volved when a band records a cover version of a song. It’s also required for artists who
don’t write their own song, but record other songwriters’ material. For example, several
of the Monkees’ (remember them?) songs were written by the songwriting team of Boyce
and Hart.
- Grand Rights
When a Broadway producer needs some music to go with their show, grand rights
typically come into play. In the US, PROs do not handle this type of license. It must be
negotiated between the copyright owners, publisher and the production producer. - Direct License
A direct license is a form of rights obtained directly from the copyright owner and/or
publisher where the performing rights are paid directly to the copyright owner by the li-
censee. PROs don’t enter the picture.
- Downloading Royalties
In music publishing, the fastest growing source of revenue is downloading royalties.
When a song or performance is digitally transferred from a source on the Internet or
through a mobile device, a royalty is payable. Because most downloading source pro-
grams are administered in Western countries, illegal use of copyrights is strictly moni-
tored.
Licensing offers you a variety of benefits, not the least of which is the fact that li-
censes can be non-exclusive. This means you can license the same song or songs over
and over again, to difference companies or groups for different purposes. For example,
let’s say you write a nifty ditty with a great hook. It’s catchy and an ad agency creative di-