workbook
7Copyright, Legal & Management
Workbook 7 contains 5 chapters Chapter 1: Dealing with Intermediaries
Chapter 2: What is copyright?
Chapter 3: Music industry contracts
Chapter 4: Group agreements
Chapter 5: Legal and business issues
Intermediaries are business people that you will come into contact with as your music career develops.
They can be people such as managers, lawyers and accountants, but they could also be development agencies and business support organisations.
As a musician or performer it is entirely understandable that your primary focus will be making and performing music to be proud of. It is not realistic however to believe that talent is all you will need to be successful in the music industry. You will need to find experienced and trustworthy business advisers to work with.
Musicians are often unsure about dealing with intermediaries. This chapter gives you a better understanding of who these people are and what they do.
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1 now
The music business is first and foremost a business like any other. Whilst it is fair to say you do need talent, that is not all you need. In order to succeed it is important for you to understand the nature of the rights that you are creating and how those rights can then be exploited in order to make money.Copyright is an essential aspect of the music industry. If you write an original piece of music, then you have created a copyright work, which belongs to you and can be bought and sold.
If you know more about copyright, it will help you as a writer, producer or performer to understand the value of what it is you are creating and you can make money from your music.
This chapter covers the types of copyright most relevant to you as a musician, songwriter or producer
(i) Literary works (i.e. the lyrics of a song)
(ii) Musical works (i.e. the music itself)
(iii) Sound recordings (i.e. the Master)
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As you progress through the music industry it is likely that you will enter into legally binding contractual relationships with other parties. A contract could be oral or written. It could take the form of a 50 page complex agreement or a simple one page letter. This chapter offers an overview of the various types of music industry agreements, including recording, publishing, management and performance agreements.
If you are entering into business agreement with other people, it is important that you have a basic understanding of the different types of agreement and the broad range of issues that are involved.
Go to Chapter 3 now
Most artists and managers would be extremely alarmed to find out that even without signing any documentation, when a band is formed, there is a presumption in law that a partnership has been formed. Even more alarming is the fact that UK partnership law is governed by the Partnership Act 1890, legislation which is over 100 years old and considered by many lawyers to be antiquated and unnecessarily complex. This chapter will help you to understand the legal implications of partnership law, and examines alternatives such as setting up a limited company.
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Legal issues affect almost every part of life:
What does the law entitle you to do?
What does the law say you cannot do?
What do you do to protect yourself and your interests?
What can you do when things go wrong?
Business matters are important for you to understand when you are working in the music industry.
When you work for yourself you have to take responsibility for the things that employers would usually look after, such as keeping accounts and sorting out contracts. In this chapter we will look at the main legal and financial issues that are likely to affect you in your work in the music business, such as tax issues and business status.
Go to Chapter 5 now
| Description | Data size | Download time (estimates) |
| Index of workbook 7 | 164Kb | 56K Modem = 24 sec | Broadband = 3 sec |
| Complete Workbook 7 | 5490kb | 56K Modem = 14 minutes | Broadband = 1 min 30s |
All downloads are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.  |
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