When a work – such as a composition, a lyric, a text or a drawing – is created, the creator of that work (the author) has exclusive rights to the work. This exclusive right covers a wide variety of rights.
If others want to use the work, the author must give permission for the work to be used in the desired way. For example, a writer must give a publisher permission to publish her manuscript as a book, and she must also grant a film producer permission in order for the manuscript to be used as the basis of a feature film.
Membership entails permission
When an author – a composer and/or lyricist – becomes a member of Koda, Koda automatically gains permission to use that member’s works in a range of ways:
- Koda has received the author’s permission to allow others to perform/play the author’s music in return for Koda charging payment from those who use the music. Koda will then distribute those funds to the author.
- Koda has also been granted the author’s permission to allow the works to be mechanised, i.e. to let the composition and lyrics be recorded by musicians and singers and stored on a range of media – both physical (CD, vinyl, etc.) and digital (streaming, etc.). The NCB manages the physical mechanical rights on behalf of Koda’s members.
When do you need to apply for permission?
Authors do not transfer all the rights associated with their works to Koda and NCB. When someone wants to use their music in ways not covered by Koda’s and NCB’s rights, permission must be obtained directly from the author or publisher:
- Synchronisation (combining audio and images, such as video)
- Arrangement or translation
- Print rights (such as songbooks)
- New lyrics for existing music
- New music for existing lyrics
How can Koda help?
We are happy to assist you with information about where to apply for permission, but you will need to apply yourself. Typically, requests for permissions should be directed to the author’s publisher. If you are unsure of which publisher to contact, please contact Koda’s Publisher and Member Service.
If no publisher is associated with the relevant work, please contact the author directly, or their heir if relevant. We are happy to help you facilitate such contact. Due to privacy policy rules, we cannot disclose our member’s contact information, such as their email or phone number. This means that we assist by forwarding requests to composers and songwriters regarding the intended use and/ or reworkings of their works.
How do I apply for permission?
Please fill in a form requesting permission to use the relevant copyrighted work. We will forward this form to the relevant rightsholder(s). It is important that you describe what you need the permission for. If your application concerns more than one work with different rightsholders, please fill in a form for each work.
You find the form HERE
You can search in our work database and find information here.
Please note: If the rightsholder does not respond, Koda is unable to press for a reply. Similarly, we do not take part in any negotiations regarding fees, arranger shares and similar. Our role consists only in passing on your contact information via the request form.
