We are the music makers https://wearethemusicmakers.co/latest Music tech and AI in music: the news that matters, what we think about it, and a directory of the tools. en-us Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/what-is-a-master-recording What is a master recording? https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/what-is-a-master-recording A master recording is the finished recorded version of a track, and in US law the copyright in it is the copyright in a "sound recording": a separate work from the song it captures. Here is what the US Copyright Office says that copyright covers, who its author is, and what owning your masters actually means. Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT We are the music makers format-referencecopyrightmasterssound-recording https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/warner-halley-records-artists-keep-masters Warner buys Halley Records, the label behind Oques Grasses. Who owns the masters is still unclear https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/warner-halley-records-artists-keep-masters Warner Music Spain has bought all of Halley Records, the Barcelona label behind Oques Grasses and Els Catarres. One outlet says Halley's licensing model leaves the masters with the artists, but no one else has confirmed it, and that question decides what Warner has actually bought. Mon, 19 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrylabelsacquisitionsmasterswarner-musichalley-recordscatalan-music https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/sia-sells-half-catalogue-pophouse-180m Sia sells half her catalogue to Pophouse: why stars now sell a stake, not the whole thing https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/sia-sells-half-catalogue-pophouse-180m Pophouse, the ABBA-linked investment firm, has bought 50% of Sia's publishing and master rights. TMZ first reported a $180 million price from divorce documents and Rolling Stone says it confirmed the figure, but neither party has disclosed it. A half sale keeps Sia in the room, and we think that is the real product Pophouse is buying. Sun, 18 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrycatalogue-salespublishingmasterspophousesia https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2025/05/taylor-swift-masters-buyback-lessons-for-artists Taylor Swift's reported $360M masters buyback, and what it teaches artists who will never have $360M https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2025/05/taylor-swift-masters-buyback-lessons-for-artists Taylor Swift has bought back the master recordings of her first six albums from Shamrock Capital, for a price Billboard's sources put at around $360 million. Most artists can't buy their way out of a bad deal, so the useful lessons are in the contract clauses that made the six-year fight necessary. Fri, 30 May 2025 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightsindustrymastersre-recordingcontracts