Answers/Glossary/Sound recording
Glossary · Copyright
Sound recording
A sound recording is the fixed capture of a performance — the master — protected as its own copyright separate from the underlying musical composition. Its owner is whoever paid for or created the recording, and it is identified by an ISRC.
A sound recording is a specific performance fixed in a specific file. Take the same song, record it three times, and you have created three separate sound recording copyrights over one composition. This is why a live version, a studio version and a remix each get their own ISRC and each earn independently.
The owner of the sound recording is whoever created or commissioned it, subject to whatever agreements exist. For a self-releasing artist that is normally you. On a label release it is normally the label. On a work-made-for-hire session it is whoever hired the work, in writing.
The sound recording is what your distributor delivers. DistroKid, TuneCore and CD Baby put the master into Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and the rest, and the recording royalties come back through them. The same master also earns a digital performance royalty from non-interactive services, collected by SoundExchange, which distributes 50% to the recording owner and 45% directly to the featured artist under 17 U.S.C. 114(g)(2).
One US quirk worth knowing: there is no general public performance right in sound recordings for terrestrial AM/FM radio. A song on US broadcast radio pays the songwriter through ASCAP or BMI and pays the master owner and the performer nothing.
The misunderstanding: believing a sample cleared on the recording side is fully cleared. Using someone else's recording requires a master use licence from the recording owner and a separate licence from the composition owners. Two copyrights, two permissions, and skipping the second one is the classic way a release gets pulled.
Artist's working understanding; anything involving someone else's recording deserves a lawyer.
Related terms
- Musical compositionA musical composition is the song itself — the melody, harmony, structure and lyrics — protected as its own copyright separate…
- Two copyrightsEvery released song contains two separate copyrights: the musical composition, owned by the songwriters and publishers, and the…
- ISRCAn ISRC, International Standard Recording Code, is a 12-character identifier assigned to a specific sound recording.
- Sound recording royaltyA sound recording royalty is income earned by the specific recorded master of a song, as opposed to the underlying composition.
Answers that use this term
- What Is SoundExchange and Do Independent Artists Need It?SoundExchange collects the digital performance royalty on the sound recording from non-interactive services — Pandora radio…
- What Is the Difference Between Master Rights and Publishing?Every song is two separate copyrights. The master is the sound recording - the specific audio file from your session.
- What Is a Performance Royalty, and Who Collects It?A performance royalty is money owed when a musical composition is performed publicly — on streaming, radio, television, in a bar…
- ISRC vs ISWC: The Two Codes Your Song NeedsAn ISRC identifies a specific sound recording and is issued when you distribute — DistroKid, TuneCore and CD Baby assign one…
Definitions on this site describe the United States system. I am an artist who has been through this, not a lawyer.
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