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Who Really Owns The Music?
A lot of questions have come up recently about copyrights and music ownership, and there's a lot of misinformation floating around out there about percentages, who controls what, and who you hafta pay when doing somebody else's songs. Radio play, TV play, songs in movies, Internet broadcasting, and live shows all have different rates. If there's any interest in this subject, I'll do some more posts like this. Here's a sample of how they might look:
Copyright
Lemme see if I can break it down simply for ya.
It all starts with the copyright; the copyright tells the world who wrote the song, and who has the final say on where and how that music is heard. Simply stated, a "copyright" give the the owner the "exclusive right to make and control copies". Nobody is permitted to make a copy of the music, or to perform it live, without the permission of the copyright holder.
So, if you're a songwriter, how do you get a copyright for a song? Pretty simple. Once you have a song in some tangible form (not just in your head), you have an automatic copyright, and you have the right (and the responsibility) to use the copyright symbol (©), the date of creation, and the author's name to make it official and binding. If you make a cassette, CD, tape recording, or sheet music, you simply add that information (© 2009 - your name) somewhere plainly visible and you're covered - kinda.
I mean, what's to stop someone from singing "Stairway to Heaven" and claiming they wrote it, then suing Led Zeppelin? How do you prove who came up with the song first? That's where the government comes in; they have a service to let you register your copyright with the government. Then, if there's a dispute as to who wrote it the earliest registration with the government wins - at least, most of the time.
Registering your copyright with the government has some real added benefits: You can sue for extra damages and court costs, you can use the registration date to prove you got there first, and it helps all around to have it registered.
But, in a lawsuit, the most important point you have to prove is that the copier had access to your song - a chain of people or events that ties the copier back to your song. In the case of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord", it was easy for the original copyright holders to prove that Harrison must have heard The Chiffons' "He's So Fine" at some point in his musical career BEFORE he wrote "My Sweet Lord".
The courts ruled it was "accidental plagiarism", and George Harrison settled the matter completely, by buying all the rights to "He's So Fine". If George hadn't worked it out, the original writers could have sued for all the royalties to "My Sweet Lord", triple punitive damages, and court costs.
Next post: the publisher's role in music.
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Pretty complex subject, eh?
I try to stay with PD stuff to avoid problems. One thing that I've found confusing is that someone will record an old song that was originally written prior to 1921/22 and claim a copyright, which appears to be simply a copyright of their arrangement.
Your thoughts?
Don S.
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I'm way too old to be using "cool" Harvey but "Cool" stuff - keep her goin'  . In the past and currently I've registered my songs with a performing rights organization - here in Canada I use SOCAN. So there is an established date in that way. I also have the songs sharing rights with me under my publishing company name (I'm sole client.) Ian
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Thanks for clearing this up Harvey. It seems simple, bet gets complicated real fast.
As a schoolteacher, I get something called "fair use," which I am told allows me to use copyrighted material in the classroom. So then what if I show a DVD movie in class and then view it again at home? Am I in violation the second time? What's the difference?
Here's another one: I bought my favorite album, years ago, on vinyl. Now vinyl is obsolete. Since I own the music that I bought, I should be able to copy my friends CD of the album.
Yes, I know. The answers to these situations are pretty obvious. I'm just saying its not so simple in the real world.
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>>>...As a schoolteacher, I get something called "fair use," which I am told allows me to use copyrighted...>>>
Again as a teacher, allow me to point out that the past tense is "copyrighted." No such word as "copywritten." (bigsmile)
....<ducking and running...>>>
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Always trying to learn more about this.Good info is always needed
Wyndham
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harvey,
thanks for tackling this important subject for us.
what about parodies? my son sounds like john fogarty of ccr fame and has done a lot of 'twisted tune' parodies with seattle dj, bob rivers. what is required before one can do a parody? several on this forum are interested.
what about 'covers'? say, for example, i play a wedding reception and my playlist includes several copyrighted tunes. am i in violation to 'cover' them?
thanks,
don
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Yes, theoretically, you're in violation of the copyright law if you include "covers" as part of your playlist without paying ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. "Fair use" and "parodies" are a little more difficult to explain, and I'll cover that part of the copyright law in a more complete post later.
For example, if you make a copy of a rental movie as an example to show in your class for further discussion, that would be "fair use", BUT, if you didn't buy the movie, watching a "home-recorded copy" of a movie you borrowed or rented is against the law.
Yes, you can legally make a copy of a vinyl album you own to a CD, but no, you can not copy your friend's store-bought CD of the same music.
Parodies are a very touchy subject. Most people usually ask the songwriter's permission to use the song as the basis for a parody. They can try and withhold permission, but then it comes down to a court case if they wanna sue.
Last edited by Harvey Gerst; 09/02/09 04:52 PM.
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Quote:
Pretty complex subject, eh?
I try to stay with PD stuff to avoid problems. One thing that I've found confusing is that someone will record an old song that was originally written prior to 1921/22 and claim a copyright, which appears to be simply a copyright of their arrangement.
Your thoughts?
Don S.
Yes, you can copyright arrangements and/or performance versions, but it's a little tricky. For a long time, if you went to BMI, and did a search for "Kum Ba Ya", my name would come up as the writer of the song. Our manager sent in the copyright as a "songwriter's copyright", not the correct "performance copyright".
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To add a little more mud to the murky water - I read that the date is no longer required. For example if you post your song lyrics - Instead of the old C 2009 Your Name it is now acceptable as C Your Name. (C being the copyright symbol.) This is also true for books, etc.
Sorry I forgot how to type the copyright symbol - brain fog.
Josie
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Num lock on, then hold Alt, and type: 0169
Alt + 0169 = ©
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Quote:
To add a little more mud to the murky water - I read that the date is no longer required. For example if you post your song lyrics - Instead of the old C 2009 Your Name it is now acceptable as © Your Name. This is also true for books, etc.
Josie
Actually Josie, that's not true for music stuff. Here's what the Copyright Office has to say about it:
The notice for visually perceptible copies should contain
three elements. They should appear together or in close
proximity on the copies. The elements are:
1 The symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word "Copyright,"
or the abbreviation "Copr."; and
2 The year of first publication. If the work is a derivative
work or a compilation incorporating previously published
material, the year date of first publication of the derivative
work or compilation is sufficient. Examples of derivative
works are translations or dramatizations; an example of a
compilation is an anthology.
The year may be omitted when a pictorial, graphic, or
sculptural work, with accompanying textual matter, if any,
is reproduced in or on greeting cards, postcards, stationery,
jewelry, dolls, toys, or useful articles; and
3 The name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an
abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a
generally known alternative designation of the owner.*
Example: © 2007 Jane Doe
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The "Mechanical Copyright" is different from the Songwriter's Copyright.
--Mac
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Harvey,
Thank you for clearing that up - obviously some misinformation floating around that I picked up. Sheesh.
Josie
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I read that only the melody can be copyright. Not the chords or lyrics???
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Melody, and of course, lyrics can be copyrighted.
Chord changes by themselves cannot be covered by copyright, thank God, or there would be very few copyrights to be had by now. An arrangement that consists of melody and lyrics, plus chord changes underlying them as a whole, can be copyrighted.
For example, you can pen new and entirely different lyrics to "Happy Birthday to You" melody, but you would infringe on the copyright holder of that song if you attempted to sing your lyrics to their copyrighted melody. You also couldn't use their lyrics with your melody without infringing.
--Mac
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Recently there was a song by Kid Rock called "All Summer Long", which used the riffs from "Werewolves of London" and "Sweet Home Alabama". Does copyright cover riffs too?
Cheers,
Keith
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Actually only the words to Happy Birthday are copyrighted, because the melody is from a much older and public domain song called "Good Morning To You".
If you play your music in a commercial setting (restaurant, lounge, banquet hall) there is a good possibility that they have a license from ASCAP (in the USA) and you can legally play the songs there --- as long as they have that license. I often see an ASCAP sticker posted on the window to the manager's/owner's office.
Another big misconception is that as long as no money changes hands, it's OK to trade or download copyrighted material. Nothing can be further from the truth. Money has nothing to do with it. If you sing "Happy Birthday" to a family member in a restaurant that doesn't have a license, you are in violation of the law and technically a criminal.
Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and I'm not qualified to give legal advice. This is just my interpretation of the advice I paid a lawyer to give me.
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Since we are in the area, is there such a thing as a "limited" or "pay as you go" mechanical for using a song on a cd that has a small outlet. Example of someone playing limited gigs and selling their cd that one or two songs were covers but the number of sales per year might be 50 or less.
Another example would be selling a limited number of backing track that include the lyrics printed out and/or a demo of the song "El Paso"
The chord changes don't require the mechanical but the melody and lyrics do but the volume of sales is low.
thanks Wyndham
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Quote:
Actually only the words to Happy Birthday are copyrighted, because the melody is from a much older and public domain song called "Good Morning To You".
Both songs were originally written and copyrighted by the same two sisters, though. They are long gone and a holding company now owns the rights to Happy Birthday, which kind of explains all the lawyers huntin' down restaurants and such for singing "their" song.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that an instrumental version of Happy Birthday is some kind of workaround or loophole. It isn't. You will just find yourself with a Cease and Desist letter. I think the holding company bought the rights to both songs anyway, or perhaps the sisters did indeed copyright the version with new lyrics at once, dunno. But I do know I've been in one band that was stopped from simply playing the melody just the same as if I'd sung the words. New York City. Land o' lawyers. 'n music snitches, too, apparently.
--Mac
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