It is important that if you have a project that uses copyrighted music; you need to ensure that you are correctly obtaining the rights to use the music. This is a beginner guide to licensing music. Music has different rights. These rights let you use music in a variety of ways such as:
a.) Use the master recording of the music – you need to obtain “master sound recording rights”, ask permission from the sound recording copyright owner. If you are licensing independent music sometimes the music publisher or even the artist itself holds both rights to the music/lyrics and the sound recording. So better contact the publisher first. For major label release, you need to directly contact the major recording label.
b.) Use music to publicly perform it in public such as in radio, TV station etc – you need to get a “public performance rights” – ask permission from public performance societies like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC if the music publisher is affiliated with any of these societies. This is the exact page in ASCAP that where you will get the license: http://www.ascap.com/licensing/ .Otherwise if not affiliated; just ask permission directly to the music publisher. This is the public performance of “music and lyrics” only. Of course, since you are also exploiting the sound recording during the public performance, you need to obtain permission from Sound Exchange (http://soundexchange.com/service-provider/service-home/ ) so that you can obtain public performance rights in the use of “sound recording”.
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In response to this post I made on “What is public performance on music”:
I received another reaction from a reader, see below:
From your reply I see that a public performance must take place in a public place. This would be in a location open to or accessible to the general public. If I understand this correctly an individual or a group of people singing a copyrighted song in a private location, not accessible to the general public, would be acceptable.
One more Question about #2 the one about the youth group at a state park. I see now that it is not a private camp site and the general public would have access to the performance. The kids singing would become a public performance. What if the camp-site was at a private camp ground, like lets say a Girl Scout Camp. Can the campers then sing copyright songs? I think that would be okay because it is a private location. But then I wonder if they put on a program for their parents and other non-campers, that then would be a public performance, is that right?
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I received this inquiry from a reader of this website:
I support the license for public performance of music. Any establishment that has live music performed for the enjoyment of their guests should pay for a license. The question is, what is considered a public performance?
A family or soccer team rents the party room in a pizza place and they start to sing copyrighted songs, is that a violation? One may argue that it is in the public and it is a performance but it is not for public consumption. Its in a private room. What do you think? A youth group goes camping to a state park that is open to the public and begin to sing around the campfire copyrighted songs. Is that a violation? It is in the public and they are singing, is that considered a public performance?
Is the intent of the law to prevent anyone from singing copyrighted songs? Does a mother singing to her child a copyrighted song while shopping in violation.
A Senior Center host a group meeting for their members to come and sing songs together. If they sing copyrighted songs are they in violation? There is not an audience here to perform to just a group of friends gathered together to sing an enjoy each others company.
So the question is “What is a Public Performance”?
Thanks for your help and providing a web site with great information.
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