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… which is copywritten melodies.

Please, the word is copyrighted. It refers to protecting one's rights in regards to copies of intellectual property.

"copywritten" is used in advertising, news, reporting etc. It's copy that has been written.

And, yes, it is a big deal to some people.

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PG Music or any other commercial company cannot include the melodies or lyrics to songs without getting permission (meaning paying) the rights owner.


Correct. Each title requires a license from the publisher which would be very expensive if PG Music were to pay the statutory rates.

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And another big misconception is the rights owner is the original writer of the song. Not true, most have been bought out by the big publishers like Sony or Universal. Hal Leonard has permission which is why you have to pay for those books.


The publisher is any one or entity who has the rights to make works available to the public (the root of publish). Sub-publishing deals are the norm these days, not the "most" situation you describe. End to end deals and exclusive catalog deals are extremely rare despite the huge amount of publicity they've received over the last 20 years when a valuable catalog changes hands as The Beach Boys's did yesterday.

Hal Leonard is the largest publisher of sheet music in the world but they rarely control other rights to the works they print.

I thought that, when I retired from the copyright protection industry, I would no longer be dealing with intellectual property rights. Ha! I'm busier than ever but dealing with music publishers nowadays.

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