What Every Musician Needs To Know About Copyright

This is especially true in South Africa, where the legal framework and revenue collection systems can be difficult to navigate, leaving many creatives unsure of how much money they are owed, and where to claim it from.

Royalty streams connected to the composition, in other words, the written piece of music that exists before it is recorded, are some of the most misunderstood income sources. Yet, they are fundamental to every hit you have ever heard.

The power of copyright

The moment a piece of music is created and written down or reduced to material form, a copyright comes into existence. Think of this as property, like owning a block of flats. As the creator, you have the right to rent it out, license it, live in it, or sell it and to stop others from doing so. It is your intellectual property.

In most cases of hit songs, two copyrights are created. One in the composition (the music and lyrics), and one in the sound recording.

The composer (the person who wrote the underlying musical work), is the initial owner of the composition copyright, also known as ‘the publishing’. Whether or not they assign the composition to a publisher, they are the source of the creative value and are entitled to earn every time the composition is used. That includes when it is performed live, streamed, downloaded, or played in a retail environment. Each use triggers royalty income.

Composition royalty streams

Here are the four major types of royalties tied to the composition:

1. Public performance royalties

Every time your song (more correctly your composition) is played in public, for instance, on the radio, in a restaurant, or at a live gig, you are entitled to a public performance royalty. In South Africa, this is collected by the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) on behalf of composers and publishers.

2. Mechanical royalties

This is the royalty paid when your song is copied or reproduced. It covers formats like CDs, digital downloads, and now streaming. Yes, in South Africa, streaming is treated as a mechanical reproduction under the current law. These royalties are collected for composers by the Composers, Authors and Publishers Association (CAPASSO).

3. Reprographic rights

If your lyrics are printed or your music is reproduced in readable form as sheet music, guitar tabs, or onscreen lyrics (such as on Spotify), that’s considered reprographic use. Lyrics and books are considered to be Literary Works. Royalties for literary works are collected by the Dramatic, Artistic, and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO) or, when used in the context of digital music use as lyrics, by CAPASSO.

4. Sync licensing fees

Synchronisation (or “sync”) refers to the use of your composition in a visual medium such as film, television, advertising, or video games. This can be a major revenue generator. A well-placed sync deal can be worth hundreds of thousands of rands, particularly when the content goes global.

‘Adaptation’ takes place when a composition is altered or added to by a second composer. The first composer’s work is partially used, but the second composer adds his own parts or rearrangements. In this case a new copyright comes into existence and is shared by the two composers (even if the second composer made the adaptation without permission). A well-known example is Sean “Diddy” Combs sampling Sting’s Every Breath You Take in his hit I’ll Be Missing You. It became a global chart-topper. However, he had not cleared the use of the original composition. As a result, he ended up paying Sting and his publisher around $3,000 a day in royalties. While the exact numbers have been debated, the principle remains clear: if you use someone else’s copyrighted composition without permission, you will pay, often dearly. Adaptations form a huge part of the contemporary music scene.

Know your rights

Many musicians do not realise that this system is designed to generate passive income. The person who wrote the hook, chorus, or melody may earn for decades, long after the song has left the charts. But you only benefit if you understand how to acquire, register, protect, and license your copyrights.

Unless you know who owes you money, why they owe it, and how to collect it, you are leaving revenue on the table. At Academy of Sound Engineering, we emphasise that education is power and that understanding copyright law and how royalties work allows you to build a sustainable career in music.

Your music is your property. Learn how to manage it like one.