Episode 03: Artists’ Rights & Red Rocks

Listen to full episode:

In This Episode

  • Why THE SIX FOUR is only available on Spotify (15:14)

  • Artists rights and what it means to own their music (21:14)

  • The natural beauty of Red Rocks Amphitheater (48:15)

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

Glossary

  • Publishing rights are the music and lyrics of a composition. They must be in tangible form in order to become a copyright. In most cases, publishing companies own the publishing right once a songwriter signs a publishing deal.

  • Master rights are the expression of the composition once it becomes recorded. They are also known as the recording rights. The owner of the master rights is oftentimes the person who pays for the recording, which is typically the record label. However, some artists and indie labels are choosing to license their music to major labels in order to keep ownership of their masters.

  • An artist can license their music to a label by giving them permission to use the recording for a certain length of time. Think of it as the label is “renting” the copyright from the artist or copyright owner.

  • When an artist is given an advance, when they sign a record contract, that advance is recoupable. The advance gets recouped, or “paid back” to the label through royalties, so artists don’t begin to see any royalty payments until they have recouped their advance. Sometimes artists don’t recoup which can lead to a smaller advance on the next album cycle or result in the artist getting dropped altogether.

Stay Up To Date

Sources

 
Previous
Previous

Episode 04: Music Ownership + An Abbey Road Story

Next
Next

Episode 02: Electric Feel, Streaming & The Casbah