Quote:
Originally Posted by cobaltblue09  If you plan on making a living doing this, I suggest that you hire yourself an Intellectual Property attorney, especially someone familiar with the music business. The rules are different in every country. There are laws affecting the master production and written score. At the very least, you'll need a lawyer to draft your agreements. |
This.
My husband and bio father are both musicians. My husband also creates music for singers and rappers. They both have had their music on commercials in various areas around the country. I know a bit about US copyright laws from them, but I'm just not sure about any other country.
My husband keeps generic contracts on file and updates it for the artist, whether exclusive or non-exclusive. They have use of the music (mp3 file or CD), and not use of the original score/program file. Also, if the artist records the song in the studio (my husband's or someone else's), the studio has ownership of the masters unless otherwise specified.
But yeah, I would check your country's laws and get a lawyer if you are really that unsure. It's worth it to be prepared beforehand. In the US, not only do you copyright your music, but you also have to register with either ASCAP or BMI to get your royalties. I wasn't in contact with my bio father or dating my husband during the registration process, but I understand that they had their registration in place, then copyrighted their music, then shopped their music.
Hope to help with my second-hand info lol. I'm about to copyright some of my music also within the next year, so I'm learning the process myself.