What legal issue is of primary concern to an artist in the recording studio?

• A. Patent Ownership
• B. Trademark Infringement
• C. Royalty Accounting
• D. Copyright Ownership

Answer: (D)

Copyright ownership is the central issue in the recording studio because once a performance is fixed in a recording, copyright protection kicks in and governs who can reproduce, distribute, perform, and license the work, and who collects the money from those uses. This ownership—of the sound recording (the master) and, separately, of the underlying musical composition— determines who has the legal rights to exploit the work and to enforce those rights. Patents deal with inventions, not music; trademarks relate to branding and logos rather than the musical work itself; royalty accounting matters, but it follows from who owns and can license the rights. So the legal control and monetization of the recording hinge on who owns the copyright.