This script discusses explains the law as it that applies to song writing, performing and recording music. In particular, it It discusses the ownership of music and lyrics, getting paid for performances, the legal relationship among band members, contract relations with managers and agents, and dealing with agreements offered to you by recording companies and others. This The script will be of particular interest to independent, non-union all musicians who record, perform solo, or play in a group or band and hope one day to perform at a large event and be offered a recording contract.

==Do songwriters and musicians have the right of “copyright”copyright?==Yes. When a song is created, copyrights arise exist immediately and automatically for the music, the lyrics (the words) and the combination of music and lyrics. The owner of the copyright may will be the person who creates the particular song (musician the lyricist or lyricistauthor) or it may be another and the person who has made writes the music (the composer). This right can be assigned by a written (not oral) contract with the musician or lyricist (to another party, such as a publisher or recording company).

Before a A song is recorded, it’s generally known as called a composition. Once it’s recorded, a separate (but interdependent) and independent copyright applies to the recording.

Copyright owners (in some cases, the musicians authors and songwriterscomposers, but often the publishers and recording companiesunder written contracts) have the right to can control copying and distributing of their compositions and recordings. This means it is generally illegal to copy songs (and sheet music and song lyrics) without permission of the copyright holder.

It is generally illegal to copy songs (including sheet music and song lyrics) and recordings without permission of the copyright holder. But there are some exceptions. For example, it’s not an infringement of the copyright to you can reproduce a song for private purposes if you legally bought the original copy of the song was legally bought. It’s also not a copyright infringement to And you can make a backup copy or to reproduce the work for the purposes of criticism or review. Now there are also exceptions that allow for non-profit uses on the internet such as on personal ''YouTube'' pages. The ''[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-42/ Copyright Act]'' has strict conditions for these exceptions though, so you need to must be very careful when considering using or copying music, lyrics or other works for which you don’t hold the copyrightfor.

==If you play someone else’s music, do you have to pay a “royalty”royalty?==To publicly play or perform music that’s been created or recorded by another songwriter lyricist or musician, you, your label , or the venue are legally obligated to place where you play must pay a fee or royalty. So, if you perform cover songs with a group in public, you may be surprised to find a musicians’ collective asking to collect royalty payments from may ask you (or the place where you’re playing, called a venue) to pay a royalty. You also have to pay royalties if you record cover songs, whether you manufacture CD’s make CDs or simply sell the song over the Internetthem online.Musicians’ collectives include:

One collective is called the *The ''[http://www.socan.ca/ Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada ]'' (or SOCAN), found on the Internet at [http://www.socan.ca www.socan.ca]. SOCAN is entitled to can demand a play list and royalty fees for pieces performed, including CD’s played by disk jockeys in public places.

Another collective is the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency, found at *The ''[http://www.cmrra.ca www.cmrra/ Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency]''.ca], which It collects mechanical royalties for songwriters and publishing companies.

And another collective is *''[http://www.connectmusiclicensing.ca/ Connect Music Licensing ]'' (formerly , Audio-Visual Licensing Agency or AVLA), found at [http://www.connectmusiclicensing.ca www.connectmusiclicensing.ca]. They collect royalties for owners of master recordings, something that disc jockeys should pay special attention to.

Of course, these *''[http://www.resound.ca/ Re: Sound]''. It collects fair compensation for artists and record companies for their performance rights.The same laws concerning on copyright and the payment of royalties protect you too if you write and record your own music. It’s recommended that you You should register with SOCAN, which collects licensing fees and royalties on behalf of for member songwriters and musicians whenever their music is compositions are broadcast on the radio or TV or performed in public. (That’s done through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, which be found at [http://www.cipo.gc.ca www.cipo.gc.ca/ Canadian Intellectual Property Office].)

==How do you get paid if you work independently on a single performance or a call -out basis?==If you work on As a single performance performer (as a back-up or are called opposed to perform a jingle for a radio ad or work on some other call out gigsongwriter), either live or recorded, you’re you are normally paid on the day of performance just for that performance. You have no rights in the music beyond the day of performance and generally . Generally, you aren’t entitled to any further other payment (. But there are exceptions, however, for example, if you’re part of the musician’s union). If you’re satisfied with these arrangements, you may not need It’s always good to have a written agreement, even a simple, handwritten one. It’s usually a good idea, though, to ensure you’re paid what you expect when you expect it, and to ensure you (and the band leader) are aware of any other requirements (such as scheduling, equipment rentals or wardrobe).

==What about further payment beyond the day of after the performance?==These are called royalties. Royalties are further payments if your performance is recorded or taped and the recording is later used on TV or radio or in some other commercial way. If you’re looking The organization recording you should ask you for royalties, make sure permission to do so before recording you get a proper written contract.

If you work on a piece of music written by others and suggest changes that have a large impact on the music, you may want co-writing credit for your contribution. If you feel you’re entitled to a co-writing credit for your contribution, you You should ask for song writing credit at the time the music is written or recorded. The agreement must be in writing and properly reflect say what you are getting credit for.

Most of the time, a group works together with the common goal of earning money, and they make decisions in a co-operative waytogether. Legally, they may be deemed to without any other agreement or incorporation, the group or band will be considered a partnership. The arrangement among members should be made in writing by all members sitting down together, setting out the rights and responsibilities of each, how members may join or leave, who writes the music, who owns the band name and so on. Misunderstandings can lead to break-ups and even lawsuits, so make sure everyone understands the agreement.

Sometimes, a group leader hires and pays the musicians and makes all the decisions for a particular kind of show. That person is called a band leader and is legally considered a proprietor. The hired musicians are independent contractors or employees only. They have no ownership interest in the group, unless a different agreement has been negotiated and put in writing.

A group can also consider carrying on business as an incorporated a company. The group may choose to do this if their earnings are significant or if they are signed to publishing or recording deals. Individual members of the group may also consider incorporating incorporate their own companies (often referred to as called “loan out” companies), which can offer certain tax benefits if the musician’s earnings are significant.

It’s important as a group becomes popular to ensure that another group isn’t using your group name. To properly protect your band name, you need to consider registering it as a trademark, because other registration methods, such as Internet internet sites, will not protect you properly. Refer to Check script [[Patents, Industrial Designs, Trademarks and Copyright (Script 231)|231]] on “Patents, Industrial Designs, Trademarks and Copyright” for more information on this.

It’s important to discuss writing credits for original music and understand each other as to agree on who the writers are. Is the music created by the band, or only by certain members? This should be written down for each piece of music, and agreed to by all. Sometimes the co-writing credits involve persons people outside of the band members, and those people need to be acknowledged.

Since copyrights arise immediately on the creation of the worksong, evidence of the time of that creation can be critical if you have a copyright dispute. You may also need to show that you (or your band) actually created the work (song) in question.

Formally registering the work with Industry Canada (see [http://www.cipo.gc.ca www.cipo.gc.ca/ Industry Canada]) is one, very powerful , way to prove that you created a work song at a given certain time, but it’s not the only way.

If you keep notes, communications (such as email messages) and other material (such as song and lyric versions) relating to the worksong, those too can be valuable evidence in a copyright dispute. There are a number of inexpensive online storage tools that can help (check out secure cloud storage).

Also, if you take the time to can document who wrote the song (including the date and the percentage of ownership to each band memberowns) and have everyone sign off, that too it. That can be good evidence of the copyright.

It’s wrong to believe that copyright can Copyright cannot be fully protected only by mailing the original music, lyrics , and recording to yourself by registered mail. While this This may help to verify the date the work was created, but it alone doesn’t in itself connect the creation to the creator. If you choose to do But generally, this, make sure you include inside the envelope a signed statement setting out who created the songs and when, and also who created the recording and when. You can also consider emailing a copy of the songs is not an effective way to all songwriters and performers, along with a summary of who created themprotect copyright.

If you plan on formally registering want to register your song, you should note that with Industry Canada doesn’t , it does not accept copies of single physical recordings, but . But the U.S. Copyright Office does. See [http://www.copyright.gov www.copyright.gov/ US Copyright Office]does. Canadian albums that go into general release are, however, registered at the National Library of Canada by the publisher. See [http://www.collectionscanada.ca www.collectionscanada.ca/ National Library of Canada]by the publisher.

Once the musical work After a song is recorded, arrangements need it has to be made for distribution distributed (via by CD and online), marketing . And it has to be marketed and you should make appearances in to support of the recordingit. This is the point where when a group usually hires a manager and agent, and looks for deals with publishers and record companies. Make sure everyone is clear on their rights and responsibilities, the commission to be paid to the manager and agent, and the length of time of how long the agreementslast. These should be put in writing and reviewed by a lawyer.

If the a group is successful and creates sufficient enough buzz, a record company may become interested. Deals offered by record companies tend to be lengthy long and very technical. All agreements must be in writing and must be reviewed by the group’s manager and lawyer.

==Where can you find more More information?==*A good resource is “Musicians and the Law in Canada” by Paul Sanderson. The book is available at most libraries and is published by Carswell.*Another good book is “All You Need to Know About the Music Business” “Confessions of a Record Producer” by Donald S. PassmanMoses Avalon.*[http://www.MusicBC.org www.MusicBCmusicbc.org/ Music BC] has many resources for musicians, including seminars, a library and technical help. Initial membership is free.*Also refer to Dial-A-Law Check scripts [[Forming a Partnership (Script 266)|266]] on “Forming a Partnership”, [[Forming a Private Company (Script 267)|267]] on “Forming a Private Company” and [[Patents, Industrial Designs, Trademarks and Copyright (Script 231)|231]] on “Patents, Industrial Designs, Trademarks and Copyright”.

[updated April 2014February 2016] The above was last reviewed for accuracy by Altman & Company and Ronan Reinart, and edited by John Blois.