Lyrics sites
If a website reprints your lyrics in whole, and it’s not a journalistic site that is commenting on the lyrics for purposes of criticism (that would be Fair Use, a defense to copyright infringement), then they need to obtain a license from the owner of the musical composition copyright. Lyrics are part of the composition copyright, and posting lyrics on a website counts as Public Display of the musical composition, an exclusive right of copyright holders under federal law. RapGenius got into a pickle with the National Music Publishers Association for not obtaining a license to display lyrics, and is reportedly negotiating a settlement (even though most copyright lawyers would have probably guessed that RapGenius’s use of allowing third parties to creatively annotate the lyrics would have constituted Fair Use).
Monetizing YouTube and Finding Unlicensed Appearances Of Your Copyrighted Music
YouTube monetization is an art in itself, and there are many companies that specialize in helping artists make money from their YouTube content. Artists can even cash in on videos that use their songs without permission. Services like Audiam use tracking software and search engine research to find infringing videos, and then place ads on the infringing videos in order to generate revenue for the copyright holder (a much more intelligent strategy than the major label policy of mass-issuing DMCA takedown notices for infringing videos.) I have not heard a first hand review of Audiam (a relatively new company from ousted Tunecore founder Jeff Price), but at a conceptual level it sounds like a good resource for copyright owners. For more on YouTube monetization, check out Hypebot’s recent article on YouTube monetization, which includes a list of monetization companies comparable to Audiam: http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2014/01/make-more-music-money-with-youtube-in-2014.html
Note: When someone makes a YouTube video with your music as the soundtrack, they need to license from you both the right to use the sound recording and the right to synchronize the composition to the video (“synch” license). These are both negotiated between the copyright holder and the user, so if you catch someone using your song in a video without a license, you can theoretically demand as much money as you want in exchange for allowing continued use.
TuneSat is another new software company that can be very helpful for tracking your music. Through the use of digital audio fingerprinting software, they can find out if your song is being used on a TV show or somewhere on the internet. You can then transmit this information to your Performance Rights Organization, which will hopefully collect the royalties, or you can use the threat of a copyright infringement suit to get a settlement from the user. The PROs only work with composition copyrights, however, so if your song was used in a TV show or web ad, you will probably need to use a cease and desist letter to get a payment from the user (negotiate to let them keep using the song if they pay you a certain amount). Or, if the unauthorized song is on YouTube, you can use a service such as Audiam to try and monetize the infringing use.
And here is a harsh truth to keep in mind: Many independent musicians and labels will find it more beneficial to let the infringing use sit because they value the publicity more than potential royalties. However, this incentivizes media outlets to use unlicensed works, since they know the threat of an infringement suit or cease & desist letter is low, and the worst case scenario will probably be a small settlement allowing continued use of the copyrighted work. This is why a solution such as Audiam is ideal – it allows you to profit from an unauthorized use without losing the free publicity.
Conclusion
There are many potential revenue streams to exploit if your music has a digital presence, but if you are an independent artist, label, or publisher, you will probably need to recruit the help of a reputable digital aggregator, distribution service, and/or royalty administration company to maximize your payments. Notable examples include TuneCore, CDBaby, and the Orchard. Additionally, it is imperative to register with both SoundExchange and one of the three traditional Performance Rights Organizations (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC). Finally, since YouTube is supremely important in terms of digital presence for the time being, seriously consider using a service such as Audiam to maximize your profit potential on this ubiquitous medium.
P.S. – not digital and completely unrelated to the rest of this article, but vinyl sales increased by 32% in 2013. If someone is buying physical copies of music, they are doing it because are trying to build a record collection as a hobby, and vinyl happens to be the format of choice for these collectors. So if you produce CDs, you will probably find more value in giving them away for free, but someone who genuinely likes your music might spend $20 or more for a vinyl copy. This doesn’t mean that vinyl is a cash cow, and it’s probably a passing fad, but for now independent artists and labels will find more money in wax than in CD sales.
John Miranda is a Chicago-area lawyer and consultant. He can be reached at jmiranda988@gmail.com.