Music law

Who exactly shares in the rights in music, and what actually is a music right? In this article we explain the different rights that exist in a piece of music and which parties can lay claim to those rights.

Music law concerns copyright in musical works, the related rights of performing artists, contracts with labels and licences for the use of music in media. The people and organisations that hold these rights can determine who may exploit the music and on what terms. We advise musicians, authors, producers, record labels and publishers on their rights and how to protect them.

Music law: who is involved in making and recording a track?

The composer and the lyricist
A person who conceives, creates and (usually) writes down or otherwise records a piece of music is called a composer. The person who writes only the words of a track is called a lyricist. A good example of how these two can come together is the collaboration between Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Bernie Taupin wrote most of Elton John’s lyrics. Elton John then composed the music for the lyrics.
Of course it is also possible for the composer and the lyricist to be one and the same person. In that case you are a songwriter.

The performing artist
Back to Elton John. The lyrics of Candle in the Wind were written by Bernie Taupin. The music was composed by Elton John. But the singer you hear is Elton John too. That means that, alongside being a composer, Elton John is also what is known as a performing artist. A performing artist is thus any person who performs a piece of music. Another example of a performing artist, besides the singer, is the musician.

The producer (of phonograms)
The person who takes on the organisation of the first recordings and who bears the financial responsibility for them is called the phonogram producer. Traditionally the record company is usually the producer, since it is the one that bears the financial risk (think of studio space, equipment, technicians) of the productions and can therefore lay claim to the remuneration for the use of the phonogram. A phonogram is the first recording of sounds such as music, a song and voices.

The music publisher
The music publisher handles the commercial exploitation of the music. A music publisher signs publishing contracts with composers and lyricists in order to exploit and commercialise their copyright.

Buma/Stemra
Buma is an association that grants licences and collects remuneration for “communicating music to the public”. Think of playing music on radio, television or in public venues such as cafés or music venues. Stemra is a foundation focused on what is known as the mechanical right, that is, the recording and reproduction of musical works. Music users pay a fee for reproducing musical works on physical media such as CDs and DVDs, which ultimately benefits composers, lyricists and music publishers.

Who holds which right in a track?

Music is subject to various rights, such as copyright and related rights. The people and organisations that hold these rights can determine who may use the music, for what, and on what terms. You could therefore say that the division of rights is rather like dividing up a cake, because everyone involved ends up with a share of the rights. The more people and organisations are involved, the more rights have to be divided. If you want to know whether you hold rights in a specific track, you can contact our music law lawyer.

But how does such a copyright or related right actually arise? Copyright and related rights arise as soon as you make a work with an original character that bears your personal stamp, in other words a work that is unique.

So does copyright subsist in every piece of music? You can assume that most present-day music is subject to copyright. For older music it depends on when the last surviving author died. Seventy years after the death of the last surviving author of a particular work, the piece of music enters the public domain. That means a copyright licence no longer has to be applied for, nor does a copyright fee have to be paid to the artist or the surviving relatives.

The composer and lyricist
In the Netherlands it works as follows. The copyright in the written lyrics or music initially belongs to the composer(s) and lyricist(s). That means that because copyright vests in the composer and the lyricist, who in copyright terms are the authors, only they may decide what happens to the track, which copyright calls the work. Copyright gives the author the exclusive right to reproduce and communicate their works to the public. It also means the author has the exclusive right to authorise or prohibit the reproduction or communication to the public of their work. That exclusive right is what allows the author to exploit their work commercially, for example through a publishing deal, a distribution agreement or a 360 or 180 deal.

The performing artist
Alongside the copyright in the underlying work, there are rights in the recording itself, the master. These are the related rights. Under the Related Rights Act (Wet op de naburige rechten), performers and phonogram producers are entitled to equitable remuneration when their recordings are played in public. The performing artist must also give permission for the reproduction, sale, rental and communication to the public of recordings and performances. Master rights also fall under this Act: they concern the music rights in the specific recording of the music. This ownership of the master is also important with syncs: for example, when your music is used in an advertisement, film or TV series. Would you like to keep your masters and still release through a label? Read more about the licence deal in music.

The music publisher
The music publisher thus enters into publishing agreements with composers and lyricists. This allows it, as it were, to deal in the copyright in the compositions and lyrics of the writers it has signed. The music publisher also promotes the music of its contracting parties. In short, the music publisher thereby creates for itself the right to exploit and administer the compositions and lyrics.

A music publisher is often confused with a record company. Both deal in music rights, but whereas a music publisher deals in copyrights, a record company deals in the related rights that attach to the recording of a song. The record company enters into recording contracts with artists and bands, that is, the performing artists. The record company also promotes the artists and their recordings.

Besides publishing agreements, there are other forms of music licence, such as sync licences for film and advertising. You can read more about this in our article on ‘licence agreements in the creative sector’.

The phonogram producer
The phonogram producer also has related rights. In practice, anyone reproducing, selling, renting out or communicating a recording to the public needs permission from the performer, the phonogram producer, or both. On top of that, the phonogram producer is entitled to equitable remuneration when the recording is played in public. To that end, the phonogram producer, or in some cases the record company, enters into recording contracts.

Buma/Stemra
The right to exploit the music is often transferred to a copyright organisation (collective management organisation) such as Buma/Stemra. Buma/Stemra then arranges the remuneration for the use of the music. It grants licences to music users (radio and TV stations, shops, streaming services and so on), giving these music users the right to use music for professional purposes. These music users then pay a fee for this to Buma/Stemra, which in turn pays those fees out to its members.

Questions about music law or your contracts? Our music lawyers have worked in this field for years and are glad to help. Among others, we act for artists, record labels and publishers.