Copyright encompasses a number of different rights which the law grants to owners of copyright works exclusively. Copyright Acts and Laws specific to each country will give songwriters and composers the right to: - reproduce your own work in material form (for example, make it available in a digital or physical format, or in the case of lyrics as a lead sheet or chart - publish your own work and make it available to the public for the first time - communicate your own work to the public using various means including radio/television broadcast, transmission via cable or satellite (on subscription/cable TV), via the Internet in a downloadable or streaming format using a service like Apple Music or Spotify - make a new adaptation of your own work, one example being by translating the lyrics into another language These rights are exclusively given to only the original copyright owner of the music and lyrics. No external party may use a work in these ways without first getting the permission of the original copyright owner and, if applicable, paying a royalty to the original copyright owner
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Copyright Owner
This is the creator and owner of a musical work. Only the original copyright owner(s) or their Publisher can exert control over the use of their work and be paid royalties for any earnings or revenue it might generate. All copyright owners of an ...
Public Domain
This refers to the status of a work whose copyright has expired, or that never had copyright protection. Anyone can use material that is in the public domain without having to be granted permission but no one can ever own it. All ...
Right Holder
This refers to a person or legal entity (such as the estate of a deceased copyright owner) which has exclusive rights to copyright, trademark or patent, and the related rights of producers, performers, and broadcasters.
Rights Management
Rights management is the licensing of copyright and related rights by organizations acting on behalf of rights owners.
Royalty
This is a percentage of the revenue earned from the sale or use of a copyrighted work which is paid to the copyright owner. They can receive this in many formats including performance royalty, mechanical royalty, print royalty or synchronization.