Use of music written by other composers
Are you planning to work with copyrighted material? Or perhaps use music in an advertisement? Or write new text for a public domain work? Find the answers you need here.
When a work is created, its creator holds exclusive rights to it. These rights encompass a variety of different permissions that the author controls. A work remains protected for 70 years after the author's death.
Upon becoming a member of Koda, we automatically receive permission to use your works in various ways. However, in certain cases, Koda cannot grant permission, and the creator must personally consent to the work's intended use.
When should you request permission to process others' works?
If you wish to use music in a manner not covered by the collective management of Koda and NCB, you must obtain permission directly from the creator or their publisher. This applies in the following scenarios:
- If you need to adapt a protected work
- If you need to sample from others' works
- If you combine sound and image (synchronization)
- If you need to print sheet music or lyrics (print rights)
Processing of public domain works
The works of a creator are protected for 70 years after the end of the year of their death. After this period, the works enter the public domain or become 'free'. There are several ways to adapt a public domain work.
- New lyrics or music for a free work
You can add your own lyrics to a public domain piece of music or compose your own music for a public domain text. You can receive 80 percent of the shares from Koda and 100 percent of the shares from NCB. - Arrangement of free music
If the composer of a work is in the public domain, you are free to arrange the music. The size of the arranger's share you receive from Koda depends on the extent of your independent creative contribution to the original musical work.
Koda's music consultants will evaluate your effort. Therefore, when registering the work, you must submit scores or a recording of the arranged version to [email protected] If we do not receive this material, you will not receive any share from Koda. For payments from NCB, an arranger of a completely free work generally receives 100 percent. - Translation of free text
If the author of a text is in the public domain, you may freely translate or adapt the text. If both the composer and the lyricist are in the public domain, the translator receives a 16.67 percent share from Koda, while the translator receives the full 100 percent share from NCB.
If the text is in the public domain but the music is protected, permission must be obtained from the composer to receive the full translator's share. - Music-on-music works
A music-on-music work refers to a contribution that is so significant in relation to the original work that it exceeds what is typically considered an arrangement. Based on the music consultant's evaluation, the share from Koda can be up to 75 percent.
We can assist in determining whether a creator is in the public domain and if a work is entirely or partially free.
Printing sheet music and lyrics
Koda does not manage printing rights, so it is up to you as the creator to grant permission for sheet music and lyrics to be printed. If you want to print someone else's sheet music or lyrics, you must seek permission from the rights holder or their publisher yourself.
Search for works in Koda's database
Koda's database allows you to search for all registered works and identify the rights holders, should you need to request permission for use."
Go to work database