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Mechanical Rights |
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Mechanical Rights
Mechanical Rights, which are aquired from music publishers and copyright holders, give you the right to record, manufacture and distribute another copyright holder's musical work.
Songwriters and publishers also receive payments from mechanical licenses. A mechanical license is written permission from the publisher to manufacture and distribute a record, CD or audio tape for a specific copyrighted composition. The amount of the royalty paid to a songwriter from a mechanical license is determined by how many recordings are sold. >Click here to view the current posted mechanical rates at HarryFox.com
Mechanical rights, although similar, are not to be confused with "master rights" or with "performance rights". "Master Rights" are granted by a record company in order to use an existing recording, while "performance rights" are granted by publishers or societies for the public performance of a song. Depending on the actual use of the copyright, you may need to obtain these additional rights, as well as the mechanical license.
What are Master Use Rights?
Master use rights are required for previously recorded material that you do not own or control. They can only be obtained from the owner of the master recording, usually a record company. It is recommended that you obtain the master use license from the owner prior to requesting a mechanical license.
What is a Sample?
A sample can be defined as the use of an excerpt of pre-recorded material within another recording. Sampling requires a master use right (see above).
You may learn more about North American mechanical and synchronization licenses on these web sites:
Harry Fox Agency (HFA)
National Music Publishers Association (NMPA)
American Mechanical Rights Agency (AMRA)
Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd. (CMRRA)
The Society for the Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers in Canada (SODRAC)
For information on international mechanical rights organizations, check out this great resource at BMI.com
You can search for publisher and copyright holder information using the following third-party databases at the following websites:
http://www.ascap.com
http://www.bmi.com
http://www.sesac.com
http://www.loc.gov/copyright
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