random thoughts on royalty free music

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tko

random thoughts on royalty free music

Postby tko » Mon May 07, 2007 7:19 am

o now I'm interesting in doing slide shows, and would like some really good royalty free music, but I'm not sure I understand the concept (maybe no one does).

If I purchase a music CD, use the music, and enter say, a Photodex Contest, they want royalty free music. But, I'm not using the music for commercial use - just entering a contest. Do I really need royalty free music for contest use?

What about :~) if I use music from my vinyl record collection assembled 30 years ago in college? Where there implied licensing terms back in the dark ages? Wouldn't those conditions still apply? The concept of "buying" music was a lot fuzzier back then.

Lets face it. There is lots of decent royalty free music, but it is very restrictive. If you want that one special tune, or the one tune that everyone identifies with, it's not as likely to be royalty free. That really limits what you can do. Is there any way the average Joe can get limited (very limited) licensing rights for popular songs?

Suppose you're putting together a wedding package for someone, and they just have to have a Beatles song snip in the background. Could you legally get the rights for one use? How would you handle that?

And when you get in those elevators and hear 101 strings doing a Beatle cover - how did they get the rights if other people can't?

If you hire a band for a b-day party and they do a Rolling Stones cover, did they need permission? If yes, how do they get it, and if not, how do they get away with it - just not get caught :~)
Reading these would make you want to give up:

http://www.winogradsky.com/legalese7.php

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051228-5859.html

So, maybe you think you understand all this? Read this and weep:

http://publishing.wsu.edu/copyright/music_copyright/

"Now the Music Licensing Act8 draws the line between private and public in terms of the type of public establishment, the size, and the stereo equipment used. Restaurants and bars under 3,750 square feet or retail establishments under 2,000 square feet are exempt from paying fees for playing radio or TV broadcasts for their customers. Public places of any size that play radio or TV broadcasts are exempt from paying fees if they use no more than six external speakers (not more than four speakers in each room) for playing music. Public places that play CDs or hire live musicians (that play cover songs or copy songs) are still subject to being licensed for fees."
and

http://news.bookweb.org/features/3403.html

Just some misc. ramblings, but maybe the web links will help somewhere else.

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Re: random thoughts on royalty free music

Postby DickK » Mon May 07, 2007 5:16 pm

tko wrote:If I purchase a music CD, use the music, and enter say, a Photodex Contest, they want royalty free music. But, I'm not using the music for commercial use - just entering a contest. Do I really need royalty free music for contest use?

So far as I know it doesn't matter in that case. If you read the (very) fine print you'll find that what you purchased with the CD did not include the right to use the content in any way except for personal listening. In the couple I've checked, specifically excluded is incorporation into a multimedia presentation of any kind or any kind of digital manipulation of the content. PhotoDex is legally obligated to avoid being in a position that even appears to sponsor or approve of the misuse of copyrights.

tko wrote:What about :~) if I use music from my vinyl record collection assembled 30 years ago in college? Where there implied licensing terms back in the dark ages? Wouldn't those conditions still apply? The concept of "buying" music was a lot fuzzier back then.

I doubt it will matter in legal terms. You didn't buy the rights to incorporate the content into something else or public performance or...

tko wrote:Lets face it. There is lots of decent royalty free music, but it is very restrictive. If you want that one special tune, or the one tune that everyone identifies with, it's not as likely to be royalty free. That really limits what you can do. Is there any way the average Joe can get limited (very limited) licensing rights for popular songs?

Suppose you're putting together a wedding package for someone, and they just have to have a Beatles song snip in the background. Could you legally get the rights for one use? How would you handle that?

It's a big issue that the music industry isn't prepared or set up to deal with. Could you get the legal rights, yes. But it will take a lawyer and a lot time to figure out who to contact and they'll not even want to deal with you--too little money for them to care. But despite that, I'd bet that they're not going to agree to let you do it.

tko wrote:And when you get in those elevators and hear 101 strings doing a Beatle cover - how did they get the rights if other people can't?

They can and did but the right they're looking for is different from what you want and the rules are really different (covers like that are weird, I used to know that one but long ago forgot). In any case, the publisher of their music negotiated the rights they needed.

tko wrote:If you hire a band for a b-day party and they do a Rolling Stones cover, did they need permission? If yes, how do they get it, and if not, how do they get away with it - just not get caught :~)

This one I don't know but I think they are supposed to pay a fee. I know that's the case for a DJ who comes to the party and plays CDs for you. Whether they do or not I can't say, but according to one who I talked to about it, they're supposed to.

As you've figured out the whole thing is huge mess and without a lawyer with specific experience in the field there's no telling what the truth is for a specific circumstance.

I'm no lawyer and this isn't legal advice in any way shape or form. It clearly isn't legal but as a practical matter, there's no way that a publisher is going to come after you if you're making slide shows for personal use or giving away to family. The probability is only slightly greater if you're selling the shows to someone. The exception in all cases would be if you somehow get the kind of publicity that will force them to act to enforce their rights--their view is that they can't be seen to not enforce those rights.

Dick
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle ((PSG, PSE & Fuji HS20 user)) Presentation Impact Blog

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