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Glossary

The glossary contains definitions and explanations of key terms and phrases used that may not be easily understood. In line with the aim of Lost in Music to make the music industry easier to navigate, we hope that these will aid your understanding of the cases. If there are other terms you spot that we have used that are not in the glossary but need further explanation, please contact one of the team.


acquiescence

A reluctant agreement to something.

adjournment

The temporary suspension of a trial or injunction hearing.

appeal

The losing party in a trial has the opportunity to appeal the decision. If there are felt to be sufficient grounds, an appeal is granted and a retrial follows at the appeal court.

arpeggio

A musical figure that is made up of the individual notes of a chord played separately and sequentially, usually rising. A C major arpeggio would have the notes C, E, G, C.

assignment

The copyright in a piece of music or text automatically belongs to the creator until it is assigned to a publisher. An assignment is a transfer of ownership.

bar

The division of music into bars, usually of two, three or four beats, or pulses. The Beatles song Hey Jude has four beats in a bar, and the first beat occurs on the words Jude, bad, sad and better.

chord

A combination of musical notes that gives music its characteristic harmony. Chords usually underpin and support the melody and provide flavour or mood. Many popular songs follow common chord sequences such as 12-bar blues.

coincidence

A defence, arguing that it is possible for two similar or near-identical pieces of music to have been composed independently, owing to the limited number of chords and notes available. Similar to the argument that a monkey at a computer will eventually type the complete works of Shakespeare.

copyright

Legal protection given to creations of intellectial property such as music, text, drama which prohibit the work from being copied without the permission of the owner.

defendant

In a court case the party against which the action has been brought. The other party is now called the 'claimant' but was previously referred to as the 'plaintiff'.