For a musical composition:
Public Performance Rights: Every time your musical work is played or performed publicly on the radio, online, on TV, in movies, in bars and restaurants, night clubs, arenas and in a live performance (by you or anyone else), you can collect public performance royalties. Performance rights organizations (PROs) like SOCAN in Canada or ASCAP, BMI, SESAC in the United States, protect and defend your rights so you can get your royalties.
Reproduction (Mechanical) Rights: Mechanical Rights are for the mechanical reproduction of a musical work and permission to make copies of it in the form of CDs, mp3s, vinyl, etc. Every time your musical work is mechanically reproduced, you can collect mechanical royalties. Mechanical rights organizations or mechanical societies such as SOCAN Reproduction Rights, SODRAC (Canada) or Harry Fox Agency (USA) protect and defend your reproduction rights and collect your royalties for you.
Synchronization Rights: Also known as synch rights, they are for the use of a musical composition in an audio-visual work for advertising, theatrical exhibition, television or film. The synch licenses are usually negotiated with and paid directly to the copyright owner or the publisher.
Derivative Rights: These rights are for use of a musical composition in deriving a new musical work. While the Canadian Copyright Law does not provide a clear definition for derivative works, the U.S. copyright law defines it as follow: “A derivative work is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a “derivative work”. Popular derivative works include translations and samples. Derivative Rights are negotiated with and paid directly to the copyright owner or the publisher.
Dramatic Performance Rights: Also known as Grand Rights, they are for the use of non-dramatic work in a dramatic setting (e.g., Stageplay, Opera, or a work of Musical Theater). Grand Rights are negotiated with and paid directly to the copyright owner or the publisher.
Print Rights: Print Rights are for the printing of a musical composition in the form of sheet music, folios, band parts, and instrumental arrangements. They are also negotiated with and paid directly to the copyright owner or the publisher.
For a sound recording:
Public Performance Rights:
In Canada, every time your master recording is played or performed publicly on the radio, online, on TV, in movies, in bars and restaurants, night clubs, arenas and in a live performance (by you or anyone else), you can collect public performance royalties with CMOs such as Re:Sound or SOPROQ.
In the United States, you can only collect public performance royalties on digital audio transmissions of your master recording with CMOs such as SoundExchange.
Reproduction (Mechanical) Rights: Mechanical Rights are for the mechanical reproduction of a master recording and permission to make copies of it in the form of CDs, mp3s, vinyl, etc. Every time your master recording is mechanically reproduced, you can collect mechanical royalties. These royalties are collected directly from the digital service providers (DSPs), aggregators, or labels.
Synchronization Rights: Also known as synch rights, they are for the use of a master recording in an audio-visual work for theatrical exhibition or television. Synch rights are negotiated with and paid to the copyright owners or labels.
Derivative Rights: These rights are for use of a master recording in deriving a new master recording (i.e. remixes, mashups, etc.). They are negotiated with and paid to the copyright owners or labels.