ONE HUNDRED THE LABEL
The One Hundred The Label Podcast is where artists, producers, and creative entrepreneurs come to build structure, identity, and strategy. Hosted by Lee O. McIntosh III, Chairman of One Hundred The Label LLC, this show breaks down the psychology, systems, and frameworks behind sustainable creative success.
Every episode gives you:
- Identity clarity
- Brand architecture
- Content strategy
- Release systems
- Business structure
- Career transformation
This isn’t motivation.
This is strategy.
This is structure.
This is where artists become brands.
ONE HUNDRED THE LABEL
Copyrights, Ownership & Protecting Your Music
Your music is your intellectual property — but most artists don’t actually own what they create. In this episode, we break down copyrights, ownership, split sheets, and the legal structure every artist needs to protect their catalog and their money.
You’ll learn:
- The two copyrights every artist must understand
- How to register your music the right way
- Why split sheets protect your relationships and your revenue
- The business entities that keep you safe
Work with One Hundred The Label: https://onehundredthelabel.com
Work with One Hundred The Label:
Artist Development Program
Producer Development Program
Full Artist Blueprint Program
Label Accelerator Program
Connect:
Instagram: @onehundredthelabel
YouTube: One Hundred The Label
Website: onehundredthelabel.com
Work with One Hundred The Label:
Artist Development Program
Producer Development Program
Full Artist Blueprint Program
Label Accelerator Program
Connect:
Instagram: @onehundredthelabel
YouTube: One Hundred The Label
Website: onehundredthelabel.com
Follow Our Page: instagram.com/onehundredthelabel
Welcome back to 100 the Label Podcast, powered by 100 the Label LLC, the label that teaches artists the business first and the music second. If you're serious about your career, this episode is what you cannot skip. Today, we're breaking down copyrights and ownership, the foundation of your entire music business. And remember, if you want one-on-one consultations, step-by-step video courses, or help setting up your entire business structure, visit 100thelabel.com. Let's get into this episode. Why copyrights matter? Let's start with the truth. Most artists don't understand copyright, and because of that, they lose money, lose ownership, and lose control of their careers. Copyright is not optional. Copyright is not extra paperwork. Copyright is your protection, your leverage, and your money. When you create a song, you create intellectual property, and that property has value, but only if you protect it. Here's the biggest mistake artists make. They think uploading a song to a distributor is the same as copyright in it. And it's not. Your distributor does not protect your ownership. Your PRO does not protect your ownership. Your studio session does not protect your ownership. Only copyright registration does. The two copyrights every song creates. Every time you create a song, you actually create two separate copyrights. Number one is the composition. This is the songwriter part. You know, lyrics, melody, chords, and arrangements. This belongs to the songwriter and producers. The second one is the sound recording, the actual master. This is the actual audio file, the final mixed and mastered track. The recording you're going to upload to Spotify, Apple Music, etc. This belongs to whoever paid for the recording, unless a contract says otherwise. This is where artists get tracked. Labels don't want your composition, they want your masters. Because that's where the long-term money is. If you don't understand the difference, you can't negotiate properly. Now, let's get into who owns what. Matter of fact, let's break down ownership in simple terms. If you wrote the song, you own the composition. If you paid for the studio time, you own the master. If you paid the producer, you own the master. If you didn't pay, you might not own anything. This is why split sheets matter. This is why contracts matter. This is why I understand ownership matters. A lot of artists lose ownership because they don't handle business up front. They wait until after the song is done, they wait until after the song blows up. They wait until after someone else claims it. Don't wait. Handle ownership before the song leaves the studio. Let's talk about split sheets. This is your first line of defense. Split sheets are simple but powerful. They say who wrote what, who produced what, who owns what percentage. Without split sheets, you have no proof of ownership. And if the song blows up, everyone will fight for the credit, everyone will fight for the money, everyone will fight for the ownership. We help artists create legal sound split sheets in our consultations. If you need help with that, make sure you visit our website at 100thelabel.com. Let's talk about how to register your copyright. First, you gotta understand the process. You register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. This gives you legal proof of ownership, the ability to sue for infringement, the ability to collect damages, protection for your intellectual property. See, there are two main forms that you need to understand. One is the PA form, which is the performing arts form. This is for the composition. Then you got the SR, which is the sound recording form, and this is for the master. You can file them separately or together. If you don't register your copyright, you basically leave your house unlocked with the doors wide open. Let's also take the time to understand common copyright myths. We definitely gotta clear up these myths. Number one, uploading to YouTube protects my copyrights. No, it does not. That's a myth. Sending myself the song in the email protects it. Nope, it does not. My PRO protects my copyright. Nope, that's not true. My distributor protects my copyright. Absolutely not. This is not true. If I made the song, I actually own it. Well, guess what? Not legally without any proof. The only real protection is official registrations. Now let's understand why ownership eagles leverage. Ownership is the foundation of your power in the music industry. When you own your master's in publishing, you can do a few things. You can negotiate better deals, you can license your music for sync, you can collect royalties forever, you can build generational wealth and control how your music is used. When you don't own your music, you're just a passenger in your own car. This was episode two of 100 the Label Podcast. Copyrights and Ownership 101. If you need actual help, registering your copyrights, setting up your publishing, creating split sheets, protecting your catalog, understand their ownership, just go ahead to our website, 100thtelabel.com, and sign up for one of our consultations. Make sure you subscribe, share, and leave a review, and get ready for episode three Publishing and Royalties on a deep dive. This is where the real money lives. Until next time, business first, music second, always.
