As with any other idea, the idea for a performing arts production is copyrighted as soon as it is created. In order for any of these works to be performed, the proper licenses must be obtained. The only exception to this rule is with the case of works already in the public domain. This includes, for example, the works of William Shakespeare. Whether a work is in the public domain or not depends on the date it was created. If the work is not in the public domain, a license must be obtained to perform it. In many cases, the license for a Broadway production is called an option.
For a producer to put on a Broadway production, he or she must acquire an option, which involves paying a fee. The option is to make sure that the producer is serious about producing this show, and puts the money forth to prove it. For a typical Broadway play, a producer pays $5,000, therefore getting the rights for the first six months. He or she can then pay $2,500 to renew the option for the next six months, and then $5,500 for anywhere up to twelve months after. Sometimes the third renewal requires that the producer has a director, star, or theatre attached to the production. This is all to make sure that the producer is serious about producing this play or musical. [1]
Usually, a Broadway production option gives the producer first-class rights. This typically means a production in New York and possibly London. It can also include a first-class touring production. Other rights, such as rights to perform the work in other places around the world, are not included in first-class rights. It is also possible to get commercial use rights, which would give the producer rights to cast albums and merchandise that comes from the production. Subsidiary rights can also be negotiated. If a producer holds part of an author's subsidiary rights, this would mean the producer would have a share in the profits from all amateur productions, television versions, or movie versions of this production. These rights typically only last for a certain period of time that is negotiated. [1]
The rights must be obtained for all parts a production. For example, for a musical, the rights must be obtained for the book, lyrics, and music.
A producer can also hire a writer to create a work. This could be defined as a Work for hire. If the work is a work for hire, the copyright of the material would be given to the producer of the show, not the writer. Whether or not a work is a work for hire is defined in the contract.
In many cases, the rights to any or all of these parts of a musical or play are distributed by various companies that monitor and represent the rights of the artists. Instead of dealing with the artist directly, these companies monitor the artists' rights.
There are a few companies that represent artists and their copyrights. These companies make sure that the original artist gets credit and payment for the use of his or her work. Here are a few examples:
ASCAP is the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. They represent composers, songwriters, and lyricists. [2] BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) also represent songwriters and composers. [3] The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization represent the authors and rights holders of many theatrical productions. [4]
Some of these companies do not license dramatic performances of works, and some do. A dramatic performance of a work can be anywhere from a performance of an entire dramatic work, such as a musical, or a concert of a few of an artist's songs. ASCAP does not license dramatic performances, but The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization does. An example of a non-dramatic work would be if a song from a musical were to be played on the radio. [5]
If the production is not a work for hire, many of the artists involved have copyrights once the production is complete. For example, the choreographer's work is copyrighted. According to the U.S. Copyright Office, in order for choreography to be protected under copyright, it needs to be "fixed in a tangible medium of expression from which the work can be performed." [6] In a typical musical, this would make the choreographer's work copyrighted. This means that his or her copyrighted dance routine cannot be used again without his or her permission and payment.
While actors do not have copyright over the words they say or the moves they do, they do have the right to prohibit the recording or broadcasting of their performances. They also have the right to have their name associated with the part they played. [7]
There is some controversy over whether or not a director has copyright over his or her directorial services in a play or musical. There has been no official decision on this matter.
When obtaining rights to a play or musical, it is also a good idea to make sure the chain of title is intact. This means if the musical or play is based on a book, it is important that the rights to the book have been acquired before the musical or play can be produced on Broadway or in London.
In 2010, this became a problem in the Broadway production of the musical Fela!. Carlos Moore is said to be the only official biographer of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. The musical, first produced Off-Broadway, then on Broadway, and then in London, details Fela's life using many of his songs. Carlos Moore claimed that the producers of the musical used his biography but did not credit him or give him any compensation for the use of his copyrighted work. He filed a $5 million suit for his belief of infringement. [8]
The producers of the production said that Carlos Moore knew about the show when it was Off-Broadway, and even participated in interviews about the show. They therefore did not understand his lawsuit years after he became knowledgeable about the show. [9]
Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called composers. Composers of primarily songs are usually called songwriters; with songs, the person who writes lyrics for a song is the lyricist. In many cultures, including Western classical music, the act of composing typically includes the creation of music notation, such as a sheet music "score", which is then performed by the composer or by other musicians. In popular music and traditional music, songwriting may involve the creation of a basic outline of the song, called the lead sheet, which sets out the melody, lyrics and chord progression. In classical music, orchestration is typically done by the composer, but in musical theatre and in pop music, songwriters may hire an arranger to do the orchestration. In some cases, a pop or traditional songwriter may not use written notation at all and instead compose the song in their mind and then play, sing or record it from memory. In jazz and popular music, notable sound recordings by influential performers are given the weight that written or printed scores play in classical music.
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadcasters, and digital streaming services.
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 22.4 million musical works. On a quarterly basis, BMI distributes the money to songwriters, composers, and music publishers as royalties to those members whose works have been performed.
Copyrights can either be licensed or assigned by the owner of the copyright. A copyright collective is a non-governmental body created by copyright law or private agreement which licenses copyrighted works on behalf of the authors and engages in collective rights management. Copyright societies track all the events and venues where copyrighted works are used and ensure that the copyright holders listed with the society are remunerated for such usage. The copyright society publishes its own tariff scheme on its websites and collects a nominal administrative fee on every transaction.
A performance rights organisation (PRO), also known as a performing rights society, provides intermediary functions, particularly collection of royalties, between copyright holders and parties who wish to use copyrighted works publicly in locations such as shopping and dining venues. Legal consumer purchase of works, such as buying CDs from a music store, confer private performance rights. PROs usually only collect royalties when use of a work is incidental to an organisation's purpose. Royalties for works essential to an organisation's purpose, such as theaters and radio, are usually negotiated directly with the rights holder. The interest of the organisations varies: many have the sole focus of musical works, while others may also encompass works and authors for audiovisual, drama, literature, or the visual arts.
A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or a fixed price per unit sold of an item of such, but there are also other modes and metrics of compensation. A royalty interest is the right to collect a stream of future royalty payments.
Andrew Lippa is an American composer, lyricist, book writer, performer, and producer. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City.
Music on hold (MOH) is the business practice of playing recorded music to fill the silence that would be heard by telephone callers who have been placed on hold. It is especially common in situations involving customer service.
Music licensing is the licensed use of copyrighted music. Music licensing is intended to ensure that the owners of copyrights on musical works are compensated for certain uses of their work. A purchaser has limited rights to use the work without a separate agreement.
Performing rights are the right to perform music in public. It is part of copyright law and demands payment to the music's composer/lyricist and publisher. Performances are considered "public" if they take place in a public place and the audience is outside of a normal circle of friends and family, including concerts nightclubs, restaurants etc. Public performance also includes broadcast and cable television, radio, and any other transmitted performance of a live song.
Music publishing is the business of creating, producing and distributing printed musical scores, parts, and books in various types of music notation, while ensuring that the composer, songwriter and other creators receive credit and royalties or other payment. This article outlines the early history of the industry.
A music supervisor is a person who combines music and visual media. According to The Guild of Music Supervisors, a music supervisor is “a qualified professional who oversees all music related aspects of film, television, advertising, video games and other existing or emerging visual media platforms as required.” In the musical theatre industry, a music supervisor is often responsible for managing a team of music directors working on any number of musical productions. In visual productions, the music supervisor usually works with the directors, writers or producers to choose which songs are best suited for the scenes.
Public domain music is music to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply.
Production music is recorded music that can be licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media. Often, the music is produced and owned by production music libraries.
Music Law refers to legal aspects of the music industry, and certain legal aspects in other sectors of the entertainment industry. The music industry includes record labels, music publishers, merchandisers, the live events sector and of course performers and artists.
Grand rights is a type of music licensing, specifically covering the right to perform musical compositions within the context of a dramatic work. This includes stage performances such as musical theater, concert dance, and arrangements of music from a dramatic work.
Fela! is a jukebox musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. It is based on events in the life of groundbreaking Nigerian composer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It portrays Kuti in the days when he was the target of 1,000 government soldiers assigned to end his public performances at the legendary Lagos nightclub The Shrine.
Music Reports provides music rights licensing, administration, royalty accounting, and software development and hosting. Music Reports operates the largest registry of worldwide music rights and related business information.
United States v. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) et al., No. 09-0539, 2010 WL 3749292, was a United States Court of Appeals case involving copyright liability for third-party vendors that provide online music download services. In particular, the Second Circuit ruled that music downloads do not constitute public performances, upholding the district court's decision and consequently preventing ASCAP from claiming higher royalty fees from Yahoo! and RealNetworks for downloaded music. However, the Second Circuit disagreed with the district court's method of fee assessment and remanded the case for further proceedings. ASCAP appealed the decision and requested a writ of certiorari for judicial review in the Supreme Court.