Music copyright protects musical works (including lyrics and musical compositions) as well as sound recordings. Within each of these, there can be multiple copyright holders. For example, sound recordings have many copyright layers. Within a single sound recording, there is the copyright of who owns the recording, who made the recording, who is performing in the recording and the musical work being performed in the recording. Music resources within special collections can sometimes be unclear about who holds the copyright. Because of this, it is important to follow guidelines on permissions and seek legal council when publishing or performing a project.
The Music Modernization Act, enacted in 2018, changes the way that music is licensed, how pre-1972 sound recordings are copyrighted and enter the public domain and how royalties are distributed to producers and sound engineers. Learn more here