Inheriting Music Royalties, Part 2: Identifying What the Decedent Owned

This article is Part 2 of a five-part series on inheriting music rights and royalties. Here is a list of all the articles in the series:

• Part 1: What Heirs Need to Know
• Part 2: Identifying What the Decedent Owned
• Part 3: How to Locate and Claim Royalties
• Part 4: Maximizing Royalty Income
• Part 5: When to Hire a Publishing Administrator

Confirming Ownership

The first step in recovering music royalties is determining what rights the decedent actually owned. Royalty administrators do not distribute payments based on family relationships or inheritance claims. They pay royalties according to the ownership records in their systems, which must be updated before payments can be redirected to an estate or heir.

This can be more complicated than it appears. A songwriter may have assigned some or all of their rights through publishing agreements, recording contracts, or co-writing arrangements. In addition, industry databases often rely on self-reported registrations that may be outdated or incomplete. For these reasons, the executor or heirs must first confirm the decedent’s ownership interests before attempting to claim unpaid or future royalties.

Copyright Basics

A copyright is a form of intellectual property recognized under federal law that gives the owner a bundle of exclusive rights in a creative work. These rights include the ability to reproduce the work, distribute copies, publicly perform it, and authorize others to use it. See 17 U.S.C. § 106.

A copyright may be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, but registration is not required for a copyright to exist. Copyright protection generally arises automatically when the work is created and fixed in a tangible form. Registration, however, provides important legal advantages and is commonly obtained for commercially released works.

A copyright registration identifies the author of the words and music and the claimant of record. The claimant may be the author or an assignee, like a publisher. The economic arrangement behind that registration is typically governed by a publishing agreement. In many cases, the songwriter assigns some or all of the copyright to a music publisher in exchange for licensing, promotion, and royalty collection.

The claimant generally owns or controls the copyright and has the authority to license the work. However, ownership of the copyright does not necessarily mean the claimant receives all of the income generated by the work. Songwriters typically retain a right to certain royalty streams, even when a publisher controls the copyright.

The Two Separate Copyrights: Composition and Sound Recording

Recorded music typically involves two distinct copyrights. Although they are related, they are legally separate assets and may be owned by different parties.

The first is the copyright in the musical composition. This protects the underlying song: the lyrics and melody. A composition can exist independently of any recording. It can be performed live, covered by another artist, or arranged in a different style, and the composition copyright still applies. Songwriters and, in many cases, music publishers hold ownership interests in this copyright. It is common for compositions to have multiple co-writers, each owning a fractional interest governed by split agreements.

The second is the copyright in the sound recording, often referred to as the “master.” This protects the specific recorded performance of the song. The master the specific recording of the musical work. The owner of the master controls the right to reproduce and distribute that recording and to license its use.

These two copyrights can generate different royalty streams and may have entirely different ownership structures. For example, a songwriter may own a portion of the composition but have no ownership in the master. Conversely, a performing artist may have a right to royalties from the master without owning any share of the composition copyright.

In traditional recording arrangements, record labels frequently own the master recording. The artist receives royalties under the recording agreement but does not hold the copyright on the sound recording itself. Independent artists, however, may own or co-own their masters if they financed or retained control of the recordings.

Royalty Streams: Performance and Mechanical Income

For musical compositions, two of the most economically significant rights are the public performance right and the reproduction and distribution rights.

The public performance right is implicated when a song is played on the radio, streamed on a digital platform, performed live, or played in a public venue such as a restaurant or retail store. Performance royalties for compositions are collected and distributed in the United States by performing rights organizations such as ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.

Under the rules of major performing rights organizations such as ASCAP and BMI, performance royalties from compositions are divided into a writer’s share and a publisher’s share. The publisher’s share is typically earned by the copyright claimant, and the writer earns the other half. In many cases, the writer owns the copyright and therefore is entitled to both shares.

The mechanical right arises from the right to reproduce and distribute copies of the composition. Historically, this meant physical formats such as CDs and vinyl records. Today, it includes digital downloads and interactive streaming. Mechanical royalties for digital uses in the United States are largely administered through the Mechanical Licensing Collective, while other mechanical income may be paid through publishers or administrators pursuant to contract.

Sound recordings generate separate income streams. Certain digital public performances of sound recordings generate royalties collected in the United States by SoundExchange. In this arrangement, the owner of the master splits royalties with the featured artist in the recording.

Co-Writers and Fractional Ownership

Many songs are written by more than one songwriter. When multiple writers collaborate on a composition, each writer typically owns a percentage of the copyright in that song. These percentages are often referred to as “splits.”

For example, if two writers contribute equally to a song, each may own fifty percent of the composition. In other cases, the percentages may be divided unevenly depending on the agreement among the writers. These ownership shares are usually documented in split sheets, publishing agreements, or registrations with performing rights organizations.

The picture becomes even more complex if a song is sampled by another artist. The sampling artist typically must license both the sound recording and the composition, and credit the writers of the sampled song who will earn performance royalties when the new work is played.

Wrapping Up

Royalty income follows ownership. Before an estate can collect or distribute music royalties, it must identify precisely what intellectual property or contractual rights the decedent actually owned.

Copyrights are long-lived assets governed by federal law. They may outlast generations and may be subject to statutory duration and termination provisions that affect succession. Proper administration therefore requires both an understanding of copyright structure and careful documentation review. If ownership is not properly identified and confirmed, royalties may be misdirected, held in suspense, or paid to the wrong parties until corrected.

Once ownership is identified and verified, the task shifts from analysis to action. The executor must notify the appropriate administrators, update registrations, resolve any conflicting claims, and secure both unpaid and future royalties.

Advance to Part 3 to read about these steps in detail.