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MUSIC COPYRIGHT INFORMATION 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Introduction What is music copyright? What types of licenses do I need? The difference between synchronization and master rights What is a music publisher? How do I locate a music publisher? How do I locate a master owner? How do I get the clearance? Getting the license INTRODUCTION In a film or video production, music can come from one of three sources: original music composed specifically for the production; existing music in the public domain; or existing music that is not in the public domain. We are concerned with existing music that is not in the public domain and therefore copyright protected. WHAT IS MUSIC COPYRIGHT? Under Canadian law, a musical work is copyrighted if its author is still living, or if the author died less than 50 years ago. If more than one author created the work, copyright extends until 50 years after the death of the last surviving author. In the language of copyright, "author" means both the composer of the music and the lyricist. If more than 50 years have elapsed, the work is said to be "in the public domain". This means that there is no copyright and, in effect, no one owns it. An arrangement of a public domain work, however, is itself copyrighted for the life of the arranger plus 50 years. The owner of a copyright has certain exclusive rights regarding the use of the musical work. Put simply, this means that he or she is the only person that can make copies of the work or perform it in public, and is the only person that can authorize others to do the same. If a person exercises those rights without the copyright holder's consent, such use is called an infringement of the copyright, and is subject to civil and criminal proceedings. How do I know if a song is under copyright protection? It is a good idea to assume that every song is protected. If it’s a well known composer, a quick internet search should give you some basic information. If the last living writer’s date of death was before 1962 (50 years ago) then the work is in public domain. This does not, however, mean that any pre-recorded versions are copyright free as there could be arrangers involved. Examples: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star – this song is traditional and in the public domain. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star – traditional, but with an arranger (eg. Fred Penner) – you must still get permission to use this version of this song. WHAT TYPE OF LICENSE DO I NEED? THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SYNCHRONIZATION AND MASTER RIGHTS There are two types of music copyrights that every production must be concerned with: copyright in the composition and copyright in the recording. A synchronization license covers the use of the composition, whether pre-recorded or not. This type of clearance allows you to sync a copyrighted work to your production. Any kind of visual paired with protected music requires this license. A synchronization license generally comes from a music publisher. A master license covers the use of a specific version of a song by a specific artist. You may still need a master license of a public domain title if you are using a pre-recorded version. A master right generally comes from the label. In most cases you will first and foremost need a synchronization license as this will allow you to use the composition. You cannot use a copyrighted song without a sync license, even if you have been granted permission by the master owner. WHAT IS A MUSIC PUBLISHER? A music publisher represents the interests of songwriters and composers. A songwriter can act as his or her own publisher or be represented by a larger organization. "Music publishing" originally meant the printing and sale of sheet music. Today, although publishers remain, to a limited degree, in the sheet music business, their main task is the promotion of the use of their copyrights through two routes: performance rights and reproduction rights. HOW DO I LOCATE THE MUSIC PUBLISHER? There are, literally, tens of thousands of music publishers, ranging from giant multi-national organisations to individual songwriters with very small catalogues. Locating a particular publisher can be time-consuming and inefficient. For this reason, music publishers have formed larger bodies to centralise and standardise the process of licensing and collecting royalties. Some of these bodies, such as CMRRA, BMI and ASCAP have searchable databases that can be helpful. HOW DO I LOCATE THE MASTER OWNER? The master recording is usually owned by the record producer or record company involved. If you are the producer of the original sound recording, it is likely you own the copyright in the master recording. This information can usually be easily located on any copies of the recording you may have. If you do not have access to this information there are still channels you can use to locate the master owner. Aside from a general internet search, there are databases such as All Music (www.allmusic.com) which can be helpful. HOW DO I GET THE CLEARANCE Once you have located the publisher and master owner, you will send in a request for a licence. To do this, you will need certain information about the production. This includes: A short synopsis of the film Length of the song selection and how many uses How the song is used (background, instrumental, performance on screen, etc) A description of each scene in which the song is used (and is it used in credits) Rights, territory and term required Will it be covered by the composer (no master required) If the copyright owner agrees to grant permission to use the song, they will send you a quote. Most quotes will contain a Most Favored Nations clause which means that any one licensor will not receive more benefits than another. GETTING THE LICENSE Once all the terms have been agreed to, a license will be issued by each party. Most publishers and record companies will have their own standard licenses to use. If they do not, it is suggested that you obtain a license template from your producer. USEFUL LINKS SOCAN CMRRA SECAC ASCAP BMI PD Works iTunes Amazon All Music Wikipedia MySpace Artist Direct www.socan.ca www.cmrra.ca www.secac.com www.ascap.com www.bmi.com www.Pdinfo.com www.itunes,ca www.amazon.com www.allmusic.com www.wikipedia.com www.myspace.com/music www.artistdirect.com Performance Societies Australia APRA Austria AKM Canada SOCAN France SACEM Germany GEMA Greece AEPI Hong Kong CASH Ireland Irish Music Rights Organisation, PPI Israel ACUM Italy SIAE Mexico SACM Netherlands BUMA New Zealand APRA Spain SGAE Sweden STIM United Kingdom PRS , PPL USA ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, ACEMLA (SPACEM)