Who owns the master recording of a song?

Typically, the record label that finances and releases the song owns the master recording. The master recording is the original studio recording of a song, which is used to produce physical copies such as CDs and vinyl records, as well as digital copies for streaming and downloading. The record label owns the copyright to the master recording, which gives it exclusive rights to distribute and exploit the recording.

In some cases, however, the artist or songwriter may retain ownership of the master recording. This is more likely to occur when an artist has their own record label or when they negotiate a deal with the record label that gives them ownership of the master recording. Artists who own their master recordings have more control over how their music is distributed and how they are compensated for it.