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Joined: Oct 2019
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PGM will you please clarify the following FAQ:
23. Are songs that I create with Band-in-a-Box or RealBand copyrighted?
PGM FAQ ANSWER
The arrangements made by Band-in-a-Box and RealBand are yours, and your songs may be used freely as long as they don't infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others.
== PLEASE CLARIFY ==
1. What does PGM include in the definition of "arrangements"?
2. Does this include the rendered sound recordings produced using BIAB of said arrangement?
3. Are rendered sound recordings produced using BIAB considered "3rd Party" of said arrangement in terms of PGM and/or artist copyright?
4. Are users of BIAB "required" to give attribution to the BIAB / RealBand / RealTrack / RealDrums artists -- including royalty points /split percentages? Or are these performances treated as pre-paid session players?
5. Are users of BIAB "prohibited" from giving attribution to the BIAB / RealBand / RealTrack / RealDrums artists? (Implies uunauthorized association of artist to new works which may or may not impact the brand image of said artist.)
6. Are users of BIAB "prohibited" from submitting any artifact produced using BIAB to PROs, CMOs, The MLC, Publishers, Copyright Registery agency, or any other related agencies where material submissions are required?
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE for responding to this topic and for helping to provide more clarity on these matters.
Last edited by Derek Abrams; 03/11/22 11:05 PM.
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Apprentice
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Apprentice
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Remember that this is the BIAB User Forum and any replies you get here from members will more than likely be based on their opinions and/or geographical location.
For absolute clarity you should address your question to PGMusic directly.
Vintage
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I support Vintage Gibson's comments. Like you, we are just end users. This is a PG Music "User Forum".
Only PGM qualified staff can correctly answer your questions. There is a support page that might be a great starting point. I admire your ambitions, but this is not our product. Only PG Music can more accurately answer your concerns.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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PGM will you please clarify the following FAQ:
23. Are songs that I create with Band-in-a-Box or RealBand copyrighted?
PGM FAQ ANSWER
The arrangements made by Band-in-a-Box and RealBand are yours, and your songs may be used freely as long as they don't infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others.
== PLEASE CLARIFY ==
You are way overthinking this. I am not a Copyright attorney but I do have a reasonably good layman's understanding of US Copyright law, having made a concerted effort to study the opinion of those who are. If you create an original song using BIAB, you own the copyright to it. If you do a cover version, you own the rights to your recording of it but not the rights to the song itself so you are responsible for securing the appropriate licenses. If you arrange, say, "Stairway to Heaven" for euphonium, kazoo and jaw harp, you own the copyright to your arrangement but you still owe royalties to Jimmy Page et. al. Because he owns the song itself. The performances for Real Tracks, etc are "work for hire."
Byron Dickens BIAB. CbB. Mixbus 32C 8 HP Envy. Intel core i7. 16GB RAM W10. Focusrite Scarlett 18i 20. Various instruments played with varying degrees of proficiency. https://soundcloud.com/athanorsoundlabs
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Regarding #4 & #5
PG has said multiple times that they ask that you do NOT mention RT artists in credits.
Neither PG nor the artists want that to occur, but I don't recall the word 'prohibit' being mentioned.
Do the right thing and honor the request, it's the easiest safest route.
If you think artist 'X' being in the credits is what is going to make people like your song, well ..
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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rharv
Thank you for clarifying -- I did scan the forums for copyright and credit (not attribution) and only found the copyright reference to FAQ #23 so I was trying to better understand this matter brought up by another user in regard to filling out the form on the US Copyright Office form.
To be clear "my intent" is simply to ensure that I am honoring the talents of others and especially if required to do so, and not for any self promotion or to add any added value to my own creations.
Thank you.
Last edited by Derek Abrams; 03/12/22 12:50 PM.
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Excellent Byron and thank you for the clarification.
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VintageGibson and AudioTrack -- thank you for that insight.
I was a bit confused since PGM staff monitor and reply to these posts I was thinking this was part of their support process as well.
I just emailed PGM my questions so I appreciate everyone's added contribution to my pursuit of gaining a better understanding of what is preferred.
Thanks all.
Last edited by Derek Abrams; 03/12/22 12:53 PM.
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1. What does PGM include in the definition of "arrangements"?
2. Does this include the rendered sound recordings produced using BIAB of said arrangement?
3. Are rendered sound recordings produced using BIAB considered "3rd Party" of said arrangement in terms of PGM and/or artist copyright?
4. Are users of BIAB "required" to give attribution to the BIAB / RealBand / RealTrack / RealDrums artists -- including royalty points /split percentages? Or are these performances treated as pre-paid session players?
5. Are users of BIAB "prohibited" from giving attribution to the BIAB / RealBand / RealTrack / RealDrums artists? (Implies uunauthorized association of artist to new works which may or may not impact the brand image of said artist.)
6. Are users of BIAB "prohibited" from submitting any artifact produced using BIAB to PROs, CMOs, The MLC, Publishers, Copyright Registery agency, or any other related agencies where material submissions are required?
Since some of these questions overlap....I'll just say this The "arrangement" is the song you write, or the music you compose. It encompasses everything about the song regardless of the length. Essentially, if it is an original composition, arrangement, or song that you wrote, you own the rights to that song. PG Music doesn't claim any copyright for your song, the instruments, the tracks, the performances of the PG musicians or anything related to that song. If you have legally purchased the software license, you have full ownership over everything you create with it as long as it is an original composition and does not infringe on any preexisting copyright. You do not need to give credit to PG or the musicians on the tracks for your song. If fact, if you do that, and then try to place the song in a music library or with a publisher, you may encounter issues of ownership because you credit another musician. You would now be required to get THAT musician's signature on a release. BUT... since there is actually no copyright claim by that musician, it's better to simply not give credit that you are not legally required to give in the first place. Music libraries and publishers are really strict about releases, so it's best to not give credit. All they want to know is that you own 100% of the rights to the song and the fact is, you do. Since you own the song and all it rights, you are free to copyright the song in your name or assign it to a publisher or library and to use it any way you want. Myself and several others here have songs in commercial use that were created using BB/RB tracks. Mine have been in TV shows and films. Many of my works are in the libraries and publisher's hands and are also registered with my PRO. So... write your music, copyright it if that's what you want to do, send it to a publisher or library, and wait for the royalty checks to arrive with your name on the "Pay to the order of" line.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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This was by far the most helpful response. Thank you greatly for taking the time to clarify this matter for me. I did also email PGM directly and the respose was: Hello, The arrangements made by Band-in-a-Box, RealBand, and PowerTracks are yours, and your songs may be used freely as long as they don't infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others, such as with cover songs. https://www.pgmusic.com/salesfaq5.htm#23The following add-ons are under PG Music Inc. copyright: Band-in-a-Box demo songs Performance Series songs MIDI Fakebooks (except the Sound Tracks MIDI Fakebooks) PowerTracks MultiTracks Thank you, Chantelle PG Music Inc. Important Reminder: Please include all previous correspondence when replying to this message. ###
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Joined: Dec 2011
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Veteran
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We have 26 songs licensed by world wide companies. All contain RTs and RDs. They are our compositions or our arrangements of public domain songs — meaning we own all rights to them. We have never encountered nor do we anticipate any issues with ownership.
Just use BiaB as though the tracks are your hired session players.
And have fun!
Bud
PS On our uploads to Soundcloud, YouTube, etc., we typically thank PG Music. For us they made it all possible.
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Newbie
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Thank you. Congrats on your catalog and success. Your suggestion of session players is exactly how I was hoping I could think about this.
Much appreciated.
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Aug 2011
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Just a suggestion of what I've been lately doing. Lately, I have been taking public domain songs and doing some creative writing not using the same words and using my own words but summarizing them and using the power of creative writing so that I could create some new songs that were not covered. I have created covers in the past, but I am now creating my own original versions of songs by doing creative writing which I went to college for and for instance, it is very good when you can summarize what other people have put down on paper and make it your own. So if you use the ability to recreate something else then that gives you the chance to never have writer's block. All you have to do is summarize what you see in other songs. Like I said, I have created covers in the past but I am getting away from that and now doing all of my original material. So if that helps anybody than great, hopefully this is a good comment but some people will read so that they can creatively write their own stuff. I took the liberty of taking the course of Joanne Cooper for just $10.00 that is where I learned to do this. I didn't know at first that you could use public domain songs like this until I took her course. Then I just turned on my creative writing skills that I learned in college. But I would appreciate any suggestions on how to get my songs placed. I have about 60 originals now.
Last edited by trapper456; 03/20/22 09:40 AM.
Music is an expression that is a universal language, Never criticize anybody to harshly. They need time to grow but when they do, they do. Always be kind in what you say and do because the man upstairs is watching.
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
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