Music Copyright Laws

Music Copyright Laws

Music copyright is part of copyright law. Copyright protects songwriters from the illegal exploitation of their work. It also allows creators to earn money from their work. In other words, music copyright provides creators the exclusive right to reproduce the two separate rights in relation to music.

First, songwriters possess the right to the song or musical composition, also known as the publishing copyright. Songwriters who have either written the lyrics or composition would obtain the copyright to the song attributed to them. It should be noted that if one songwriter writes lyrics and another writes the composition, then they would share the rights to both parts of the song. Also, recording the song creates a copyright, however, this also generates another music copyright for sound recording.

In the UK, the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988 governs music copyright, by which copyright is regarded as a property right and covers original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works. It is also attributed to sound recordings, films or broadcasts. Amongst other rights, the copyright owner is granted the exclusive right to copy the work. Also, they can produce copies of the work or lend or rent it to the public.