PandaTip: In the same way that the Grantor can list all the insurances and guarantees listed in the section below, a similar section will be made available to the Grantee in the model license agreement below. If multiple songwriters have contributed to a song, they need a shared sheet. A Split Sheet lyricist is a written agreement that identifies each contributor to a song and sets ownership percentages among them. The agreed percentages determine how much each contributor receives from the royalties generated by their music. There are different models for the Royalty collection in European countries. In some of them, mechanical rights and representation rights are managed jointly. SACEM (France), SABAM (Belgium), GEMA (Germany) and JASRAC (Japan) work in this way. In the United States, SoundExchange, ASCAP, BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc), and SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors & Composers) are the four main performing rights organizations (PROs), although smaller companies exist. The royalty paid to the composer and publisher is determined by the valuation method used by the PRO to measure the use of music, in the absence of external metrics such as mechanical royalties or the reporting system used in the UK.

In principle, a PRO aggregates the royalties that accrue to all composers/composers “who are its members” and each composer and publisher is paid royalties on the basis of the estimated frequency of the performance of the music, after deduction of expenses (which are numerous). PROs are controlled agencies. They pay their respective shares “directly” to the songwriter and publisher. (If part of the publisher`s share is retained by the songwriter, the publisher pays the songwriter that part from the publisher.) Record companies generate revenue from mechanical and public performance expenses. They award contracts that allow them to exploit the recordings in return for license payments over a period of time. The artist then receives a lump sum or a percentage of these label royalties. The U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 identifies “musical works” and “sound recordings” that are eligible for copyright protection. The term “musical work” refers to the notes and lyrics of a song or piece of music, while a “sound recording” results from its fixation on physical media.

Copyright holders of musical works enjoy exclusive rights for the licensing of air radio and television broadcasts that insert royalties into them which, as has already been said, are collected and broadcast by the PROs. . . .