What is music publishing?
What is Copyright?
Can I sample someone else's music?
Can I photocopy printed music?
Who are the Music Industry?
Can I make arrangements of original copyright music?
What is a publishing contract?

What is music publishing?
The business of music publishing is concerned with developing, protecting and valuing music.
The business is diverse and demands a variety of skills. These range from the ability to spot writing talent and original music that is likely to appeal to an audience, to ensuring that all uses of music are properly licensed and paid for. Music publishers play a vital role in the development of new music and in taking care of the business side, allowing composers and songwriters to concentrate on their creative work. (back to top)

What is Copyright?
Copyright enables composers and authors to be paid for their work. Copyright is the means by which those who make and own creative works (e.g. music and literature) can control who makes use of their work and the circumstances in which it is used, to ensure that the integrity and value of the work is respected.

Copyright legislation has evolved over the last 500 years to provide a balance between the interests of those who invest skills and intellectual effort, time and money in the creation of works on the one hand and those who want to use and enjoy those works on the other. (back to top)

Can I sample someone else's music?
Sampling is a form of borrowing from someone else’s music. If that music is still in copyright you may only use a sample or quote with the prior permission of the copyright owner. The copyright owner can decide on what basis he/she is prepared to consider licensing this use. You may well be required to pay a fee, assign part of the copyright in your work to the copyright owner and credit the original writers and copyright owner of the music from which the sample is taken as a condition of any licence. Equally the copyright owner is entitled to refuse permission in which case the sample must not be used.

Similarly, if you want to sample a recording of a song or piece of music which was made or released within the last 50 years then the recording will still be in copyright and can only be sampled with permission from the copyright owner of the recording (usually the record company) or their agent, PPL, and from the performer(s) in addition to the copyright owner of the music and of the words.

The sample used will infringe copyright in the music and/or the sound recording, as the case may be, if it is a ‘substantial part’ of the original and is used without the necessary permissions. The sample is considered ‘substantial’ by reference to its quality rather than its length. If it is recognisable, however short, as coming from the original piece of music or recording then it should be regarded as being substantial and the necessary permissions should be sought. If you are in any doubt, apply for permission. (back to top)

Can I photocopy printed music?
If you wish to copy music which is still in copyright, whether by means of photocopying or otherwise, you may only do so with the prior permission of the copyright owner, with certain limited exceptions.

There are a number of reasons why it is important to respect the rights of the copyright owner and seek permission before copying music:

• An illegal copy deprives the composer of the music of the chance to earn income from his/her creative work;
  
• The publisher is deprived of the opportunity to recoup the investment made in the production of the music;
  
• The publisher is unable to monitor the use and popularity of a particular work.
  

Illicit copying is a form of theft which damages composers and publishers. It discourages composers, who will look to other ways of earning a living. It deters publishers from investing in the production of music and it denies them information about the use of music which would guide further investment decisions. A publisher may allow a work to go out of print believing that there is a lack of demand for that particular work when the opposite may in fact be true. (back to top)

Who are the Music Industry?
• Writers and composers create the material, publishers license that material for use by record labels and other users (such as broadcast media – TV, web). This content is what is referred to as the musical “work”.
• Record companies get the performers to record the material, whether they are the ones who have written it or not, and market the records. This output is what is referred to as the “sound recording”.
So as you can see there are two creators involved when it comes to putting out a record – the writer (often via a publisher) and the recording artist (often via a record company).

They may be one and the same person, but there is a clear distinction to be made between the two separate roles in the process. If the song is in copyright, the rules of which are different for the musical work and the sound recording, both the writer and artist are able by law to control the use of their copyright to a certain extent, and to charge people for the use of it. (back to top)

Can I make arrangements of original copyright music?
The use of copyright music without permission is a form of theft which damages composers and publishers. It discourages composers, who will look to other ways of earning a living. It deters publishers from investing in the production of music and it denies them information about the use of music which would guide further investment decisions. A publisher may allow a work to go out of print believing that there is a lack of demand for that particular work when the opposite may in fact be true. (back to top)

What is a publishing contract?
A publishing contract is a legal contract between a publisher and a writer or author (or more than one), to publish written material by the writer(s) or author(s). This may involve a single written work, or a series of works. In the case of music publishing, the emphasis is not on printed or recorded works as much as on promotion of a musical composition, and/or its referral to a suitable recording artist. A music publisher who does produce (or contract to issue) sheet music is known as a music print publisher. (back to top)