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Answers to Quiz on Music Law

by Joy R. Butler, Esq.

[Audiobook Cover] This article is an excerpt from the audiobook,
The Musician's Guide Through the Legal Jungle:
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Music Law



1. What must you do in order to copyright your song?

  1. Write it down
  2. File it with the U.S. Copyright Office
  3. Compose it
Answer - A. Write it down

You have a valid copyright as soon as your original song - or sound recording - is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression". This language comes directly from the U.S. Copyright Act, and means that your work must be written down or recorded. Although you don't have to register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office, it's a good idea to do so in order to maximize your rights in your work. For a quick guide to copyright registration, see the article, How to Copyright Songs and Sound Recordings.

2. You probably know that sampling involves taking a portion of an existing song or sound recording and placing it into a new sound recording. How much of a song or sound recording can you sample without authorization from the copyright owner before you've committed copyright infringement?

  1. 4 Notes
  2. 8 Bars
  3. There's no specific amount
Answer - C. There's no specific amount

The fair use exception allows you to use a reasonable portion of a copyrighted work without running afoul of copyright law. Unfortunately, there's no bright line rule to determine how much is too much for fair use. Whether or not your use of a song or sound recording is a fair use depends on the circumstances and on a number of factors such as how much of the work you use and for what purposes you use it. In general, it's easier to qualify the use of a song as a fair use than it is to qualify the use of a sound recording as a fair use. Using eight or four or even two bars does not guarantee that your use is a fair use. Taking only a few words or notes from a song or a sound recording has been found to be copyright infringement.


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3. If you hear a song on the radio that you like, do you need to obtain the permission of the song's copyright owner before you can record your own version of that song?

  1. Yes
  2. No
Answer - B. No

No. Not if the recorded song you heard on the radio was commercially released with the permission of the copyright owner. If that's the case, the song qualifies for compulsory mechanical licensing. The compulsory mechanical license, a creation of copyright law, allows you to make and sell your own recording of any previously commercially-released song. Your only obligation to the copyright owner of the song is payment of the compulsory mechanical license fees set by copyright law. For more information on the compulsory mechanical license, see the article, Music Publishing: How Your Songwriting Generates Income.

4. If your musical group wants to establish rights in its group name and prevent other groups from using the same name, which one of the following actions must your group eventually take?

  1. Use the name commercially
  2. Register the name with the U.S. Copyright Office
  3. Register the name with the Patent & Trademark Office
Answer - A. Use the name commercially

You obtain rights in a group name by being the first person to commercially use that name in a particular geographic region. While registration with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (the PTO) makes it easier to enforce your rights, registration is not necessary to establish rights in a name. While you can in effect "reserve" a name you're not yet using by filing an intent-to-use application with the PTO, you must eventually use the name commercially in order to maintain your rights in the name.

For more information, listen to the excerpt on trademarking group names from the audiobook, The Musician's Guide Through the Legal Jungle .


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5. Which representative plays the largest role in arranging live performances for the musician?

  1. The personal manager
  2. The business manager
  3. The talent agent

Answer - C. The talent agent

The talent agent, also referred to as a booking agent, plays the largest role in securing live engagements for the musician. While the personal manager may coordinate the activities of the talent agent, the personal manager functions in the broader role of helping the musician with career development and management. For more information on the professionals who assist the musician, see the article, Music Agents.

6. How are most personal managers compensated for their work in representing musicians?

  1. Percentage commission of the musician's income
  2. Salary paid by the musician's record company
  3. Percentage of musician's record sales
Answer - A. Percentage commission of the musician's income

Personal managers are typically compensated by receiving a commission equal to 15% to 25% of the musician's gross income. See the article, Music Agents, for a general discussion of the professionals who assist the musician. Negotiation Guide for the Personal Management Agreement provides an overview of some of the terms that should go into a contract between a musician and a personal manager.


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7. What's the principal characteristic that categorizes a record label as an independent record label or a major record label?

  1. Distribution channels
  2. Genre of music
  3. Terms of recording contracts with individual musicians
Answer - A. Distribution channels

Major record labels have direct access to a national distribution chain for placement of their manufactured records into consumer retail stores. Distribution for the major labels is handled by major distributors which are wholesalers that take the records produced by the record company and coordinate their placement into consumer retail stores. All the current major distributors are owned by a major label or by the parent company of a major label. Independent record labels distribute their records through independent distributors or through arrangements with the major record labels.

8. In the typical recording contract, who ultimately pays the costs of recording an album?

  1. The record company
  2. The recording artist
  3. The producer
Answer - B. The recording artist

While the record company pays the recording costs initially, it intends to get all those recording costs back by deducting them from record royalties payable to the recording artist. This right to deduct the recording costs from the artist's royalties is referred to as the record company's right to recoupment.

For more information, listen to the excerpt on recording costs from the audiobook, The Musician's Guide Through the Legal Jungle.


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9. Each time a record is played on the radio, compensation is paid to certain individuals or organizations who played a role in the creation of that record. Which of the following people (or organizations) receives a portion of this compensation?

  1. The songwriter
  2. The artist performing the song on the record
  3. The record company
Answer - A. The Songwriter

In most cases, the songwriter is the initial copyright owner of the song. Even though the songwriter may later transfer his copyright ownership rights to another party, he typically retains the right to receive a portion of the income generated by the song.

A copyright owner of a song is entitled to compensation whenever his song is performed in public. That's because the Copyright Act gives the copyright owner of a song the exclusive right to perform the song in public. This public performance can be a live performance or the playing of a recorded version of the song. Sound recordings, on the other hand, have a very limited public performance right which applies only to digital transmissions. As a result, each time a song is performed on a radio station, in a night club or in a restaurant, the songwriter - but not the recording artist or the record company that released the record - is entitled to receive compensation.

If you're uncertain of how a song differs from a sound recording, check out the article, What Exactly is A Music Copyright

10. You and a group of friends form a band and manage to make some extra money playing at parties and local clubs. What's the relationship of the band members?

  1. We have no formal relationship unless we have signed a written agreement
  2. We are partners in a general partnership
  3. We are informal employees of the band leader
Answer - B. We are partners in a general partnership.

When the band members got together and decided to play music for money, the members started a business. Every business falls into one of several categories. If you don't select a category for your business, the law will place you in one. Since your business consists of 2 or more people, the law views it as a general partnership. Forming a partnership requires no formal action on the part of the band members other than joining together in a business activity with the intention of making money. While partners can have a written agreement, one is not required for a partnership to exist.

For more entertainment business information, subscribe to our free
Guide Through the Legal Jungle Periodic Newsletter.

Joy R. Butler is an entertainment, intellectual property and business attorney. (View Joy Butler's full bio.).


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