Music Rights Unveiled

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THE PROCESS OF SECURING RIGHTS

A Step-by-Step Guide to Avoiding Mistakes, Because What You Don’t Know Can Cost You

The process of securing music rights can be a daunting task. The most important aspect about clearing music is knowing, and truly understanding, that there are two copyrights to be secured. There is the permission from the writer(s) of the song, secured through the publisher; and there is the permission of the performer or artist who realized or recorded the song, secured through the owner of the master—usually the record label.

Unlike other forms of art where there is generally only one copyright holder involved, music has two creators, hence two copyright holders. There is the individual(s) who wrote the song—called the ...