The Music Business Contract Library by 
Musician's Business and Legal Guide by 
The Plain and Simple Guide to Music Publishing by
(Book). Since the publication of the first edition in 2005, The Plain and Simple Guide to Music Publishing has emerged as the premier guide to the subject. With sufficient depth to be used as a text at major college music industry programs including UCLA, NYU and Northeastern, the book also remains simple and clear enough for the lay songwriter to gain a crucial understanding of musical copyrights and licensing basics. To wit, the second edition garnered 33 customer reviews on Amazon.com, with a rating of 4.8 out of 5 possible stars. In this expanded and updated third edition, with a foreword by Tom Petty, the author adds greater depth to such increasingly important topics as the rapidly shifting industry paradigms, the growing importance of streaming and subscription models, a discussion of new compulsory license media, the impact of copyright terminations and reversions, updated advice on current license prices, as well as all the basics of copyright and rights management.
The Musician's Guide to Licensing Music by Licensing agencies, also called Performing Rights Organizations (PRO's), have repertoire lists for the works that they manage the rights. If you want licensing to perform a work, arrange a work, or record a work, try searching these PRO's repertoire lists to find out who to contact.
Overview of music copyright
How do I find out who owns the rights to a musical work?
How do I request permission to arrange a musical work?
What Musical works and sound recordings are in the Public Domain?
What is allowed under educational use (fair use) for music?
How to Register Your Copyright
Information on Copyright and Audio Preservation
