Copyright (Junior Cert Music): Revision Notes

Copyright

• A songwriter / composer creates their own piece of music.
• The moment the song is created in a tangible form i.e. lyrics or musical notes are written down, arranged or recorded, the songwriter automatically owns the copyright to this piece of music.
• Music copyright is a form of intellectual property that allows a person to own the music they create, and prevents others from copying or reproducing the work without the owner's permission.
• If a person wishes to use, alter, perform or record any part of an artist's original piece of music, they must have permission from the copyright owner to do so.
• When copyright owners agree to allow someone to use their music, they usually ask for a payment or fee in return for its use.
• These payments are called royalties, and they are an important source of income for artists. Record labels and producers take a percentage of the royalties.

Royalties in Ireland

There are four organisations in Ireland that administer royalties on behalf of songwriters, composers, music publishers, record labels, and performers. Each organisation is responsible for distributing a different type of royalty generated from the use of copyrighted music. These are:

• IMRO (Irish Music Rights Organisation) IMRO collects and distributes royalties for songwriters, composers, and music publishers when their work has been performed live, broadcast on television or radio, or streamed/downloaded online.

• MCPS Ireland (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) MCPS Ireland collects mechanical royalties, which are payments made to music publishers and songwriters whenever a copy of one of their songs is made, for example, when a CD is produced.

• RAAP (Recorded Artists Actors Performers Ireland) Distribute royalties to performers who feature on sound recordings, both those who have composed the music and also session musicians or those performing a cover version.

• PPI (Phonographic Performance Ireland) Administer record company rights for the public performance, broadcasting, and reproduction of their recordings.

Protecting Your Work

• A common method to prove ownership is to post a sealed copy of your music to yourself by registered post and never open it.
• Keep records of dates, drafts, and recordings to show when you created the piece.

How Long Does Copyright Last?

• In Ireland, copyright lasts 70 years after the creator's death.
• After that, the work enters the public domain, meaning anyone can use it.