Master recording
Also known as Master, Sound recording copyright, Phonogram
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Short answer
A master recording, or master, is the original fixed recording of a performance from which every copy is made. In copyright law it is protected separately from the song it contains: the master belongs to whoever owns the sound recording — usually a record label, or the artist when self-released — while the composition belongs to its songwriters and publishers.
Two copyrights in every recorded song
Every commercially released recording carries two copyrights. The musical work — the melody and lyrics — is owned by the songwriters and administered by their publishers. The sound recording — this particular performance, captured and fixed — is the master. The two are licensed separately, paid separately and often owned by entirely different people.[1]
On packaging, the sound recording copyright is marked with ℗ (for phonogram) and the composition and artwork with ©.
Who owns the master
Whoever pays for and controls the recording usually owns the master. Under a traditional record deal that is the label, in exchange for funding the recording and its marketing and paying the artist a royalty. An independent artist who records and releases their own music owns their masters outright, and earns the master side of streaming income directly through their distributor.
Ownership of a master can be sold, licensed or reverted under contract, and the master's ISRC follows the recording regardless of who owns it.
What a master earns
The master owner is paid when the recording itself is used: sales and streams through a distributor, a master use license when the recording is placed in film, TV or an advertisement (alongside a sync license for the composition), digital performance royalties collected by SoundExchange in the United States, and neighboring rights income in countries that recognize them.
Master recording versus mastering
Mastering is the final audio-engineering step that prepares a mix for release. It shares the word but not the meaning: a mastered file is a technical deliverable, while the master recording, in the rights sense, is the copyrighted work regardless of how it was engineered.
Questions
What does it mean to own your masters?
It means you own the copyright in your sound recordings, so you control how they are licensed and receive the master side of their income directly, instead of a royalty from a label that owns them.
Is the master the same as the song?
No. The song is the composition, owned by its writers and publishers; the master is one recording of it. A cover version is a new master of the same song.
What is a master split?
The agreed percentage of the master's ownership or income held by each party — for example an artist and a producer who co-own a recording. It is documented separately from the publishing split.
References
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. “17 U.S. Code § 106 — Exclusive rights in copyrighted works.”