Glossary of Terms
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Work Made for Hire
As defined in Section 101 of the 1976 Copyright Act, this is a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his/her employment, or a work specially ordered or commissioned for use by another person in accordance with a written document as a contribution to a collective work, motion picture, audio/visual and other certain types of works, the nature of which is specifically defined in Section 101 of the Copyright Act. In the case of a work made for hire the employer is considered the author of the work under the Copyright Act (and unless the parties agree, otherwise owns all the rights in the work).... | Read More
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Synchronization Right
The exclusive right of a copyright owner, granted by the Copyright Act, to authorize the recording of a musical work onto the soundtrack of an audio/visual work. The song is synchronized with images on the screen, hence the name. ... | Read More
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ADMINISTRATION
The supervising for a fee (generally a percentage of income), usually by a major music publisher, of a smaller music publisher's financial and copyright matters regarding one or more songs or an entire catalog. The administrator does not necessarily own a share of the copyright, although one co-publisher could administer another co-publisher's share.... | Read More
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ADVANCE
The payment in advance of royalties to be earned in the future, and recouped by offsetting those future earned royalties against the money advanced. Advances are usually non-refundable.... | Read More
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A&R (ARTISTS AND REPERTORY)
The department in a record company that selects and deals with new artists, songs and records.... | Read More
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AUDIO/VISUAL WORK
An industry term for film, television or any other visual production.... | Read More
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ASSIGNMENT OF COPYRIGHT
The transfer of ownership of a copyright from one party to another, which must be in writing to be effective.... | Read More
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AUTHOR
The creator of "Intellectual Property" such as literary, musical and dramatic works; choreography; pictorial, graphic and sculptural works; audio/visual works and sound recordings. Therefore, the word author can denote composer, lyricist, record producer, choreographer, artist, photographer, writer or other creator (see "Work for Hire").... | Read More
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BERNE CONVENTION
Preeminent international copyright treaty to which the U.S. is a signatory. Notable for prohibiting administrative formalities in order to acquire copyright protection, Berne grants a higher level of protection in foreign countries than does the UCC, the other international copyright treaty, to which the U.S. adheres.... | Read More
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BLANKET LICENSE
For an annual fee, radio and television stations, public broadcasters, cable stations, universities, restaurants, programmed music services, etc. can acquire a "blanket license" from a performing rights organization. This license gives them the right to perform every piece of music contained in the respective repertoire as often as they wish during the term of the license.... | Read More
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CATALOG(UE)
The most commonly used word in reference to the collection of songs owned by a publisher/songwriter... | Read More
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COMPOSERS
The men and women who create musical compositions for motion pictures and other audio/visual works, or the creators of classical music compositions.... | Read More
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COMPULSORY MECHANICAL LICENSE
A license provided by the U.S. Copyright Law allowing anyone to record a song that has previously been commercially recorded with authorization, as long as they pay at least the royalties set by the Copyright Royalty Board. The current royalty rate is 9.1 cents per song per each recording unit made and distributed, or 1.75¢ for each minute of playing time, whichever is greater.... | Read More
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COPYRIGHT
The exclusive right, granted by law for a stated period, usually until 70 years after the death of the surviving author of the work, to make, dispose of, and otherwise control copies of literary, musical, dramatic, pictorial and other copyrightable works. The exclusive right is set forth in the 1976 Copyright Act Section 106.... | Read More
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DERIVATIVE WORK
A work derived from another work, such as a translation, musical arrangement, sound recording, or motion picture version.... | Read More
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DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT(DMCA)
That portion of the Copyright Act which implements two international treaties, the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The DMCA also creates limits of the liability for copyright infringement of Internet service providers under certain conditions, as well as addresses other matters.... | Read More
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EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS
The right of a copyright owner to exclusively authorize recording, performance, dramatization or other uses of his works, as set forth in the Copyright Act.... | Read More
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EXCLUSIVE SONGWRITER AGREEMENT
A contract between a publisher and a songwriter in which the songwriter assigns all songs written during the term of the contract to the publisher in return for a percentage of royalty income. Such an agreement usually involves advances paid by the publisher to the songwriter.... | Read More
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EXTENDED RENEWAL TERM
The term of copyright for works registered under the 1909 Copyright Act was extended, under the 1976 Copyright Act and subsequent amendments, so that copyrights, if renewed, will be protected for 95 years—an additional 39 years from the time of the original copyright. Under the prior copyright law of 1909, the term of copyright was two 28-year terms, or a total of 56 years.... | Read More
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FAVORED NATIONS CLAUSE
A term commonly used in the entertainment/music industry to protect one's established salary or royalty rate. A favored nations clause may provide, for example, that no one can be paid more than the contracting party for talent or material similarly used, and if someone is, the contracting party will receive the same treatment.... | Read More
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GRAND RIGHTS
Grand rights is the term used to describe "dramatic" performing rights. This would cover performances of musical comedies (Broadway and off-Broadway), operas, operettas, ballets, as well as renditions of independent musical compositions in a dramatic setting where there is narration, a plot and/or costumes and scenery. The copyright owner has the exclusive right to issue licenses and collect fees for grand rights. The use of a musical work in a non-dramatic public performance is not a grand right: it is a "small" performing right licensed through a performing rights organization. ... | Read More
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INFRINGEMENT
A violation of the exclusive rights granted by the copyright law to a copyright owner.... | Read More
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD RECORDING CODE (ISRC)
A unique number which will be assigned to a specific recording of a musical work.... | Read More
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD WORK CODE (ISWC)
A unique number that which will be assigned to a musical composition to assist in electronic identification of performances.... | Read More
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LICENSE
A license is a grant to a "user" permitting use of a copyright for any of the following: - Mechanical (records, tapes, CDS).
- Non-dramatic performance (public performance of a song over radio/TV/club/hotel/concerts).
- Grand Rights (dramatic performance of a musical work, musical comedy, play, opera, operetta, or ballet).
- Synchronization (the use of a musical composition on the soundtrack of an audio/visual work for theatrical exhibition or television).
- Print (sheet music, folios, songbooks or other printed editions. The grant is usually made for a specified period of time and for a designated
- Commercial (the use of a musical composition as part of an advertisement).
... | Read More
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MASTER
A completed recording of a song from which multiple copies are manufactured.... | Read More
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MECHANICAL LICENSE
The license issued by a publisher or his agent, usually to a record company, granting the record company the right to record and release a specific composition at an agreed-upon fee per unit manufactured and sold.... | Read More
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NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT
When a work is published (publicly distributed), a notice of copyright should be placed on all copies. Its use is optional, however, and a work that does not carry a copyright notice does not lose any protection. If a notice is used, it should contain three elements: - ©, or the word "Copyright," or the abbreviation "Copr."
- The year of first publication.
- The name of the copyright owner.
... | Read More
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PA FORM
The form used to register a copyright with the Copyright Office. PA stands for "Performing Arts."... | Read More
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PARODY
A satirical imitation of a literary or musical work. Permission from the owner of the copyright is generally required before commercial exploitation of a parody.... | Read More
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PERFORMING RIGHTS ORGANIZATION
An association or corporation that licenses the public performance of non-dramatic musical works on behalf of the copyright owners, such as the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), and SESAC, Inc. These performing rights organizations issue licenses to users of publicly performed, non-dramatic music for a fee, and then pay performing rights royalties to the publishers and songwriters of the performed works. ... | Read More
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PHONORECORD
A term used in the Copyright Act to describe the material object in which sounds, other than those on a soundtrack of an audio-visual work, are fixed and from which they can be reproduced. A CD, cassette tape and MP3 are all phonorecords.... | Read More
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PIRACY
Unauthorized copying of a record or tape.... | Read More
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PRINT RIGHTS
The exclusive right conferred by the Copyright Act to print sheet music, folios, band parts and instrumental arrangements.... | Read More
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PUBLIC DOMAIN
Refers to the status of a work having no copyright protection and, therefore, belonging to the world. When a work is "in" or has "fallen into" public domain it means it is available for unrestricted use by anyone. Permission and/or payment are not required for use. Except with respect to certain foreign-originated works eligible for restoration of copyright, once a work falls into the public domain ("PD"), it can never be recaptured by the owner.... | Read More
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PUBLISHER
A person or company that publishes and exploits songs, scores, or compositions, usually acquired from the author via an assignment of copyright.... | Read More
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SAMPLING
When sound bytes are removed electronically from a master recording and through technological imitation placed within the context of another composition. The length of the bytes can be limitless and can contain lyric and music in combination or in part from any segment of the score. Depending upon the length of the bytes and how they are used, unauthorized sampling could be held to be a copyright infringement of the sound recording from which they were taken and from the musical work they first appeared in.... | Read More
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SCORE
The music that is used in synchronization to an audio/visual work, or the body of music composed for a dramatic-musical work... | Read More
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SINGLE SONG AGREEMENT
A contract between a publisher and songwriter(s)) where the songwriter assigns to the publisher the copyright in one particular song in return for a percentage of royalty income. Sometimes referred to as a "one-off" contract.... | Read More
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SONGWRITER/PUBLISHER CONTRACT
An agreement entered into between the two parties that sets, among other things, the terms under which the composition(s) is transferred (assigned) and income is earned and divided.... | Read More
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SOUND RECORDING
The copyrighted musical work that results from the fixation of sounds onto a phonorecord.... | Read More
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SPLIT PUBLISHING
When the publishing rights in a song are held by more than one publisher. Each of the several publishers is called a "co-publisher."... | Read More
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SR FORM
Copyright registration form for a sound recording, usually obtained by the record company to protect the fixation of sounds on the recording. An SR form can be used to register the song (the ©© copyright) as well as the sound recording (the (P) copyright), if the copyright claimants of both are the same.... | Read More
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STATUTORY COPYRIGHT
Copyright protection acquired by virtue of the provisions of the U.S. Copyright Act.... | Read More
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STATUTORY (COMPULSORY) MECHANICAL LICENSE RATE
The compulsory mechanical license rate has been in existence since the 1909 Copyright Act. The statute places a ceiling -- per record, per song -- on the royalty a copyright owner can obtain (the royalty rate of 2 cents remained the same from 1909 to 1978). Provision was made, under the 1976 Copyright Act, for a periodic review of the rate. Such a review took place in 1980, whereby the royalty rate was increased in yearly increments.
2000 and 2001: 7.55¢ per song or 1.45¢ per minute
2002 and 2003: 8¢ per song or 1.55¢ per minute
2004 and 2005: 8.5¢ per song or 1.65¢ per minute
2006 and later: 9.1¢ per song or 1.75¢ per minute ... | Read More
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SUB-PUBLISHING
A contractual arrangement between an original publisher of a song and a foreign publisher to handle the exploitation, licensing and collection for the song in the foreign publisher's territory.... | Read More
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VIDEO BUYOUT
An agreement by which the buyer (user) agrees to pay the licensor a flat fee for the use of a song, with no increase based on sales of videocassettes/discs.... | Read More
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VIDEO ROLLOVER
An agreement by which the buyer (user) agrees to pay the licensor a continuing fee (either in advance or based on sales as per agreement). Every time a specific sales point has been reached, the fee is "rolled over," i.e. paid again.... | Read More
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