21st Century Music and Economy

Music in the 21st Century:
Recording, Copyright, and

Economy
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
● Explain who is involved in the process of 21st Century music making.

● Explain the process of publishing, recording, and releasing music.
● Understand how key players in the music industry make money.
● Describe and explain recent trends and changes to the music industry.
● Describe and explain the relevance of copyright and sampling in 21st
century music.
What do you want
to know about the
music recording
process?
The Life of a Song
1 2 3 4 5
The song is written by The song is arranged The recording is The recording is As the song sells,
the composer or for the specific artist. edited to make sure it published (audio) and money is paid to the
artist. If it’s a The artist and other sounds great. Special released as part of record label, who
composer, they make musicians record the effects are added and album or as a single. distributes it to the
a deal to sell it to an song with the the artist gives final The record company artist, composer, etc.
artist. The artist pays assistance of a approval (if they are promotes the song
a royalty (usually a producer and allowed to in the using ads, a music
percentage of each recording technician. contract). video, or placement in
song sold) to the a movie or other
composer. media.
Type your response...
What effects or strategies do you think recording technicians and
producers use to make a song sound great?
Basic Recording Process
● In the earliest days of recording, a microphone or two were used to capture
an entire performance by an ensemble.
● Now, musicians use a multi-track recording process.
● First, a scratch solo and basic MIDI track or basic rhythm section parts are
recorded. This is the basis for what the other musicians will listen to while
they record.
● Next, the actual rhythm section parts are recorded.
● Then, harmony parts such as auxiliary instruments or backup vocals are
recorded.
● Finally, the solo is recorded.
Editing and Mixing Process
● Producers then edit the recording.
○ They pick and splice together the best sections from different takes.
○ They may fix intonation issues with auto-tuning (correcting frequency).
○ They remove clicks, pops, or other background noise.
○ They remove breath sounds.
● Finally, the recording is mixed.
○ Volume levels are adjusted for each tracks.
○ Additional special effects are added.
○ The multi-track recording is reduced to one track.
● Let’s listen to the difference between a mix and an edit.
Draw lines to put the recording steps in order:
1 Editing 4
vocal/instrumental harmonies, auxiliary
instruments
Final solo
2 5
Scratch solo
Rhythm section
3 6
Mixing
Stop and discuss...
● Digital recording makes it possible for songs to sound better than
ever before. Do you think there is a line artists shouldn’t cross
when it comes to adding special effects? How much is too much in
your opinion?
How do artists make money on their music?
● Contemporary musicians often record music with a record label.
● The record label offers the musician a contract which the musician will
sign before any other steps take place.
● The record label wants to make as much money from the artist as
possible. Here is what the record label typically wants:
○ The record label wants a large percentage from any songs or albums
sold.
○ The record label wants to hold the artist under contract for a long
period of time.
○ The record label wants to own the copyright on the music the artist
creates for a long period of time.
How do artists make money on their music?
● The artist wants to make as much money as possible and make sure the
label will help them along the way . Here is what the artist typically
wants:
○ The artist wants a large percentage from any songs or albums sold.
○ The artist wants to have flexibility with how long they are under
contract.
○ The artist wants to own the copyright on the music, or only give up
the copyright to the label for a small amount of time.
○ The artist wants the label to commit to helping with marketing,
touring, and other costs associated with promoting their work.
Stop and write...
Artists and record labels each have different interests. How do you
think they negotiate to reach an agreement? What might be some
important factors in negotiations?
Publishing and Songwriters
● Record labels and artists will also pay a percentage to the
songwriter or composer (if the artist didn’t write the song).
● Songwriters and composers can copyright their music works and
sell copies of them.
○ Music Publishers handle the distribution of the song. They
could: get it recorded by an artist, have it featured in a TV
show or movie, have it published as sheet music, etc.
● Many people purchase sheet music, including amateur musicians,
teachers, and conductors.
Copyright and Intellectual Property in
Music Recording
● A musical work and a sound recording have different copyright requirements and
protections.
○ Musical Work, Song, Composition:
Lyrics, Melody, and Musical Arrangement of Notes that Define a Song or
Musical Composition
Sheet Music
○ Sound Recording:
The Process of Fixing Music or Sound on a Medium that can reproduce and
play back the music upon demand.
CD, Record, MP3, WAV
Copyright and Intellectual Property in
Music Recording
● Basic Rules
● Musical Works published with a valid Copyright Notice of 1922 or Earlier
are in the public domain in the United States.
● Essentially ALL Sound Recordings are under copyright protection until 2067
in the United States.
● Copyright protection outside the USA is determined by the laws of the

country where the work will be used.
Copyright Terms
● Most copyright terms for musical works and sound recordings are for the
lifetime of the author (or last surviving author) + another 70 years.
● The 1909 Copyright Act authorized the protection of musical works and
granted exclusive performance rights to the composer.
● Sound Recordings Act of 1971 granted exclusive rights to sound
recordings.
● Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act was passed in 1995,
granted rights for recordings transmitted through digital services.
Example of Copyright Protection
Differences
● The song “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is not under copyright protection.
Anyone could arrange and publish it and use the song freely.
● However- ALL sound recordings of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” are under
copyright protection.
Why?
Music Copyright and Sampling
● In order to use materials from an existing musical work or sound recording, you must
get permission from the copyright holder and pay a fee to use it.
○ The fee depends on the length of material you use.
○ Fees are paid as a flat amount or as a royalty per song sold.
● If you use the materials without permission, it is a copyright violation. A lawsuit could
be filed and a penalty charged. If the violation was intentional, the penalty will be
greater.
● The same is true for mash-ups!
● Let’s listen to a song with “sampling”.

Sampling can be legal, but is sampling ethical? Drag the
icon to show what you think!
Yes, sampling is ethical if I’m not sure, or I have No, sampling is not
permission is received mixed feelings about this. ethical at all.
from copyright holder.
Trends and Changes in Contemporary
Music: 2000-Present
● Streaming
○ Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and other streaming services have
revolutionized the way we listen to music and the way artists get
paid.
○ Hypothetical Example:
-If a CD is sold for $12-15, an artist might make around 20%. Profit=
$2-3 per CD. Buying songs on iTunes works the same way.
-When you stream a song, the artist gets less than $.01 per listen.
(Let’s say this number is one half of a cent). The song would need to
be listened to about 20 times to be equal to the profit of one song
purchased on iTunes and about 200 times to equal the sale of a CD.
Is streaming better for listeners
and consumers? Is it better for
artists? What the benefits and
downsides to streaming?
Trends and Changes in Contemporary
Music: 2000-Present
● Advances in Recording Technology
○ Microphones and Recording Software and commonplace on most
consumer electronics.
○ High quality equipment is available to consumers cheaper than ever
before.
○ Artists don’t necessarily need a record deal or formal contract to
record and distribute their music
Let’s take a listen to a home studio
recording!

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21st Century Music and Economy

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Music in the 21st Century:

Recording, Copyright, and

● Explain who is involved in the process of 21st Century music making.

● Copyright protection outside the USA is determined by the laws of the

● The same is true for mash-ups!

● Let’s listen to a song with “sampling”.

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