Rights of Musicians

The “bundle of rights” which constitute copyright as far as musicians are concerned are:

• The reproduction right.

• The adaptation right.

• The distribution right.

• The public performance right.

• The right to perform by digital transmission.

Only the copyright owner may exercise these rights or authorize others to do so. The rights mentioned above can be separated. The rights of musicians can vary depending on whether they are composers or performers. A composer is a person who creates the music — i.e. the melody, rhythm and lyrics. A performer is one who performs music. As explained in the ownership section, the performer’s copyright exists in the sound recording. We will mention differences between rights of composers and performers wherever relevant.