A master recording, or simply a master, is the original recording—including post-recording mixes and production edits—of an audio performance, from which all analog and digital copies of the audio are derived.[1][2] The term refers only to the recorded performance of a song; it does not cover the composition of recorded material, which is a separate copyright that belongs to the songwriter unless ownership of the copyright is transferred or sold to a separate entity.[3]
References
- ↑"Sheryl Crow: Universal Studios fire destroyed all my master tapes". BBC. 2019-06-25. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
- ↑Passman, Donald S. (2006). All you need to know about the music business (6th ed.; [rev. and updated] ed.). New York: Free Press. ISBN 978-0-7432-9318-1.
- ↑Osborne, Richard (2023). Owning the masters: a history of sound recording copyright. New York, London, Oxford, New Delhi, Sydney: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5013-4593-7.
Categories:
- Copyright law legal terminology
- Rights of performers and phonogram producers
- Music stubs
- Sound technology stubs