Songwriting
Everyone involved in creating a piece of music jointly owns copyright for the piece. This includes the composer, lyricist, and arranger.
- COMPOSING
If you wish to incorporate a section from an existing work into your musical piece, you always need permission from the creator(s) of the original work and, in some cases, from the individuals who performed the work previously (if the section is, for example, part of previously recorded music).
Check the usage rights for any existing music samples in music production programmes (e.g., GarageBand, Ableton Live, and Logic Pro X) as set out in the terms of use for the programmes. - WRITING LYRICS
If you want to use an existing text (e.g., a poem) or translate existing song lyrics into another language, you need permission from the original lyricist provided their work is still in copyright. - ARRANGING
If you want to create a new arrangement of an existing composition, you need permission from the composer if the work is still in copyright. To translate song lyrics, you need permission from the original lyricist. - UPLOADING A MUSICAL PIECE TO THE INTERNET
Remember to request permission for publication from everyone involved in creating and performing the musical piece. - CREATING A MUSIC VIDEO
If you create a music video that you intend to make available online, using the music and images of others, ask the creators in advance for permission to use the images and music. Also, request permission from the individuals who performed the musical piece if you use recorded music. If there are individuals appearing in the video, you should also request permission from them to publish pictures of them.
