• Before signing any contract you MUST get independent professional legal advice from a specialist entertainment lawyer. Members of some of the associations or societies listed below may be entitled to free limited legal advice. For the UK, please see The Law Society item below for “Media & Entertainment Lawyers.”


• You do not need to *copyright your music or songs. Copyright is not something that you do but something that you actually OWN. You automatically own the copyright once you make a physical ‘copy’ on paper, CD, PC, tape etc, of the song you create. Payment to register your copyright in a song is not recommended.


• To claim your copyright, make a copy of your created original work, put the copyright symbol © beside your name and then post it to yourself by registered mail. Keep the receipt in a safe place and DO NOT ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE ENVELOPE when it arrives. A judge will open it to prove that on the date of POSTING your song existed.


• Never ever let the people offering you a contract to explain it to you - it is your lawyer's job to explain and advice you.


• There are two separate copyrights in a recorded work, the (1) song copyright which is owned by the writer/s and  (2) the recording copyright which is owned by the producer and or record company. Do not confuse the two.


• You do not own the copyright in something you sampled from someone else’s work. Taking a sample off somebody else's record that you use in your recording without permission from the MCPS (Mechanical-Copyright Society) in the UK, is an infringement of the *copyright of the original creator. Apply to MCPS (address below) for permission to sample records (including downloads of songs).

* Copyright: It literally means the right to give others permission to make copies of your work - and you can decide who uses it (a publisher, say), for how much money, in which parts of the world they can use it and for how long. Read the first item above again.

Musicians’ Union (MU) www.musiciansunion.org.uk
Negotiates for and advises members – including singers

British Academy of Composers & Songwriters www.britishacademy.com
Leading European composers/songwriters organisation. It also holds seminars and gives advice to members

Association of Professional Recording Services (APRS) www.aprs.co.uk
Advises record producers, sound engineers and recording studios

Music Publishers Association (MPA) www.mpaonline.org.uk
Protection and promotion of music publishers

British Black Music (and Black Music Congress) www.britishblackmusic.com
Promotes and holds seminars for the black music sector

Mechanical-Copyright protection Society (MCPS) www.mcps-prs-alliance.co.uk
Worldwide recorded music royalty collection agency for songwriters and publishers, holds seminars etc.

British Music Rights www.bmr.org
Lobby organisation for MCPS, BACS, PRS and MPA

Performing Right Society (PRS) www.mcps-prs-alliance.co.uk
Broadcasted and publicly performed music royalty collection agency for songwriters and publishers, holds seminars etc.

Association of Music Industry Accountants (AMIA) Tel: 020 7535 1400

Music Managers Forum (MMF) www.musicmanagersforum.co.uk
Worldwide organisation of artist managers and management courses

Beyond the Will Smith Challenge (BTWSC) www.btwsc.com
Promotes social inclusion, positive lyrics, gives seminars, music technology tuition

The Law Society www.lawsociety.org.uk
Represents lawyers from England and Wales. Also lists “Media and Entertainment” lawyers among many.

Association of Independent Music (AIM) www.musicindie.org
A lobby group and adviser to UK independent labels and distributors

Agents Association (Gt. Britain) www.agents-uk.com
Entertainment Agent’s org.

American Society of Composers Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) www.ascap.com

Broadcast Music Inc www.bmi.com
USA performing rights organisation – similar to PRS.

British Phonographic Industry (BPI) www.bpi.co.uk
UK major and independent record label organisation

Phonographic Performance Ltd. (PPL) www.ppluk.com
Represents record producers and recording artists
Note: Association of United Recording Artists (AURA) & Performing Arts Media Rights Association (PAMRA) have merged under PPL.

Video Performance Ltd (VPL) www.vpluk.com
Licences broadcasters etc for the use of music videos

Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) www.fact-uk.org.uk
Fights counterfeiting, copyright and trademark infringements of film and music.

For entertainment directories, check the sites of the following for both prices and content BEFORE making any purchases. PLUS MUSIC takes no responsibility for any of your actions as the list below simply demonstrates some directories which may be available for purchase and are not recommendations for you to purchase.

The White book www.whitebook.co.uk
Music Week Directory www.musicweekdirectory.com
International Showcase www.showcase-music.com
The Unsigned Guide www.theunsignedguide.com

• Disclaimer: The information above is kindly provided by Plus Music as a helpful guide to assist people who may be new to the music industry. It is not a full list of all the societies or agencies in the UK entertainment business and may be updated periodically. Although every effort is made to present the information correctly, Plus Music takes no responsibility for any inaccuracy of the list or any summations or descriptions.