When it comes to entertainment, there are various laws that need to be followed by the artists, producers, publishing companies, including those people who supports the films, movies, or music albums. With this set of laws, conflicts among the different parties will be avoided.
In this read, we are going to focus on the music industry and the laws that govern it. If you are a musician yourself, this will help you a lot in understanding your rights as well protecting your work.
MUSIC LAW
This is just one of the many branches of the entertainment law. All song composers, singers, musicians, record producers and company executives, as well as all the employees, should adhere to this set of rules and regulations. Otherwise, legal problems such as libel, copyright infringement, royalty issues, breach of contract, and other conflicts may arise.
Let us have a look at some of the important laws in the music industry;
Publishing
This aspect involves a lot of things which include the development or creation of new music, promotion or advertisements, as well as protection. The so-called ‘publishers’ help the artist in the above-mentioned areas so he can spend more of his time on the music creation part. In a nutshell, the publisher does the business part.
Here are the important roles of a publisher;
- Search for artists
- Register the works of the artists
- Promotes the albums (also produces the promotional tools)
- Monitors the reproduction of the works
- Takes care of the financial aspects
- Makes sure that the music laws are carried out
THE LAWS
COMMISSION
Like what was mentioned earlier, several legal issues may arise if anyone does not follow the laws that govern the music industry. For instance, the commission of the artist. The publisher should pay the artist accordingly. All the earnings that were derived from the work should be audited, and the artist will get a certain percentage of it – as stated in the contract agreement.
MUSIC LICENSE
Any business establishment that utilizes the work of an artist should apply for a music license. This ensures that the people behind the work will be compensated when restaurants, bars, and similar establishments make use of their works such as a hurricane party song.
MUSIC COMPOSITION AND COPYRIGHT
This particular law protects the works of those people who compose or write new songs. This would then require the songwriters or composers to register their work first before they send it out for publishing.