But for many years now, copyright laws have also protected songwriters, composers and performers. When it comes to recorded music, copyright is pretty complicated. The law wasn't intended to be that way.
Truth be told, it's largely a matter of historical accident, precedent and timing.
Because copyrights attached to written sheet music were around well before the invention of records, tapes and CDs, a system which developed to protect songwriters and composers now coexists with another system meant to protect electronic recordings of their songs and compositions. So for any given recording, there are at least TWO copyrighted works involved. First, there's the copyright in the musical work . That is, the lyrics and musical notes as they're written on paper. This copyright is typically owned by the songwriter or music publisher.