A Bird's Eye View
What is Your Favorite Song?Take a moment to think about how you listen to music. Whether it’s on the radio, on vinyl, on an »
What are Music Industry Consent Decrees?
Although rarely brought up in casual conversation or mentioned in the news, the consent decrees imposed by the U.S. Department of Justice on ASCAP and »
What is On-Demand Music Streaming?
Why We Wrote This GuideThis guide serves as a logical continuation of our previous guide, the Digital Download. In order to better understand the context and »
What is Non-Interactive Music Streaming?
Why We Wrote This GuideThis guide serves as a logical counterpart to our On-Demand Streaming guide, which itself serves as a counterpart to our Digital Download »
A Glossary of Music Industry Terms
Table of Contents 360 Deal Administration Deal Advances Album Cycle A&R Department Black Box Blanket Licenses Bundled Services Business Manager Catalog Commercially Satisfactory Compilation »
How Does the Music Modernization Act Work?
The Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act (MMA) is a piece of legislation that was signed into law on October 11, 2018. The provisions that »
What are Print Rights?
Why We Wrote This Guide This guide serves as a resource to grant interested parties a better understanding of print rights and how they function within »
What are Lyric Rights?
Why We Wrote This Guide Lyrics are integral to modern music. Many of the most compelling songs in the world use lyrics to tell a story »
What is a Digital Download?
Why We Wrote This Guide Over the last decade, the digital music industry has gained significant momentum. Many digital platforms—streaming services, downloads, digital media players, »
What are Neighboring Rights?
Why We Wrote This Guide Music Business World reported in 2016 that neighboring rights account for over $2 billion in revenue per year. In today’s »
What is Work for Hire?
Why We Wrote This Guide Work for Hire agreements are a popular mode of contractual interaction between various people and entities in the music business. Due »
What is a Master-Use License?
Who This Guide Is For Producers that want to sample copyrighted sound recordings in their work. Recording Artists that want to explore licensing options for their »
What is a Mechanical License?
Why We Wrote This Guide For over a century now, American copyright law has worked to create and maintain a system that ensures copyright owners are »
What Is SoundExchange?
Why We Wrote This Guide This guide serves as a comprehensive resource to grant interested parties a better understanding of SoundExchange and its unique function within »
What is Music Reports?
Why We Wrote This Guide Music Reports administers mechanical royalties from digital service providers (see our guides for On-Demand Music Streaming and Digital Downloads) to songwriters »
What is The Harry Fox Agency?
Why We Wrote This Guide The Harry Fox Agency administers mechanical royalties from digital service providers (see our guides for On-Demand Music Streaming and Digital Downloads) »
What is a Recording Artist?
Why We Wrote This Guide Recording artists and composers create the foundations of the music industry: compositions and recordings. An understanding of their fundamental positions in »