What is a Copyright Claimant / Rightsholder?

A copyright claimant, or more commonly referred to as the "rightsholder", is a person or entity that owns the legal rights to a creative work under Copyright Law. In other words, they are who can control how the work is used and who is allowed to use it.

The rightsholder is typically the author of the work, but it can also be someone else or an organization, such as a company, record label, or publisher, who obtained ownership after the work was created. Copyright ownership can transfer in a number of ways, such as through a written agreement, by purchasing it from the original author, or by inheriting it from a previous rightsholder.

Ultimately, the rightsholder is responsible for enforcing the copyright and they can take legal action against anyone who uses their work without permission. On the flip side, they can also license the work out to others in exchange for payment, or they can choose to waive their rights in a certain situation and allow the work to be used for free.

If you need help tracking down the rightsholder of a song, you can submit a free copyright search or Cover Song Licensing project to Easy Song and get your search results from our team within just 1-2 business days.