom License Agreement
Digital Phonorecord
Deliveries (Digital Downloads or DPDs)
Distribution
Duplication
Duplicator
easySongLicensing.com
eMechanical
Format
Harry Fox Agency
Length of Song
License
License Request
Limited
Downloads
Manufacture
Master Use License
Mechanical License
Medley
Monthly Statement of Account
Notice of Intention
Public Domain
Public Performance License
Public Performance
Rights Agencies
Publishers
Record Labels
Records
Replication
Replicator
Royalty
Songfile.com
Split Ownership
Synchronization License
Statutory Rate
Title
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Annual
Statement of Account
The
final step of the compulsory mechanical licensing procedures, this
statement summarizes to copyright holders the annual distribution of
a work licensed under the compulsory mechanical licensing
provisions. The notice includes information about the
distribution of a project, explicitly as defined in the compulsory
mechanical copyright law. It is audited and signed by a
certified public accountant. It is due shortly after the end
of the year.
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Arrangement
A
modification of an existing composition. Arrangements can be
copyrighted separately from the compositions they reference.
When that happens, both the arranger and the composer receive
royalties. One of the protections the copyright law gives
musicians is the exclusive right to arrange their compositions, so
it is illegal to arrange a copyrighted work for distribution without
permission from the composer.
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Arranger
The
individual who arranged the song. Arrangements can be
copyrighted separately from compositions. When that happens,
both the arranger and the composer receive royalties.
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Audio
Streams
Streaming is when a digital file is delivered electronically to a
computer, read in real time by the computer and is stored
temporarily on the computer for the purpose of a one-time use. It is
analogous to a radio transmission. On demand streaming is the term
given to streams that have been prepared and are available for users
who wish to play a specific song at a specific time. Public
performance royalties apply to streams and mechanical royalties do
not.
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Cassette
Tapes
Cassette tapes were the standard media for delivery of music through
retail channels during the 'seventies and 'eighties.
Mechanical licenses may apply to your tape recordings.
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Compact
Discs
Compact
discs have been the standard media for delivery of music through
retail channels for at least a decade. Mechanical licenses may
apply to your CD recordings.
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Composer
The
individual who wrote the song, found at the top right of the title
page and used to identify a copyrighted work. Often multiple
songs share the same title. So this is necessary to locate the
proper copyright holder of a song. It is also required
information under the compulsory mechanical licensing provisions.
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Compulsory
Licensing
United States
copyright laws
that mandate that copyright holders issue licenses to licensees when
they follow certain procedures outlined in the law. The law
includes compulsory provisions for various uses of copyrighted
materials. For music, there are mechanical compulsory
provisions and streaming and limited (subscription) download
provisions.
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Compulsory
Mechanical Licensing
A
process, defined in the copyright law, that mandates that copyright
holders issue mechanical licenses to licensees who follow the
compulsory licensing procedures. Those procedures require the
licensee to notify the copyright holder, report distribution
details, and provide a royalty payment at the statutory rate.
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Copyright
The
United States Copyright Law provides a legal definition of five
protections that give musicians exclusive rights to use their music
in a variety of ways. Musicians own the exclusive right to
perform publicly, play recordings publicly, distribute recordings,
distribute sheet music, and to create arrangements.
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Copyright
Date
The date
a work was copyrighted. Works are automatically copyrighted as
soon as they are fixed in tangible form. We recommend
registering a work with the copyright office for more solid legal
proof of the date of conception and because it is required if you
will take legal action in a
US
court.
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Cover
Tune
Yourself playing a song that someone else wrote.
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Custom
License Agreement
A custom
legal agreement that gives permission to use copyrighted music.
If you request a license directly from the copyright holder, they
likely will send you a custom license agreement.
With small-time
licensees, custom agreements typically benefit the licensor because
they write the agreement. Sometimes they write in extra
requests, such as minimum payments, processing fees, or the
obligation to send a finished copy of the licensed product.
Compulsory law
allows licensees to avoid custom agreements. However,
compulsory law does not exist for some music uses, such as master
and synchronization use. Because of this, for these uses,
licensees must sign custom agreements, and in fact, licensors can
reject a license request altogether.
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Digital
Phonorecord Deliveries
Permanent
digital downloads are called "Digital Phonorecord
Deliveries" (also known as Digital Downloads or DPDs).
They are treated like CD sales. When selling or giving away
permanent downloads you need mechanical licenses and perhaps master
use licenses (if the definitions above apply to you).
DPDs reside on a
recipient's computer indefinitely. DPDs may be transferred to
portable devices or burned onto CDs (in accordance with the rules
set by the digital distributor of a specific DPD). DPDs fall under
Section 115 of the Copyright Act and are currently licensed at the
statutory rate meaning they their royalty rates are treated the same
as those for CDs. Mechanical licenses apply to DPDs.
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Distribution
The
delivery of product from manufacturing to the user. Distribution
happens whenever product leaves possession of the licensee,
regardless of whether it is sold or given away for free.
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Duplication
The
process of manufacturing CDs or DVDs with a laser that burns data
onto the disc (much like on your home computer), typically used for
order quantities under 500 units. Duplication is the most
affordable manufacturing process for small quantity orders because
of a simpler setup process. It is less reliable than
replication, and is more expensive in higher quantities. As
far as sound, a discernable difference between duplicated discs and
replicated discs is questionable.
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Duplicator
One that
manufactures CDs or DVDs through duplication. The equipment is
affordable, so small companies and individuals are able to
duplicate.
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easySongLicensing.com
The web
site you're browsing right now! The most informative, helpful
web site for music licensing. We handle mechanical licensing,
and we can help point you in the right direction for all of your
other licensing needs. We are full service. This means
you can speak with a real person. We can license any song in
the
USA
in 5-7 business days. We beat competitors' fees by twenty
percent.
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eMechanical
Harry
Fox Agency's robust online licensing tool for intensive licensing
users.
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Format
The
medium for delivery of the music. Common formats include
Digital Downloads, CDs, Records, and Cassette Tapes.
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Harry
Fox Agency
In 1927,
the National Music Publisher's Association established "HFA",
as it is known, to act as an information source, clearinghouse and
monitoring service for licensing musical copyrights. Today
they offer only mechanical licensing services.
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Length
of Song
The
length of your recording of a song in minutes and seconds is
required information under the compulsory mechanical licensing
provisions. Songs over five minutes cost a little higher
royalty. Check the statutory rate to learn why.
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License
Permission to use music that someone else owns.
See also Mechanical License, Master License, Synchronization
License, and Public Performance License.
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License
Request
A
request for permission to use music that someone else owns.
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Limited
Downloads (also known as Tethered Downloads)
A limited download is a digital file that is delivered
electronically to a computer to reside there for a limited period of
time. There are two types of limited downloads: limited-time
download (i.e. the song resides on the computer for 30 days) and
limited-use download (i.e. the song is can be heard 10 times before
it can no longer be played). If you are not a large web music
subscription service, tethered downloads likely do not apply to you.
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Manufacture
The
making of copies of music. For example, when CDs are
duplicated, they are in manufacturing.
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Master
Use License
Permission
from the copyright holder, typically the recording artist or their
record label, to legally record a copyrighted recording you did not
record.
When you create
a recording (audio OR video) of someone else's recording you need to
get a master use license from the copyright holder of the recording.
You can get
master licenses by contacting the owner directly. Because
these licenses are custom-negotiated, we do not offer master
licensing services at this time.
The master use
license pays the recording artist. However, they do not pay
the song writer. For that reason, master use licenses need to
be accompanied by a mechanical license for your new audio-only
creations. They need to be accompanied by a synchronization
license for your new video creations. The reason is that the
mechanical and synchronization royalties go to the song writer
whereas the master use royalties go to the artist that recorded the
song.
You can legally
dodge a master use license by recording the song yourself instead of
using another artist's recording. For example, you could play
a Beatles song rather than use their recording. In this case
you would only need a mechanical (for audio) or synchronization (for
video) license to pay the composer.
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Mechanical
License
Permission from the copyright holder, typically the composer or
their publisher, to legally record a copyrighted song you did not
write in audio only.
When you record
onto your new AUDIO-ONLY creation, yourself or your musician
friends, or a master recording that you did not make (such as the
Beatles), playing a song that you did not write, and you want to
distribute two or more copies of your recording, you need to get a
mechanical license from the copyright holder of the song (typically
the composer or their publisher).
You can get
these licenses online at www.easySongLicensing.com,
or by contacting the copyright holder directly.
The mechanical
license pays the composer only, for the right to use their
composition. If you use a recording you do not own (such as
the Beatles), you will also need a master license, in addition to
the mechanical license, to pay the recording artist for the right to
use their recording.
You will never
need a synchronization license AND a mechanical license for a single
re-creation. Both cover royalty payments to the songwriter for
their composition, but mechanical licenses are for AUDIO-ONLY,
whereas synchronization licenses are for video. They are like
compliments of each other; one is for audio, one is for video.
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Medley
A song
that uses portions of other songs and glues them together into a new
arrangement. When licensing a medley, copyright permission
must be obtained for each separate portion of the medley, and
possibly for the arrangement of the medley. For this reason,
medleys can be expensive to license. Often medleys piece
together public domain works. Even if each piece is in the
public domain, the medley arrangement can still be copyrighted.
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Monthly
Statement of Account
The
second step of the compulsory mechanical licensing procedures, this
statement announces to copyright holders the distribution of a work
licensed under the compulsory mechanical licensing provisions.
The notice includes information about the distribution of a project,
explicitly as defined in the compulsory mechanical copyright law.
It is accompanied by a royalty payment covering the statutory rate
for each unit distributed. It is due by the twentieth of the
following month for each month when distribution occurs.
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Notice
of Intention
The
first step of the compulsory mechanical licensing procedures, this
notice informs copyright holders of the licensee's intention to use
a copyrighted work in a mechanical reproduction (cover tune in audio
only). The notice includes information about the project and
about the song, explicitly as defined in the compulsory mechanical
copyright law. It is due after manufacturing and before
distribution.
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Public
Domain
Materials
for which no individual can claim copyright. As such, no
license is needed to use public domain materials. For music
specifically, works published before 1923 are in the public domain.
PDInfo.com
says,
"Music and lyrics published in 1922 or earlier are in the
Public Domain in the
United States
. No one can claim ownership of a song in the public
domain, therefore public domain songs may be used by anyone.
Sound recordings, however, are protected separately from musical
compositions. There are no sound recordings in the Public
Domain in the
USA
. If you need a sound recording - even a recording of a
public domain song - you will either have to record it yourself or
license one."
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Public
Performance License
Permission
from the copyright holder, typically the composer or their
publisher, to legally perform, or play a recording of, a song you
did not write in public, or to broadcast over radio, internet, or
television.
When you
perform, or play a recording of, a song in a public place such as a
restaurant, bar, club, or retail shop; or if you are broadcasting on
radio; internet; or television; you need to get a public performance
license from the agency that manages that song.
You can get
public performance rights in the
United States
by contacting the three public performance rights agencies (ASCAP,
BMI, and SESAC) that handle public performance permissions.
They monitor public play of songs and collect payments for the
composers. This involves audits of venues such as restaurants
and broadcasters such as radio stations. Licensees must
deliver play lists and pay annual fees. Usually, though, the
venue pays for the license and individual performers are off the
hook. Check with the venue to know for sure. You can
search the agency databases to learn which agency manages a
particular song.
The public
performance license pays the composer of the song.
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Public
Performance Rights Agencies
In the
United States
, three agencies help musicians give permission and collect payments
when their compositions are used in public places such as
restaurants, bars, clubs, retail shops; and in broadcasts on radio;
internet; and television. They auditing public music use and
negotiate annual licenses with the music users.
The three big
agencies are ASCAP (The American Society of Composers Authors and
Publishers), BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) and SESAC (originally,
Society of European Stage Authors & Composers).
They handle
Public Performance Rights: They give permission and collect
royalties when others use a music composition publicly, such as in
restaurants, bars, clubs, retail shops; and in broadcasts on radio;
internet; and television. In technical terms, they issue
"Public Performance Rights" and collect "Public
Performance Royalties" for composers.
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Publishers
Publishers
help musicians give permission and collect payments when they share
their compositions with others. They also help
musicians promote and distribute their compositions.
They handle
Print Rights: They sell the music in print, give permission to
reprint, and collect royalties when reprints happen. In
technical terms, they issue "Print Licenses" and collect
"Print Royalties" for composers.
They handle
Mechanical Rights: They give permission to artists who want to
record themselves playing songs that other people wrote and they collect royalties when
this happens.
In technical terms, they issue "Mechanical Licenses" and
collect "Mechanical Royalties" for composers.
They handle
Synchronization Rights: They give permission and collect royalties
when others use a music composition in video, such as in commercials
or film. In technical terms, they issue "Synchronization
Licenses" and collect "Synchronization Royalties" for
composers.
Some musicians
choose to self-publish, meaning they handle these tasks on their
own.
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Record
Labels
Record
Labels help musicians sell recordings of their music. They
also give permission and collect payments when they share their recordings
with others. They also help musicians promote and distribute
their recordings.
They handle
album sales: They sell recordings of the music on media, such
as CDs, and digitally, such as through downloads or ring tones.
They handle
Master Rights: They give permission to use recordings in other
projects (such as on television or in film), and collect royalties
when recordings happen. In technical terms, they issue
"Master Licenses" and collect "Master Royalties"
for recording artists.
Some musicians
choose to start their own record label, meaning they handle these
tasks on their own.
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Records
and Long Play Records (LPs)
Records were the standard media for delivery of music through
retail channels during the before the mid-seventies.
Mechanical licenses may apply to your record and LP recordings.
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Replication
The
process of manufacturing CDs or DVDs with a glass master that
presses a data impression onto the disc, typically used for order
quantities over 500 units. Replication is the most affordable
manufacturing process for small quantity orders because of a faster
copying process. It is more reliable than replication, and is
less expensive in higher quantities. Most retail products are
replicated. As far as sound, a discernable difference between
duplicated discs and replicated discs is questionable.
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Replicator
One that
manufactures CDs or DVDs through replication. The equipment is
expensive, so these are typically large companies. If a
smaller company claims to replicate, it is possible they really are
outsourcing the work.
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Royalty
The
payment that goes to a copyright holder in exchange for permission
to use their music.
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Songfile.com
Harry
Fox Agency's public mechanical licensing service.
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Split
Ownership
When
copyright ownership rights are split among multiple owners.
Often several owners will share rights to a single song.
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Statutory
Rate
This is the federally
mandated amount that composers are paid whenever a CD with their
song is distributed. This rate is determined by a national
committee. Compulsory mechanical law mandates that copyright
holders issue a license at this rate. For this reason it
stands as the norm rate for the industry for mechanical licenses.
As of October,
2008 the statutory mechanical rate is as follows:
