I sometimes wonder how such misinformation gets circulated… but then I remember things exist like Fox News.
Digression aside, here are the 3 most commonly known myths about the music industry and why they could potentially be damaging to your career. (via Hypebot.com)
MYTH #1: The poor man’s copyright will protect you in court
While it is true that your song is under copyright once it’s fixed in a tangible form of expression, you cannot sue anyone for copyright infringement unless the song is registered with the US Copyright Office.
MYTH #2: Artists earn money from US radio play
Recording artists don’t get paid for radio play in the US, and unlike song sales, there is no set rate that songwriters receive each time their song is played on the radio.
MYTH #3: Sampling is legal if it’s only a couple of seconds
There is no such rule in copyright law, so even a millisecond of a sample could be consider copyright infringement. In addition, the rate for samples must be negotiated with BOTH the original master owner and the original publisher.
Read the original post on Hypebot.
