copyrightmusic

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MUSIC

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Many people would like to add music to their websites. Every creative thing related to music is copyrighted. Even if a music composition is from another century, the performance and recording of the music involves a copyright. Unless you perform some very old music yourself, you should find a way to get permission before you add music to your website.

Here are some organizations that can help you get permission to use music. They collect royalty fees and they pay the owners of art rights.

ASCAP: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
http://www.ascap.com/

BMI: Broadcast Music, Inc.
http://www.bmi.com

CCC: Copyright Clearinghouse Center: Republication Licensing Service
http://www.copyright.com

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Randy Hall, Associate Director of Education at Carnegie Hall in New York City very kindly responded to our questions about art rights in music productions. Here is what he wrote:

Dear Madeline:

Copyright provides a way for composers and musicians to control the reproduction, performance, and other uses of their music. Copyright protects an original work from misuse and ensures that appropriate compensation is provided to the creator of the work. The individual, or organization, which controls a specific right for a particular work is often referred to as the 'copyright holder.'

It is important to remember that there are many different 'rights' and provisions provided in the Copyright Law. For instance, the right to perform a work is separate and distinct from the right to publish the work in print. The rights associated with the recording of a piece of music are separate and distinct from the rights to play that piece of music in a concert.

As you can see, understanding how copyright applies to musical works is a complex issue. Obtaining permission to use copyrighted works is the best way to ensure that you are obeying provisions of the Copyright Law. In most instances, copyright holders grant permission for free or for a reasonable fee.

Before you include an audio clip on a web site, request permission from
1) the person who created the sound recording or clip,
2) the original composer of the music, and if necessary
3) the publisher of the piece of music.

Most times, permission may be granted for free or for a small fee. Of course, some audio clips and sound recording excerpts on the web may be available for usage without the need for any permission, license, or fee, simply a credit. But students should always check first before posting and including the material in their site.

The United States Copyright Office web site is the authoritative source for information on the Copyright Law.
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/

Specific areas within the web site that may be of interest to students.

What is Copyright? http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html#wci

What types of works are protected?
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html#wwp

What is not protected by Copyright?
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html#wnp

Read the actual Copyright Law here:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/title17/

"Copyright Basics" by the Library of Congress,
U.S. Copyright Office Revision: 1999,
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html

Randy Hal1
Associate Director of Education
Carnegie Hall
881 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10019
(212) 307-5766 fax
rhall@carnegiehall.org
www.carnegiehall.org

Photo of Carniegie Music Hall in NYC used with permission

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU PAY MUSIC ROYALTIES?

Every tape cassette, CD and recording electronic appliance you buy includes a tax or "levy" collected by the Office of Copyrights to be paid to music and performing art right owners? So many free copies are made by people that the Congress decided that this was the only way to respect recording art rights.

Every broadcast company and cable company pays a large tax or "levy" to the Office of Copyrights. The money they collect is sent to the music art right owners to make up for all of the "free" music that is played in grocery stores, restaurants, malls and other public places.

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Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights, United States Copyright Office wrote about these taxes in an article in the online journal of the U.S. Information Agency of the Department of State, called "Economic Perspectives" (Vol.3, No.3, May 1998):

"In the United States, it became necessary to preserve copyright owners exclusive reproduction rights by requiring technological controls on multi-generational copying and imposing a levy (taxes) on devices and blank tapes to compensate copyright owners for an inevitable amount of private copying." * "Time and time again, over the last two centuries, the subject matter of copyright has embraced new forms of authorship. Photography, cinematography, electronic data-bases, computer programs, radio and television broadcasts. A new right was added to the copyright bundle of rights, "rights of communication to the public" were added in response to the advent of broadcasting." * "The exploitation of public performance rights in musical works is a classic example in the United States. Typically, the value of any single public performance of a musical work is small. The class of user which includes broadcasters, bars, restaurants, supermarkets and the like, is extremely large. (As a solution, The Office of Copyrights collects a levy (tax) on the sale of music discs and tapes to give to copyright holders for their "right of public performance")."