Music Copyright Laws
In the United States, music copyright laws are in place to protect the author of the music. Music copyright laws are intended to prevent people or companies from stealing and using music that is not theirs. However, the author of a piece of music defined by music copyright law may not be the real author. This happens when record companies abuse the music copyright laws and manipulate musicians. History tells us that music copyright laws protect the record companies more than they protect musicians themselves.
Popular established record companies such as Virgin Records, Sony, Elektra and Legacy are known to abide by music copyright law. However, there are many smaller record companies that use music copyright law to their advantage in order to manipulate musicians. There are thousands of unsigned bands in the United States that have been together for a long time and continue to work hard even though they have never received a record contract. It is these bands that the smaller record companies look for; frustrated musicians who are just looking for a break. The record company will pick a band that they feel can produce successful songs. They will then offer the band a record contract that any lawyer who know music copyright law will laugh at. Unfortunately for bands in this position, they are usually too excited about receiving their first record contract, that they won’t bother to read it or will not ask any questions about the several pages of fine print. In the next step of this popular scam, they will have the band record their own original music in a studio that the company owns. As far as the record company is concerned, this is the end of the process. The band did not read or concern themselves with the part of the contract that states that the record company owns all music recorded in their studios. Music copyright law is now on the side of the manipulative record company. The company now has a few options. They can take the music recorded in their studio and sell it to anybody including television and radio stations around the world. They can take the songs and give them to a studio created band that might have a more attractive image or be more talented in the studio’s opinion. There is also the option of releasing the music as it is, but keep all of the profit. What the record company plans on using the recorded music for may or may not be included in the original contract in some alternative suggestive language that might not be alarming to an average musician. However, a lawyer that knows music copyright law would point it out instantly.
It is in the best interest of all musicians to take any contract they receive, whether issued by an established or virtually unknown record company. Record companies can be very powerful and once they have your signature, they can take advantage of you and the music you created. Although receiving a record contract can be very exciting, it can blur one’s judgment and the consequences can be far worse than being an unsigned musician