Music Rights 101

When you write a song, you automatically own the "publishing rights." That means you own the right to copy it, license it for movies or TV, and collect royalties whenever it's played or streamed.

Most songwriters in the 1970s through the 1990s signed deals that handed these rights over to a music publisher. The publisher would then collect all the money the song made and pay the songwriter their share, usually around 50%.

The good news is that federal law gives you the right to take those publishing rights back. That's what Rights Back is designed to help you do.

Every recorded song actually has two separate copyrights:

The Master Recording is the actual audio recording, the specific version you hear on a record or streaming service. The record label usually owns this.

The Publishing Rights cover the song itself, the melody and the lyrics. This is what the songwriter originally owned before signing a publishing deal.

Rights Back focuses on publishing rights. Even if a label owns the master recording, you may still be able to get the publishing rights back.

A copyright assignment is simply the contract where you transferred ownership of your song to someone else, usually a publisher or record label. In return, you typically received an advance payment against future royalties.

Most publishing deals from the 1970s through the 1990s were structured as assignments. Many of them were labeled "permanent," meaning the publisher would own the rights forever.

Federal law was updated specifically to let songwriters undo these assignments after enough time has passed. The law recognizes that most songwriters had very little negotiating power when they signed those deals.

A "work for hire" clause means the company that paid for the work is treated as the legal author, not the actual creator. Under copyright law, works made for hire are not eligible for termination rights.

However, most courts have ruled that independent songwriters are not employees, even if their contracts used the phrase "work for hire." A real work-for-hire situation requires a formal employer-employee relationship, not just a freelance or one-off deal.

So if your old contract had this language, it does not automatically mean you've lost your rights. It just means your situation needs a closer look. We recommend speaking with an entertainment attorney to find out where you stand.

Copyright registration is the process of officially recording your song with the U.S. Copyright Office. When you register, you get a registration number like PA 1-234-567 and a certificate showing the date it was filed.

You don't have to register to own a copyright. Your rights exist the moment you write the song. But registration creates the official public record that termination notices rely on, and it's required if you ever want to sue someone for copying your work.

Rights Back searches our database of over 4.5 million copyright records. Just enter your song title and we'll find the registration details for you.

U.S. copyright law gives songwriters and their families a one-time chance to take back rights they transferred, even if the original contract said the transfer was permanent.

Section 203 applies to songs where rights were transferred on or after January 1, 1978. You can start the termination process between 35 and 40 years after the transfer, but you need to file a formal notice 2 to 10 years before you want the rights back.

Section 304(c) applies to older songs published before 1978. The window to reclaim rights opens 56 years after the original copyright date.

Section 304(d) is a second chance for songs that missed the Section 304(c) window.

This right belongs to you or your heirs. No contract can take it away. Even if you signed something that said you gave up your termination rights, that clause is not enforceable.

Yes. You don't need it. On the song details page, just type your song title and click Search. We'll look it up in our database of 4.5 million copyright records and fill in the number and dates for you. Most people don't have their registration number handy, and that's completely fine.

Try the title search first. We pull release year information from our records where available. If we can't find it, AllMusic (allmusic.com) and Discogs (discogs.com) are good places to check. Both sites have detailed release histories going back decades. Even a rough year is enough to get started.

Not every song was registered with the Copyright Office, especially older recordings from smaller labels. If we can't find yours, we'll tell you. You can still complete the eligibility check by filling in the dates yourself. Not being in our database does not mean you are ineligible.

No. That's exactly what the Copyright Termination Act was written to fix. Congress knew that many songwriters signed deals with no real choice in the matter. The law says you can reclaim your rights regardless of what your contract said. A "permanent" assignment clause does not stop you from filing a termination notice.

Yes. Termination rights can be passed on to family members, including a surviving spouse, children, or grandchildren. The law sets out a specific order for who inherits these rights. If the original songwriter has passed away, the family may still have a valid window to file. We recommend speaking with an entertainment attorney to understand exactly how the rights are divided in your situation.