On Sunday, two of the most prestigious categories at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards will confuse millions. To prevent you from being one of them, allow copyright law to explain the difference between Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
In the world of copyright law, there is a distinction between the song itself and the produced recording. Each has its own copyright, and in many cases, the songwriter does not own the copyright to the recording of the song that they wrote.
The songwriter usually retains their copyright for the “composition,” which is the underlying structure of the song – in other words, the way the notes and lyrics appear on sheet music. Song of the Year is meant to award the best composed song of the year, and the award goes to the songwriter herself.
In many cases, however, the songwriter did not produce the recording of the song that ended up being a huge hit. Any number of performers, producers, and sound engineers/mixers work on the recording of the song in the studio. The copyrighted product of that recording session – the “master recording” that millions end up listening to – is usually owned by a record company. In this case, however, the copyright holder does not receive the Grammy; Record of the Year goes to the individuals who performed and produced the master recording.
Take one of this year’s nominees for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year, “Fortnight.” The track may be the same, but the list of people who would receive the award if it won for one category or the other would not be the same. If “Fortnight” wins Record of the Year, the performers (Taylor Swift & Post Malone), the producers (Jack Antonoff, Louis Bell, and Taylor Swift), the engineers/mixers (Louis Bell, Bryce Bordone, Serban Ghenea, Sean Hutchinson, Oli Jacobs, Michael Riddleberger, and Laura Sisk), and the master engineer (Randy Merrill) will all receive a Grammy. If “Fortnight” wins Song of the Year, the songwriters, Jack Antonoff, Post Malone, and Taylor Swift, will receive a Grammy.
There are plenty of tracks that are nominated in both categories, but the copyright law division between composition (Song) and master recording (Record) also explains why some tracks are only nominated in one or the other. This year, for example, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” performed by Shaboozey, is nominated for Song of the Year, but not Record, while “360,” performed by Charli xcx, is nominated for Record of the Year, but not Song. For the former, the production apparently did not merit a nomination; for the latter, the composition apparently fell short.
So, when you “tune” in to the Grammy’s this weekend, remember to pay attention to who wins for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Even if the same track wins, it’s more likely than not that the speechifying winners will be different!
