Guides

Music publishing in Brazil

How music publishing actually works in Brazil: who claims which rights, what the national copyright system does, and what it takes for a publisher to set up and collect.

Who claims which rights

Performance: collected centrally by ECAD, distributed through member associations — UBC and Abramus foremost. Mechanicals and sync: direct or via the local publisher.

Copyright registration in Brazil

Registration is voluntary (works can be deposited with the National Library's copyright office, EDA); Berne protection is automatic.

Setting up to claim publishing rights

You cannot join ECAD — it is a collection bureau, not a membership body. Rights are claimed by joining one of its associations (UBC or Abramus for most publishers), which expects Brazilian administration: in practice foreign catalogs appoint a Brazilian sub-publisher or open a local entity that holds the association membership and registers the repertoire.

The societies

UBC / Abramus — each linked page covers the society’s history and how registrations reach it.

Rules, fees, and society requirements change, and none of this is legal advice — confirm current requirements with the society or local counsel before committing. Registrations bound for Brazil can be checked free on the validator · more: setting up country by country · which societies accept CWR.

Two free checks for your CWR file. Is the file correct? Every record, share and control total against the spec, each problem on its exact line. Do its writers match their registrations? Every writer cross-checked against public registration data, including works registered under another spelling or IPI. Nothing stored: check a file at cwrcheck.com.