From the course: Music Law: Recording, Management, Rights, and Performance Contracts

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Musician releases

Musician releases

- While in the studio, an artist may hire another musician, say, a session musician to record on a track. Copyright law requires that the artist obtain written permission to use the session musician's performance on the recording. For that reason, all major labels and most independents require a written agreement. If a session musician is under an exclusive recording agreement with a record company, they may need to seek permission in order to perform on outside recordings. If so, there may be a special credit required in the album information. For example, "Lindsay Maxwell appears courtesy of NBT Records." If a session musician is a member of the American Federation of Musicians Union, then they must be paid according to union rates. The session musician will furnish the recording artist with the AFM forms for each recording session. Recordings made for a major label usually must use union musicians. A musician release typically contains an introductory section with the name of the…

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