What does owning your masters mean?
A song's original precise sound recordings are known as masters or master recordings.
The phrase as it is now used describes the versions of your music made available to the general public and streams on websites like Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, etc. The technical term for a song's underlying rights is "master." The "master recording" is the original version, from which all subsequent versions are derived. The owner of the master rights must provide a license before a CD, Spotify stream, appearance on a film soundtrack, or any other type of public release.
Who Usually Owns Masters?
The masters of all songs produced as part of a recording agreement are frequently owned by the label rather than the artist under typical music business contracts. If you own the masters, you have the legal right to profit from your recordings by collecting royalties and syncing your music to movies, TV shows, commercials, etc.
Depending on the advances, recording costs, touring expenses, and advertising expenses that the label has paid for upfront, they may recover their investment before you receive any money. The artist will earn money depending on the proportion agreed upon between them and the label once all costs have been recovered. If you own the masters, you have the legal right to profit from your recordings by collecting royalties and syncing your music to movies, TV shows, commercials, etc.
Why is it important to own my masters?
The topic of "masters" has frequently been discussed in the music press. A study into a historic fire at Universal Studios brought attention to the loss of masters for renowned artists like Nirvana and Aretha Franklin. And Taylor Swift spoke out about Scooter Braun buying her masters, which brought the topic to light.
Owning your master recordings offers you the freedom to use them anyway you see fit as an artist, maximizing your earning potential. You have total control over your music with this. An artist should consider the long term while giving rights and the potential future of the record company they may be signing to. Hopefully, what happened to Taylor Swift and other artists may act as a reminder to aspiring artist to make sure you own your masters.
