THX John,

Us recording engineers typically wind up with a lot of copyrighted 
material. While I don't recall ever having to sign a NDS, I routinely 
issue a verbal disclaimer to not violate anyone's ownership or copyrights.

Best,

CB

Corey Bailey Audio Engineering
www.baileyzone.net

On 11/18/2020 11:23 AM, John Haley wrote:
> "Ownership" of a recording is actually a bundle of rights.  Whoever holds
> the copyright on the recording owns the right to release and exploit the
> content of the recording.  That is a different matter from ownership of the
> physical manifestation of a recording, e.g. a tape or recorded disc or
> whatever media was used.  Neither "owner" has the right to "take" what
> other owns, and where the copyright holder lacks physical possession of the
> recording, it takes both owners to agree and work together to release the
> recording.  Both private ownership interests can be bought and sold.
>
> It is possible for a recording engineer to be the owner or partial owner of
> the copyright interest--that all depends on whatever contractual
> arrangements have been entered into by the parties.  But the engineer does
> not get such copyright ownership just as a matter of course, absent some
> specific contractual agreement.
>
> With historical recordings, very often ownership of the physical
> manifestation (e.g., a tape), particularly where that item is unique, puts
> the physical owner "in the driver's seat."  Nobody can do anything without
> access to the tape he or she owns.
>
> I have been in that position and had the involved artist who still holds
> the copyright interest absolutely refuse to collaborate with me on
> releasing a wonderful, now historic recording.  It takes all kinds.  And
> just watch how fast I walk away and choose not to share what's on that
> recording with the uncooperative artist.  And had a good laugh at her
> manager's crude effort to wheedle me out of it.  I was prepared to be
> generous; we never got that far.
>
> Hope that helps.
>
> Best,
> John Haley
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 18, 2020, 1:01 PM Lou Judson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> I can speak to only one, personal, aspect of this, as a professional live
>> sound and recording engineer.
>>
>> When doing “work for hire” no rights accrue to the engineer, unless
>> specifically agreed upon in writing, as far s I now!
>>
>> Ownership of the physical media containing the recording is a different
>> matter.
>>
>> I am working on “digitizing” the archives of a music club over the past 45
>> years, and each engineer who has their own recodings is considered the
>> owner of those recordings, but the performances, the music, and the
>> published songs are NOT our property!
>>
>> I’d like to learn more about this too. I have live recordings going back
>> to 1971… done as the live sound engineer.
>>
>> <L>
>> Lou Judson
>> Intuitive Audio
>> 415-883-2689
>>
>>> On Nov 18, 2020, at 9:50 AM, Jeff Willens <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> 2. Where do we find documentation for the rights of the sound engineer
>> (or
>>>> interviewer) who is doing the recording? I see the copyright office
>>>> circular for sound recordings. Maybe I'm missing something.