Copyright in a sound recording protects the particular series of sounds that are “fixed” (embodied in a recording) against unauthorized reproduction and revision, unauthorized distribution of phonorecords containing those sounds, and certain unauthorized performances by means of a digital audio transmission. The Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995, P.L. 104-39, effective February 1, 1996, created a new limited performance right for certain digital transmissions of sound recordings.
Generally, copyright protection extends to two elements in a sound recording: (1) the performance and (2) the production or engineering of the sound recording.
Please Note: In order to register a claim in a sound recording, the description of authorship in space 2 of the Form SR application must include the term “sound recording,” “performance,” or “production.”
A sound recording is not the same as a phonorecord. A phonorecord is the physical object in which works of authorship are embodied. The word “phonorecord” includes cassette tapes, CDs, LPs, 45 r.p.m. disks, as well as other formats.