There are two separate copyrights involved;
(a) The copyright in respect of the musical and literary work (created and first owned by the songwriter but may be administered/exploited by a music publisher) and
(b) The copyright in respect of the sound recording which embodies the musical work (if recorded under contract to a record company, it will be owned by the record company)
As a SONGWRITER you will be entitled to receive royalties from the exploitation of the musical work. These may include:
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Mechanical royalties payable on the manufacture of records (see MCPS below)
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Performance royalties payable on the public performance of the musical work (click PRS to skip to the related tipsheet) -
sheet music royalties
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synchronisation royalties A songwriter/composer will normally assign the right to receive these royalties to a music publisher who will be responsible for ensuring all the songwriters royalties are collected for the exploitation of the song.
The Collection Societies – The two collection societies in the UK that deal with the collection of royalties for the musical work (as opposed to the sound recording) are the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Rights Society (PRS). Both societies are based in London.
MCPS and the Mechanical Royalty - Every time the record company presses another record that incorporates your musical work, a “mechanical royalty” is payable to you. This is collected for you by the MCPS.
Record companies have to supply details of all the CD's records etc. they manufacture every month and pay royalties quarterly to the MCPS. The MCPS presently collect a statutory rate of 8.5% in the UK from record companies on manufacture of records. The MCPS collects mechanical royalties in respect of CD's/records manufactured in the UK. They can also have agreements in place with other collection societies around the world such as GEMA (in Germany) and the Harry Fox Agency (in the USA).
Check www.mcps.co.uk for more info on the MCPS.
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