Musical composition copyright differs from standard music copyright laws in a number of ways.  While most of these differences are easy to understand, if you’re involved in the reproduction or publishing of music related property at all, they are worth knowing, as you could very easily find yourself breaching copyright laws without realizing!

Length of Copyright Protection

The biggest difference is in the length of time a composer is protected by copyright laws.  Since 2011, performers have been protected for 70 years, rather than 50, increasing the length of time that they’re entitled to royalties and credit as the performer of a piece of work.

However, composers and their families or estates are protected for an additional 70 years after the death of the composer.

Elements of Composition

Most people think that composition just makes up the musical arrangement.  However, musical composition copyright also includes song lyrics and other words spoken during a recording of the song, even if something is blatantly ad-libbed.

In some cases, the composer will sign over the rights to a recording company or another business who will manage the copyright on their behalf, and then pay due royalties as and when another musician, or a filmmaker, for example, requests to use or recreate a piece of work.

Potential for Confusion

The differences between composition and performance copyright mean that you can often find pieces of work by composers such as Beethoven in the public domain.  However, as recorded performances are a relatively modern thing, these are unable to be copied.  At the same time, if you wanted to use a Beethoven symphony as part of a song or film, having the original score to use free of charge isn’t a bad resource!

What it also Covers

Musical composition copyright also includes protection against those who might listen to a composition before writing and publishing it themselves as their own work.  This extends to things we see today like guitar tablature, although most artists and labels are reasonably easy going about their music being printed in guitar tutorial books, and earn a reasonable income from this.  It also prevents people from producing ‘How to Play’ guides and other similar works without permission from the owner.

Image Source: Horia Varlan