Answers
Question
1 - Answer - 1. Write it down
You have
a valid copyright as soon as your original song - or sound
recording - is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression".
This language comes directly from the U.S. Copyright Act,
and means that your work must be written down or recorded.
Although you don't have to register your copyright with the
U.S. Copyright Office, it's a good idea to do so in order
to maximize your rights in your work. For a quick guide to
copyright registration, see the article, How to Copyright
Songs and Sound Recordings.
Question
2 - Answer - 2. There's no specific amount
The fair
use exception allows you to use a reasonable portion of a
copyrighted work without running afoul of copyright law. Unfortunately,
there's no bright line rule to determine how much is too much
for fair use. Whether or not your use of a song or sound recording
is a fair use depends on the circumstances and on a number
of factors such as how much of the work you use and for what
purposes you use it. In general, it's easier to qualify the
use of a song as a fair use than it is to qualify the use
of a sound recording as a fair use. Using eight or four or
even two bars does not guarantee that your use is a fair use.
Taking only a few words or notes from a song or a sound recording
has been found to be copyright infringement.
Question
3 - Answer - 3. No
No. Not
if the recorded song you heard on the radio was commercially
released with the permission of the copyright owner. If that's
the case, the song qualifies for compulsory mechanical licensing.
The compulsory mechanical license, a creation of copyright
law, allows you to make and sell your own recording of any
previously commercially-released song. Your only obligation
to the copyright owner of the song is payment of the compulsory
mechanical license fees set by copyright law. For more information
on the compulsory mechanical license, see the article, Music
Publishing: How Your Songwriting Generates Income.
Question
4 - Answer - 1. Use the name commercially
You obtain
rights in a group name by being the first person to commercially
use that name in a particular geographic region. While registration
with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (the PTO) makes
it easier to enforce your rights, registration is not necessary
to establish rights in a name. While you can in effect "reserve"
a name you're not yet using by filing an intent-to-use application
with the PTO, you must eventually use the name commercially
in order to maintain your rights in the name.
For more
information, listen to the excerpt on trademarking group names
from the audiobook, The Musician's Guide Through the Legal
Jungle .
Qustion
5 - Answer - 3. The talent agent
The talent
agent, also referred to as a booking agent, plays the largest
role in securing live engagements for the musician. While
the personal manager may coordinate the activities of the
talent agent, the personal manager functions in the broader
role of helping the musician with career development and management.
For more information on the professionals who assist the musician,
see the article, Music Agents.
Question
6 - Answer - 1. Percentage commission of the musician's income
Personal
managers are typically compensated by receiving a commission
equal to 15% to 25% of the musician's gross income. See the
article, Music Agents, for a general discussion of the professionals
who assist the musician. Negotiation Guide for the Personal
Management Agreement provides an overview of some of the terms
that should go into a contract between a musician and a personal
manager.
Question
7 - Answer - 1. Distribution channels
Major
record labels have direct access to a national distribution
chain for placement of their manufactured records into consumer
retail stores. Distribution for the major labels is handled
by major distributors which are wholesalers that take the
records produced by the record company and coordinate their
placement into consumer retail stores. All the current major
distributors are owned by a major label or by the parent company
of a major label. Independent record labels distribute their
records through independent distributors or through arrangements
with the major record labels.
Question
8 - Answer - 2. The recording artist
While
the record company pays the recording costs initially, it
intends to get all those recording costs back by deducting
them from record royalties payable to the recording artist.
This right to deduct the recording costs from the artist's
royalties is referred to as the record company's right to
recoupment.
For more
information, go to The Problem With
Music
Question
9 - Answer - 1. The Songwriter
In most
cases, the songwriter is the initial copyright owner of the
song. Even though the songwriter may later transfer his copyright
ownership rights to another party, he typically retains the
right to receive a portion of the income generated by the
song.
A copyright
owner of a song is entitled to compensation whenever his song
is performed in public. That's because the Copyright Act gives
the copyright owner of a song the exclusive right to perform
the song in public. This public performance can be a live
performance or the playing of a recorded version of the song.
Sound recordings, on the other hand, have a very limited public
performance right which applies only to digital transmissions.
As a result, each ime a song is performed on a radio station,
in a night club or in a restaurant, the songwriter - but not
the recording artist or the record company that released the
record - is entitled to receive compensation.
If you're
uncertain of how a song differs from a sound recording, check
out the article, What Exactly is A Music Copyright
Question
10 - Answer - 2. We are partners in a general partnership.
When
the band members got together and decided to play music for
money, the members started a business. Every business falls
into one of several categories. If you don't select a category
for your business, the law will place you in one. Since your
business consists of 2 or more people, the law views it as
a general partnership. Forming a partnership requires no formal
action on the part of the band members other than joining
together in a business activity with the intention of making
money. While partners can have a written agreement, one is
not required for a partnership to exist. |
