Research Guides: Music Industry: Music Copyright

Introduction

This guide, and the links contained herein, are in no way meant to provide legal advice. This guide is designed to guide you to resources about copyright and to understand some of the basics. For actual legal advice, please consult a lawyer.

Media and Copyright

Here are some introductory videos on music and copyright:

Music Copyright Videos
The Music Library at William and Mary produced three short videos that explain music and copyright.
Music Copyright FAQs
This guide answers questions about music copyright that may be helpful to you.
YouTube and Copyright
YouTube's overview of copyright for videos
Creative Commons and Music
Creative Commons is a licensing program that allows creators and users to assign different levels of copyright for their works and the reuse of their works.
Copyright Registration for Musical Compositions
This circular provides information about registering musical compositions with the U.S. Copyright Office.
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It introduces the difference between a musical composition and a sound recording under copyright law and offers guidance about
• Completing a copyright application
• Submitting a deposit
• Registering multiple unpublished musical compositions

Copyright and Licensing

ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers protects the rights of its members by licensing and distributing royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their copyrighted works. ASCAP's licensees encompass all who want to perform copyrighted music publicly.
ASCAP Title Database
The Database contains information on all compositions in the ASCAP repertory which have appeared in any of ASCAP's domestic surveys, including foreign compositions licensed by ASCAP in the United States.
BMI
Broadcast Music Inc. is a performing right organization: It collects license fees on behalf of its songwriters, composers and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed.
Music Publishers' Association (MPA) Copyright Resource Center
This non-profit association addresses itself to issues pertaining to every area of music publishing with an emphasis on the issues relevant to the publishers of print music for concert and educational purposes.
Harry Fox Agency
Established by the National Music Publisher's Association to act as an information source, clearinghouse and monitoring service for licensing musical copyrights.
HFA licenses the largest percentage of the mechanical and digital uses of music in the United States on CDs, digital services, records, tapes and imported phonorecords.

Music for Remixing and Other Uses

Here are some links to locate music in the public domain or with Creative Commons licenses, helpful for remixes:

FreeSound
Search for samples and recordings all released under Creative Commons licenses. Get started with their FAQ.
Musopen
Search recordings, sheet music and textbooks without copyright restrictions.
Vimeo Creative Commons
Browse Creative Commons licensed videos. Learn about what you can and can't do with other people’s videos on Vimeo
Who Sampled
This tool is great for finding out the lineage of sampling, and the source of sounds in all kinds of remixes