Signing up with one of the available performance rights organizations may help you in getting closer to benefiting income from your ownership in your copyrighted music. benefits of your copyrighted music. Under the Copyright Act — 17 USC § 101 et seq. — as long as a musician retains ownership of the copyright to his or her music, the musician has the exclusive right to perform the music publicly. See 17 USC § 106(4).
The concept of “public performance” is not limited to a LIVE performance. Thus, any sort of public playing of recorded music, like at a restaurant, dance club, workout gym, bar, hotel, sports venue, etc., is considered a “public performance.” Likewise, use of music as part of an over-the-air, cable or internet broadcast are “public performances.” Included here are radio stations, television shows, movies, streaming services, videos, video games, podcasts, and more.
The exclusive right to perform music also entails the right to PREVENT others from performing the copyrighted music publicly without permission. As an example, Neil Young recently sued the Trump reelection campaign to prevent the campaign from playing Young’s songs at rallies. See news report here. Politically, Young has been a longtime supporter of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
Further, the exclusive right to perform music entails the ability to demand payment in the form of royalties if permission is granted to allow others to publicly perform or re-broadcast their music.
Granting permission is usually done through licensing agreements. This is where performance rights organizations enter the picture. Consider a popular nightclub that plays dance music “all night long.” Administratively, the dance club does not have the ability to obtain a public performance license agreement from every musician whose music might be played on any given night. Every night there might be a hundred songs played.
Because of this administrative limitation, a number of performance rights organizations (also commonly referred to as “PROs”) exist that “bundle” the right to perform musical compositions into a single blanket public performance license. The various PROs obtain open-ended non-exclusive licensing agreements from individual artists, composers and music publishers. These individual agreements are bundled and offered to venues like restaurants and dance clubs. The PROs then collect license fees — royalties — from the businesses playing the songs. The royalties are then distributed to the musicians based, generally, on how many times a work is performed or played. In the US, the four largest PROs are Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”), the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Global Music Rights and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers. BMI, for example, is a not-for-profit organization and claims to have a repertoire of over 15 million works representing over a million artists. In 2019, BMI reportedly collected $1.28 billion in licensing revenues and distributed $1.196 billion in royalties. Although there is some overlap, generally, each PRO has a distinct catalog of artists and works. As such, larger venues will often obtain a blanket public performance license from more than one PRO.
The case filed by Neil Young will be interesting to watch. Mr. Young has filed a copyright infringement case. However, depending on when and where Young’s songs were played, it is possible that one or more PRO blanket licenses are applicable. This is likely if the songs were played at sports arenas, concert halls or other similar venues. Generally, the PRO blanket licenses apply to all uses of a given venue and do not exclude use by political campaigns.
Contact an Experienced New York City Music Lawyer Today
For more information, contact the business, entertainment, and IP lawyers at Cordero Law. Our entertainment law practice focuses on the music industry. We can help if you have questions about licensing agreements. Licensing agreements are complex and, if you are considering signing one, it is wise to consult a top-tier music industry attorney with experience in licensing. Otherwise, you may be giving away rights without knowing it. Having a good music lawyer is essential for the success of new and established artists. Contact us via our online Contact Page or by calling (212) 960-8890.