Have you ever wondered how a single piece of content can make an artist or a comedian rich overnight? If you have contemplated the subject, then this article is for you! Stick to the end!
The simple but powerful secret to the magic and what many famous celebrities may not want you to know is DATA.
This article will analyze how DATA can turn your creativity into real-time wealth.
(To learn more about copyright, please visit: www.pelicancrestlaw.com or social media handles at: pelicancrestlaw and read my other posts/articles on this topic).
Copyright laws aim at safeguarding creatives’ exclusive rights in terms of moral and economic compensation. The law protects various types of creative works, including literary works, musical works, audiovisuals, photographic and artistic works, and sound recordings.
Moral rights are what make one creator special and take care of their image and reputation.
These rights consist of two major things namely:
Attribution right: that ensures that those responsible for the creation of something are recognized as the authors or performers of that work.
Integrity right: this provides protection against distortion, mutilation or any other forms of modification that could bring dishonour to the creator of the creative.
On the other hand,
Economic rights allow creators and rights owners to control and monetize their works. These rights include different types of exploitation such as :
Fixation: It means that a work is recorded in any physical form.
Reproduction: It is about making copies of the work.
Adaptation: This implies creating derivative works.
Distribution: This involves selling, renting or giving away copies of the work.
Public performance: This means to perform in public a copyrighted song or music composition or other creative works.
Communication to the public: Broadcasting or transmitting the work to the public.
Making available to the public: Offering individual works through wire or wireless means in such a way that members of the public can access the work from a place or time chosen by them.
(For further explanations, see the provisions of sections 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of the Nigerian Copyright Act of 2022)
You may be asking; how do these rights turn a creative into a millionaire?
Let us look into the music industry for example; nevertheless same logic seems to apply across all creative industries.
In the music business, a single song generates income through multiple channels such as :
1. Royalties from streaming
2. Synchronization licensing, which refers to the usage of music in movies, TV series, ads, etc.
3. Revenue from public performances
4. Sales of merchandise
5. Hard copy sales (vinyl and CDs)
6. Downloads in digital
To create a song, it requires a significant amount of effort, resources, and funding from various parties for both production and promotion of the song. To ensure fair compensation to all contributors or right holders, a comprehensive document called METADATA is created.
METADATA is a document that provides detailed information about a recording, composition, and rights holders. It includes their roles, characteristics, and specific identifiers, such as:
– Interested Party Information (IPI): A unique number assigned to rights holders in the music industry.
– International Performer Number (IPN): An identification number for performers.
– International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC): A unique identifier for compositions.
– International Standard Recording Code (ISRC): A unique identifier for each sound recording. Every version of a track that you release, whether it be a radio edit, extended mix, or live version, needs its own ISRC. This guarantees that each version’s performances are properly credited and paid for.
Creatives’ money-making mode has changed greatly in our digital age and with the emergence of streaming platforms. Micro-royalties are the overwhelming results of the streaming strategy outclassing traditional album sales, such that even if each stream only makes a small profit, little drops of water eventually make an ocean. DSPs have accounted for the most revenue sales in the music industry in recent years. The accumulation of these micro-royalties being paid in bits to all rights holders of a music is the reason why having correct metadata is important. However, we still cannot rule out that even with the most accurate metadata, misattributed streams and loss of income can still occur with these DSPs, but correct metadata will still cut down the chances of such loss.
Accurate and complete metadata plays several significant roles in ensuring that all authors get the credit they deserve. It also helps to keep an accurate record of how the music is played and is useful when properly applied in making payments to copyright owners for using their work. This information can also help listeners find songs on streaming platforms.
In the digital space, social media has been a great catalyst for a creative’s success. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are now the gateways through which popular songs are accessed. Statistics such as views, likes, shares, and user-generated content from these platforms significantly influence a creative’s popularity and thus increase the earning potential of the artist. This “social data” has become a valuable commodity for recording labels as well as publishers or brands that want to enter into partnerships with artistes.
When various sources begin bringing you money – DSPs (Digital Service Providers) such as Spotify or Apple Music; physical music stores; radio or TV airplay; video games; film synchronizations; gigs performed at clubs and venues, there are a group of people that I like to call the “money censors”.
These people are those who receive the funds collected from different sources and distribute them among the right owners by analyzing the metadata attached to every melody.
Examples of these money censors are:
1. Collective Management Organizations (CMOs): In Nigeria, we have the likes of MCSN (Musical Copyright Society Nigeria) and COSON (Copyright Society of Nigeria).
2. Music Publishers: They are the people who control and manage the rights of songwriters. They are like the record label for songwriters.
3. Record labels: They are the people who handle rights for performing and recording artistes.
4. Other Rights Management Companies: These are private or non-profit organizations that provide distribution or publishing rights management for different creatives in the industry that are independent or control their rights by themselves.
However, keep in mind that these censors can only collect and distribute the money effectively if they have accurate DATA about the rights holders in place. Nevertheless, emerging technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrency are now also becoming part of rights management and royalty payments systems. There is a possibility of having more transparent, efficient, and real-time royalty payments through such technologies. Some platforms are even looking into “smart contracts” that use DATA to automatically share royalties.
One of the challenges in the creative industry is the lack of understanding of how data systems work. Many artists, particularly those who are up and rising, do not know about rights management technicalities and the role of data in the exploitation of their creative works. Most artists and creatives do not see the necessity of enrolling with these go-between agencies or having a CMO, publisher, or rights management organization to act or manage their economic rights on their behalf.
Many unclaimed royalties end up in what is often called the “black box” because of wrong or incomplete metadata registrations. Even though you have the right metadata and registration, mistakes can happen concerning royalties’ collection and distribution. As a creative person, for example regular audits of your royalty records will be very important to unearth discrepancies and make up for lost revenues.
You could also talk with an entertainment attorney if you are a creative type looking for ways to negotiate this complex field. Our team at www.pelicancrestlaw.com is made up of professionals who specialize in all aspects of entertainment law, including:
– Understanding why proper registration is essential
– Enrolling into necessary rights management agencies
– Giving accurate meta-data concerning any of your creative works.
By doing so you make sure that your work can be rightfully exploited and that you will be paid for being inventive.
Do not forget that being a celebrity might bring attention to your work but effective data management is what actually monetizes creativity.
In the digital economy, your information is as valuable as your talent, so use it wisely in order to optimize profits from creative activities.