5 Simple Legal Best Practices for Musicians

5 Simple Legal Best Practices for Musicians

As a musician, it might surprise you to know that now more than ever, YOU HOLD THE KEY to a lot more control over your creative career. There’s a degree of dialogue and discussion in the music industry that really did not exist previously, which in turn has now opened up opportunities for business that were simply unavailable to many musicians, emerging and experienced alike. To put it simply, things are different now because much of the music industry and business is steadily being demystified by artists, lawyers, managers and experts.

In the spirit of demystifying jargon and process, here are a few things to bear in mind as you navigate the landscape of rights and legalities surrounding your work and careers. Think of these as basic legal best practices for musicians.

 

I. Understanding how copyright works and leveraging automatic copyright protection to your benefit

As musicians and artists, it’s imperative that you have a working knowledge of how copyright works especially since this is an intellectual property right that is core to your creative career and practice. If you’re looking for an introduction or primer to understanding copyright, you can start with this post from Songtrust or this tidy little gram-guide from Artistik License.

If you’re familiar with the basics, then you’ll know that copyright is something that can be split up and traded extensively, often making it the foundation for the music industry’s multiple revenue streams, making it an invaluable asset to be protected. How does one protect a copyright though? By registering it of course. Different countries have different procedures and specifications when it comes to copyright registration, but there is one incredibly important detail worth noting when it comes to copyright registration in several countries including India – automatic protection or registration.

Workshop on Legal Aspects of Business at GMI by Manojna Yeluri

Workshop on Legal Aspects of Business at GMI by Manojna Yeluri

The principle of automatic protection or registration (which has its basis in something called the Berne Convention) relies on the idea that you don’t need to comply with any formal registration process in order to claim copyright protection, so long as your work is eligible for copyright protection. What this means is that you do not have to formally approach a body for copyright protection, before being able to claim a copyright over your musical work so long as it is original and fixed in a tangible medium.

Leveraging this can be a powerful game changer for any artist, allowing you to immediately claim copyright protection over your musical work, lyrical work or sound recording once it’s been articulated in a fixed and tangible way. So if you find that someone has copied or used your song without permission i.e committed copyright infringement, you’re perfectly empowered to state that you have copyright protection over your work; even if you don’t have a formal registration to back it up.

II. If you’re collaborating with someone, understand and articulate the relationship

Collaboration is an incredibly important part of the creative process, and has resulted in some really impactful musical works. However, collaboration when viewed from a business and legal sense can assume different forms and so it’s very important to be able to distinguish and understand what these relationships are.

Ask yourself and your collaborator what kind of relationship this is – are you coming on board as a session or contributing musician? Are you coming onboard to arrange the music? Are you keen to collaborate as a producer, with your beats significantly impacting the sound of the final track?

All of the above can take on different collaborative relationships including;

  • Working – for – hire: Where it’s understood that you will not have a stake in the ownership but will be paid for your contribution and time
  • Co-writer/Songwriter: Where you may have a stake in the publishing rights and potentially share the copyright of the lyrical and musical work, but not the final sound recording
  • Joint author: Where you and your collaborator agree to equally share the rights and ownership of the musical work and recording.

Please keep in mind that the above is an oversimplification of what these relationships can look like, however it does serve to highlight how complex and nuanced these discussions are. Which is why it’s so important to openly discuss these details and then put them down in some easily understandable format like a deal memo or contract. Here’s a quick and easy, instagram friendly guide from my consultancy, Artistik License that might help you with some more suggestions and best practices.

III. If you’re sampling someone or something, you have to consider permissions

There’s a big misconception that if you sample under “x” number of seconds, it’s okay to do so without any permissions. However this couldn’t be further from the truth. Whether you’re sampling or incorporating a pre-existing sound recording or musical work, you need to take permission from the owners of the works, regardless of how much or how little you’re incorporating.

The exceptions to this rule are often related to something called fair use or fair dealing, where you’re permitted to use copyrighted work without permission, so long as it’s for work that’s educational or satirical in nature. However any other time calls for asking permission – even if your work is not intended for commercial use or purposes.

IV. Be very clear about writer credits and producer credits

Awarding credits can potentially make or break your professional relationships as well as revenue streams in the music industry, and are not meant to be taken lightly. A writer credit for instance, secures your status as a writer on a particular musical work as well as a revenue stream from publishing and potentially synchronization deals. Producer credits are also increasingly being sought after and have been at the core of several disagreements even in the Indian music industry, as in the case of Sez and his work with “Mere Gully Mein” and “Gully Boy”.

As the music industry morphs and changes, credits are also receiving their fair share of attention and modifications. According to this Music Business Worldwide article featuring an interview with Hipgnosis Song Fund’s founder, Merc Mercuriadis, songwriters do not get paid nearly as much as they deserve and this is something that he as well as several other stakeholders in the global music industry are highlighting and working to remedy. This is why taking care of your cue sheets and signing up with performance rights organizations are also incredibly important – these are the practices and bodies that make sure you’re not leaving money on the table.

A recent Decoder podcast interview from The Verge, discussed the dynamics of copyright ownership and revenue streams, educating readers on various kinds of credits including an interpolation credit which serves to take care of increasing instances where a musical work or song seems to copy “the vibe” of another pre – existing song (Think Olivia Rodrigo and her credits for Taylor Swift or the Blurred Lines copyright case which reformed the way we think about inspiration and plagiarism).

But revenue streams and attribution aside, credits also serve a very important role in protecting and preserving the connection between the creator and their body of work, especially if it brings with it a relationship to a community’s artistic practices and cultural heritage. The act of crediting is not merely about professionalism and proper etiquette, but carries with it an acknowledgement of a community’s oral history and can thus assume the role of being a powerful tool of social justice. There is a long history of neglecting credits and mis-attribution in the music industry, which you can learn more about in the context of black musicians and their contribution to the music industry, as well as my own take on appropriation in the Indian music and film economy.

V. Get into the habit of getting it in writing

The simplest, yet the most overlooked best practice for artists and musicians boils down to having a written record of the discussions between themselves and their collaborators i.e getting it in writing.

Depending on the situation and the deal, you may require one of several contracts (you can learn more about the different types of contracts as detailed in this Hypebot article) or you can even have a more informal record in the form of a deal memo. Whatever be the case, always lean towards recording the most significant parts of your discussion in a written format so that you can create accountability for both yourself, as well as the other person sitting across the table from you. And trust me, a good contract or deal memo is only going to help strengthen your camaraderie and communication with your collaborators; not hinder it.

You may have noticed that a lot of these suggestions seem basic, but again these tend to be the cornerstones for building a sustainable, ethical and smart music career. Just because something doesn’t seem complicated, doesn’t make it any less fundamental or important – so be sure to start with these best practices and then build on them by learning more about the music business and its legal frameworks from experts and resources alike.

Founder of Artistik License, GMI Tribe mentor Manojna Yeluri works with some of India’s most keenly watched independent musicians, illustrators and creators, helping them protect their interests by way of legal counsel. She consults with the Artists At Risk Connection (ARC) project of Pen America as their Asia Regional representative, is the co-creator of the community based digital tool, Contracts for Creators, as well as the co-founder of Fill in the Blank, a boutique consultancy providing strategic support for new media projects. She is a graduate of the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and has an LLM in Entertainment, Media and IP Law from the UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles. She is currently based out of Hyderabad.

 

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