During the 2019 conference of the International Council of Music Creators (CIAM) a screen composers’ working group (lead by SCGC’s own Chair – Marvin Dolgay) was formed and tasked with creating a document that would define the most common contractual deals in today’s marketplace, specifically to define the term “buyout” which is being used more and more often, however with differences in what it means throughout the world.

After much research and discussion, Music Creators North America (MCNA), of which the SCGC is a member organization, has created a document that outlines the explanations.  This work was undertaken in consultation with the Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL), the European Composer & Songwriter Alliance (ECSA), and Songwriters’ Guild of America (SGA) general counsel, Charles Sanders.

The following Defining Buyouts and Other Copyright Transactions describes and defines four different types of “buyout” agreements that are currently prevalent in the world of AV:

1. Full Copyright Buyout Agreements regarding New Works created under the U.S. Work-For-Hire Doctring (US only)
2. Limited Copyright Buyout Agreements Regarding New Works [This is the kind with which most of us will be most familiar]
3. Direct License / Project Buyout Agreements
4. Writer’s Share Of Copyright Buyout Agreements

(Note: we are currently working on a condensed (less legalese) version that we hope to make available shortly)

DOCUMENT PDF:   Defining Buyouts FINAL Draft 07-12-20