Licensing Keywords

Copyright
A Copyright is the exclusive permission to license and otherwise exploit a piece of "intellectual property" (a literary, musical, or artistic work, whether printed, audio, video, etc.)

E-Perusals
E-perusals are digital, searchable versions of our printed librettos that are delivered via email.

Grand Rights
A Grand Right is a dramatic performing right that allows organizations to present a show, in its entirety, on stage. Grand Rights can encompass several copyrights (e.g., the libretto, the music, the choreography, etc.), and no one of these copyrights has greater rights than any other.

Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property is a work or invention that is the result of creativity (the shows in the MTI catalogue), to which one has the rights, and for which one may apply for a patent, copyright, trademark, etc.

Performance License
A performance license is granted by MTI on behalf of our authors/rightsholders, allowing groups the “right” to produce the show. Built into each and every performance license is specific language that governs how the copyrighted work must be presented.

Perusals
Perusals (sample librettos) and/or reference recordings can help you decide on the show you’d like to produce. A reference recording (although not a perfect match to the licensable musical) will give you the overall flavor of the show’s sound, and perusal librettos are the show in its entirety.

Production Resources
Production Resources are instructional, educational and production materials that make production easier and promote the use of musical theatre in the classroom and other educational settings.

Royalties
Royalties are the fees paid to the creators of a show for the use of their work (their “intellectual property”). The authors of a musical may include the bookwriter (who writes the dialogue), the composer (who writes the music) and the lyricist (who writes the words to the music). Their right to be paid for the use of their work is guaranteed by the copyright laws of this and other countries, and is the basis of theatrical licensing.

Rental Fees
Rental fees are charged for the materials we supply to your theatre organization in conjunction with a performance license. These materials include scripts, scores, orchestra parts, etc.

Restrictions
A restriction may be put into place when a national tour or large professional production of a particular title is taking place in a specific community or region, making it unavailable for other theatres to perform for a specified amount of time.  Because restrictions may be put in place or lifted at any given moment, it is always important for an organization to obtain a license offer and send the signed contract back to MTI with payment to "hold" their rights before announcing a production. If an organization has a valid license and a show becomes restricted, in most cases, MTI will be able to honor that previous commitment, even though rights for other organizations in the same area may subsequently be denied.

Security Deposit
Because rental materials remain MTI’s property and must be returned at the conclusion of your production, MTI collects a security deposit on each performance license, which is refunded upon the satisfactory return of the materials. Any shipping, damage or lost materials fees are deducted from the deposit.

Small Rights
Small Rights is a term used to cover performances of individual songs in concert or a cabaret-type setting.