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Music Copyright Guide

by Casey Burgess

Your Rights As A Performer

Section 1101 of the Copyright Act protects recordings of musical performances from being created, transmitted, or otherwise distributed. Basically, it is your right to control who sees your performance and in what way. If someone posts a video of your performance on YouTube without your permission, it’s within your right to ask them and YouTube to remove it. The same goes for any other platform, digital or otherwise.

 

Places like IU have a release waiver that all music students sign when they enter the school. This means IU controls the performance rights for all your performances. This is how they are able to post your performances online and broadcast them live.