Music Industry is known for many things. First of all of course music. Then maybe concerts. As well as the managing side of things. But lingo and proper spelling?
That’s certainly not what automatically comes to mind when you think of the music industry. However, it is a topic that can cause trouble.
Just imagine you write about ‘Bob Marley & The Whalers’. (Instead of ‘Wailers’). Dearest Bob probably wasn’t into whale hunting, was he?
Perhaps you want to write about a fine ‘minor’ cord in a song? But accidentally pin down ‘miner’.
Of course, a cord can remind you of a miner. The question is if the reader can follower your argumentation. And that your message comes over the way you intended to.
Don’t confuse copyright and copywrite!
One of those words that get easily mixed up is copyright and copywrite.
Copywrite on its own isn’t even a word! However, the dictionary is listing words like copywriter and copywriting. That refers to a person who is writing ‘copy’. That is a text for advertisements and marketing purposes.
Read here, Brilliant Copywriting In Music That Sparks Joy.
Copywriting is naturally very important within the music industry. No matter if you need a new artist biography for the upcoming release.
Or you want an SEO optimized text for your webshop. Balancing all those product pictures with solid copy is important.
Even pinning down a catchy Facebook post is copywriting. Some might even argue that an Instagram description is a piece of copy.
Copyright is the backbone of the music industry
Anyway, copyright is far the more important word.
Copyright: the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something
source
Copyright happens right at the creation of music. You don’t need to register anything in order to gain protection. However, it is smart to have proof of ownership. Legal disputes over copyright aren’t uncommon in music.
The Berne Convention was the starting point for modern copyright law.
For example, making sure that all countries participating respect it. That means universal protection of copyright. No matter where the content creator is living.
As well as the length of copyright. In a newer update, the length of copyright got extended. From 50 years to 70 years. However, there are still numerous countries that have different regulations.
Copyright gives you the right to licence your music. For example, you can sign a publishing deal for the rights of the composition.
Or you register your work with a rights collection society. That way you can ‘harvest’ your music rights and make money out of it.
Without copyright, there wouldn’t be a possibility for composers and musicians to earn money from their work.
I hope you find this blog post helpful. Working in such a high performing music industry can be very stressful at times. However, keeping some spelling in the back of your mind isn’t a bad idea. If only, it can spare you some real embarrassment.