When discussing copyright and ownership, there are a few key points to consider:

• The Creator is the Initial Owner

If you composed a song, you own the copyright of the score. If you recorded your song, you own the copyright of the sound recording. For sound recordings, ownership can belong to not just the performer, but also to others involved in the creation of the sound recording. However, the performer always has copyright of the sound recording unless assigned otherwise through a contract.

• Ownership Can Be Assigned or Transferred

Giving away the bundle of rights that constitute copyright is often called a grant. If the transfer is exclusive it has to be in writing. For example, if Charles composes music, he can give Emma an exclusive right to cover his composition for distribution in the United States and give Allison the exclusive right to cover his composition for distribution in Europe. These are exclusive grants and have to be in writing. See the "Licensing Works" page for more information.

• Works Can Be Made Available Under Terms More Favorable Than Copyright Allows

The Creative Commons has developed a series of licenses that allows copyright holders to retain control over their works while making them available under terms more favorable than copyright allows. See the "Licensing Works" page for more information.

• Joint Ownership of a Copyrighted Work

When a group of musicians create a composition or sound recording together, a joint work is created. A work is considered joint if (1) both or all the authors intend that their contributions be merged into a single work, and (2) this intention exists at the time of creation of the work. No written contract is necessary to create a joint work; each author owns an undivided portion of the entire work. While each joint author may exploit the work without other joint authors’ permission, any profits must be shared with the other joint authors, and no single author can grant exclusive rights without consent of the other authors. It is likely, that in the absence of a contract to the contrary, performers will own copyright to sound recordings jointly with record companies.

For example, if Jose writes lyrics and Patricia writes the music to a popular song, both of them own copyright of the lyrics and the music. Patricia can give permission to reprint the lyrics even though Jose wrote them. Jose can give permission to a filmmaker to use the song in a soundtrack even though Patricia wrote the music.

• Ownership of Copyright in Sound Recordings

United States copyright law requires that a creative work be fixed in a tangible medium in order to be eligible for copyright protection. Therefore, a performer cannot have a copyright of their performance, but they may have copyright of a recording of that performance.

Creating a sound recording typically involves not only one lead musician, but also other performers, a musical director, sound engineers, etc. Because so many people collaborate in the creation of a sound recording, ownership can be difficult to define. This issue is mostly resolved by contracts. It is important for musical performers to remember that they are likely to have a copyright in any sound recordings they are a part of (unless they sign those rights away.)

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