Copyright law in general requires the permission of copyright owners to make certain uses of copyrighted material. Without such permission, the copying, public distribution, public performance, public display, or the creation of so-called “derivative” works is forbidden and can subject the violator to monetary and other penalties. The most common means of securing permission is through a license covering specified uses for a specified period of time. The protection afforded creators of music-composers, lyricists, and their music publishers and to producers of sound recordings is an aspect of copyright law that is important to businesses that perform music.