Italian Music Law: Contracts, Licensing and Rights Management

Music is one of the most legally layered areas of intellectual property. Every track has at least two legal lives: the composition, owned by songwriters and publishers, and the recording, the master, owned by the record producer. Contracts are heavily negotiated, and international exploitation runs through a web of collecting societies, licensing bodies and platform agreements. Confusing these layers is the most common mistake in the music business, and one of the most expensive.

We advise musicians, composers, producers, labels, publishers, managers and festivals on all aspects of music law under Italian and European legislation, from the first recording contract to international licensing and dispute resolution.

Our Expertise

Recording and masters

• Recording contracts — exclusive and non-exclusive recording, licence and distribution deals; advances, recoupment, royalty rates, options, accounting and audit rights; reversion of masters
• Master ownership — who produced and paid for the recording, agreements between artist, producer and label, sale and licensing of catalogues
• Producer and featured artist agreements — producer points and royalties, collaborations and features
• Digital distribution — agreements with distributors and aggregators, royalty statements, platform disputes and takedowns

Publishing and collecting societies

• Publishing agreements — full publishing, co-publishing, sub-publishing and administration deals; songwriter agreements; term, territory and shares
• Songwriter splits — split sheets and co-writing agreements, signed in the studio before the track is released
• Registration and royalties — registration of works, choice of collecting body, review of statements, correction of mismatched shares and metadata
• Neighbouring rights — registration and collection for performers and record producers from broadcasting, streaming and public performance

Sync, live and management

• Synchronisation and master licensing — sync licences for film, series, advertising and games, in Italy and abroad; negotiation with music supervisors and producers
• Management and booking agreements — artist management contracts, exclusive and non-exclusive booking agreements, commission, term and termination
• Live events and festivals — artist agreements for live performances, festival production contracts, crew and touring personnel, sponsorship and co-marketing
• Band agreements — revenue sharing, ownership of masters, use of the band name and artistic decisions between members
• Dispute resolution — royalty disputes, breach and termination of contracts, enforcement against unauthorised use and plagiarism claims

Music and artificial intelligence

• AI-assisted tracks — protection of works created with generative tools after Law 132/2025, documentation of the human contribution for collecting societies and distributors
• Voice and identity — clauses on voice clones and digital replicas, action against generated tracks that imitate an artist’s voice and identity
• Takedowns — platform claims and removals involving AI-produced music, defence against unfounded reports
• Catalogues and training — opt-out and licences for the use of music catalogues to train AI models

Italian Collecting Societies

Italy’s collecting landscape is more varied than many foreign rights holders expect. SIAE is the historic society for songwriters and publishers, managing performance and mechanical rights, but since the market was opened in 2017 it is no longer the only option: other organisations, such as Soundreef, also collect authors’ rights in Italy. On the recording side, SCF is the main body for record producers, and Nuovo IMAIE is the largest of several organisations collecting neighbouring rights for performers.

Choosing the right bodies, registering works and recordings consistently across them, and making sure they talk to foreign societies is an essential part of music practice in Italy. Mismatched data between societies is one of the most frequent reasons royalties get blocked.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between the composition and the master?

The composition, meaning lyrics and music, belongs to the songwriters and publishers. The master is the recording of a specific performance and belongs to the record producer, usually the label or whoever paid for the recording. To use an existing track in a film or advert you need both a sync licence for the composition and a master licence for the recording.

How do I license an Italian song for a film or advert?

The sync licence is negotiated with the publisher of the composition, and the master licence with the owner of the recording, usually the label. Collecting societies such as SIAE collect royalties but do not grant sync licences. For an existing recording you need both, with matching territory, media and term.

Do songwriters have to join SIAE?

No. Since 2017 songwriters and publishers can choose other collecting organisations operating in Italy, and foreign writers are usually covered in Italy through their own society’s agreements with Italian bodies. What matters is that the work is registered consistently, with the same shares and data, wherever it is collected.

Can music created with AI be protected in Italy?

Yes, if it is the result of a human author’s creative work. Since Law 132/2025, Italian copyright protects works of human creativity created with the help of AI tools, but not content generated entirely by a machine. Documenting the human contribution is increasingly important for registration, distribution and disputes.

What should I check before signing a recording contract?

The key points are the term and options on future albums, who owns the masters and whether they revert to the artist, the royalty rate and how it is calculated, the advance and how it is recouped, the territory and the rights granted, including any rights relating to AI. Clear terms on these points prevent most disputes.

Further Reading