How To Protect Your Original Works From Copyright Infringement

There is no way to prevent someone misappropriating your work. Also, someone may use your work and you never know about it. Let's say I decide to practice my mad producer of tracks skills (not) and decide to take a snippet of a Kendrick Lamar recording and use it just for my own personal reasons. No one will ever know because there will have been no commercial release to track that. And even though it is an infringement that I could be sued for, if it doesn't get released then you just won't know about it. And someone in another country could steal your work and release it and you may never know about it either, unless it because a hit in the U.S. and you hear it. But don't despair, I'll give you some information on how they still might get caught.

Five things you can do to protect yourself:

  1. Register your work for copyright.

  2. Put your information in the metadata of the recording.

  3. Register your work with Shazam on Apple Music when you release the work.

  4. Register your songs with a PRO (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) and with the Mechanical Licensing Collective.

  5. Put a copyright notice (c) Name, Date of Release on the platforms and any physical configurations you might release.

Though there's no way to prevent someone from physically using your recording if they want to misappropriate it, there are ways to protect yourself if someone does take your work and you find out about it. First, before you send your work to someone to listen to, or before you release it commercially you should register your work for copyright. The U.S. copyright laws require you to have registered your work, or attempted to register it, before you could file a lawsuit. And the person who registers the work first is presumed to be the owner. So if you wait to register your work and someone infringes it and registers it, then you have the burden to prove it's yours. Also if you register your work, and you can use the registration documentation to send to the infringer or music service or other online platform where the infringers work is to prove it's yours and ask the platform to take it down (take down notice).

To register your work you can i) hire an attorney, ii) use a service like LegalZoom or iii) try it yourself. I would never recommend trying to register it yourself the first go round. Unfortunately, the registering of a copyright became more complicated upon the introduction of the online filing system-and so it takes a little experience to do it. I usually recommend using an attorney or service the first time, see how they did it and then use the documentation they give you if you want to try it yourself. LegalZoom won't do this, but if you hire an attorney, ask them for the filing information that they completed for the registration before you hire them.

You can register your work in an unpublished form, which means you register it before you release it. Really the only time to do that is if you have created it and you are going to send it out or let people hear it before you release it. Because after you release it you have to register it again in a published form. So if you are an artist and you are planning on recording and releasing it back to back, just register it once. Plus after releasing it, you can now register your original song with one of the PROs (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) and the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC). You will want to make sure that you put all your information in the metadata of your recording which includes your name as the owner of the recordings and writer of the songs.

Lastly, whenever you do release our work, make sure there is a copyright notice for your recordings and your songs noted somewhere on the platform or configuration your using to release your work to the public. That way if someone does intentionally take your work, you can ask for punitive damages of $150,000 per infringement and not just actual damages.

When you are the first to release your works, with your information in the metadata, the music recognition apps can begin to learn your song. You can actually submit your music to Apple Music to input into Shazam. This will really put you in the best position if there is a conflict over your work. This begins to show up with discrepancies when it comes time for organizations like your PRO or the MLC go to pay someone for their works after the music services report spins to these organizations. If there is a discrepancy, they will hold the money until things get sorted out. And when you have your meta data information, copyright notice and copyright registration, you will be in the position to claim ownership and your income to the songs, while being able to pursue and infringement case if you so choose.

J. Scott Rudsenske, Attorney, MusicContracts.com.

What Does an Artist Manager do?

One of your most important choices as a musical artist will be selecting your professional manager. This individual will represent you to other people, provide music business counseling and guide your career. He or she probably will be your closest friend in the music business, your most trusted professional partner. Therefore, it is critical that you consider your choice of manager very carefully. The manager’s exact duties usually will depend on the artist’s level of success. I will focus below on the things a manager would do for a developing artist, like you.

What Does a Record Label Do?

A record label’s sole function is to create and sell records. The term “phonorecords” is defined in the copyright law and was originally created to refer to all recording configurations created and eventually was used by the music industry to refer to physical configurations such as vinyl records, cassettes and compact discs. Though it is perfectly acceptable to refer to all configurations, including digital downloads as "records", since its likely that physical configurations eventually will become obsolete, the industry has been transitioning to the term “audio products” or just "product" to refer to generally refer to all formats.

Starting A Record Label: Music Business Contracts As An Essential Tool

Entire law school classes are taught, and entire books are written, on legal battles related to the music business (see, for instance, They Fought The Law: Rock Music Goes To Court, by Stan Soocher). Most of these problems focus on contract disputes. That’s why, next to your attorney, the most important business tool available to you as a record label owner is the written contract. In fact, you can’t make money, sell records, or even exist as a label without contracts. The copyright and trademark laws are clear: whoever creates the vocal and musical sounds on the master recording (e.g., artist, producer, side artist, etc.), owns those sounds. 

A Guide To Music Producer Agreements

Traditionally, a music producer or record producer is the person who oversees entire production of the artist’s recording(s). Record producers will participate in the recording, mixing, and mastering process, more or less, depending on their level of experience and skill, and on the skills of the other professionals involved.

With the creation of hip-hop music a new kind of producer has arisen that is referred to as a "producer of tracks". He or she wears two hats: one as the creator of the music and one as the producer of the recording of that music. The “producer of tracks” creates and records the music. After that, the artist records vocals to go with the musical track. Some “producers of tracks” will help the artist to complete production of the vocals, but most will not. Instead, the artist will employ a different producer to mix the vocals with the music to obtain a final version of the song.


How Does A Producer Get Paid

Usually, a producer is paid by the hour, by the number of master recordings completed, or a flat fee. He or she probably will ask for a royalty from the sale of the record as well. If you agree to such an arrangement, you’ll have to account to the producer and make regular royalty payments, based on record sales. These issues must be agreed upon in advance and laid out in a written contract. As always, it is recommend to consult with an entertainment attorney to provide guidance in drafting and/or negotiating this contract.

First Steps to Setting Up a Label

You may be starting a label because you love music, but remember, it’s still a business. And as with any business, one goal of a label is to make a profit. Therefore, you should establish good habits and a professional approach from the start. This will make your life much easier and help your label to grow more quickly. It isn’t difficult to set up a label, and you can do some things on your own. However, I recommend hiring an experienced attorney to help. This is a good investment, because even the simple stuff can be confusing if you don’t know how to do it, and any mistakes you make in the beginning will cost more money to correct later.