6) Ownership vs. authorship vs. contribution: three concepts people confuse
A major source of conflict in music is the collapse of three different ideas into one:
1) Authorship (creative origination)
Who created the underlying expression? Who wrote the lyrics or composed the melody? Authorship is about origin.
2) Contribution (work performed in the process)
Who played instruments? Who arranged? Who engineered? Who produced? Who paid? Contribution is about involvement.
3) Ownership (legal control)
Who controls the asset (or portions of it) as a matter of rights? Ownership is about the legally recognized “sticks” in the bundle.
These can overlap—but they do not automatically match.
Example:
A producer may contribute heavily to the recording’s sound. That contribution can be economically significant, but it does not automatically define ownership unless the parties agree (or the law recognizes a claim under specific rules).
Industry takeaway:
When professionals negotiate, they are not only debating “who did more.” They are deciding how the rights bundle will be allocated—and therefore how future money and control will be allocated.