0.4 Music and copyright  (Page 6/6)

Likewise, performance of music is covered by the same basic copyright rules. The music royalty organizations (SESAC, ASCPA, BMI) often contact music venues to make sure that royalties get paid. A new musician may be surprised by details of these rules, but they are part of the law, and all musicians should understand them.

Glossary:

Berne Convention: An international agreement to support reciprocal copyright agreements between all participating countries. Some standard practices in copyright law are accepted in member countries. For more information, see (External Link)

DRM : Digital Rights Management. Software designed to prevent copying, or repeated copying, of a digital recording or of software.

License : A contract that provides one party with permission to do a specific activity. In the music world, a musician may license the permission to use a certain song repeatedly, or to use a specific portion of it.

Music royalty management organizations : These are organizations which musicians hire to manage the royalty (or licensing) fees for their music. The biggest music royalty management groups in the US are the ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.

ASCAP : American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (External Link)

BMI : Broadcast Music International (External Link)

SESAC : Formerly “Society of European Stage Authors&Composers”; now international, and known simply as “SESAC”. (External Link)

Online Music Providers : Online stores or services, such as iTunes or Rhapsody, which sell or lease access to music.

Parody : A new work that uses a portion or all of an earlier work to comment on that earlier work or the ideas that it proposed.

Peer-to-peer networks (P2P): A method of connecting computer users that bypasses large servers and connects users directly to each other. P2P networks are used for many activities, but they are most commonly known for the illegal, or partially illegal, distribution of music, movies, games, and software.

Satire : A creative work that pokes fun at, or insults, a public figure or an issue. Often a satiric work uses a popular song or other work to start from.

Scenarios

1. A person you’ve only recently met sends you a text message with a song attached. There is no apparent DRM on the song file. What should you do?
2. You’ve just paid full price for a new song from an online music store. Your roommate asks you to send him a copy. What should you do?
3. Your piano teacher copies your sheet music so that another student can play it also. What should you do?
4. Your band is working on a new song, written by yourself and the other band members. So far, you’ve written down a series of guitar chords, by hand, with arrows and other marks indicating when to play them. One of your friends even jokes about your poor handwriting and how some marks are scratched out and written over. Does this page of notes constitute a “fixed medium”? Is the new song already under copyright?
5. Your band has decided to skip the “original artist” approach and play covers for a while. At your second gig, the bar owner insists on $300 up front to pay for the “BMI License”. What should you do?

Bibliography

Chapter 5 of Copyright For The Rest Of Us.

"Circular 1-Copyright Basics." , accessed Jun 23, 2003, (External Link) .

Boyles, James, Keith Aoki, and Jennifer Jenkins. Bound by Law . Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006.

Davis, Nathan J. "Presumed Assent: The Judicial Acceptance of Clickwrap." Berkeley Technology Law Journal 22, no. 1 (2007): 577.

Jobs, Steve. "Thoughts on Music." , accessed 10/10, 2010, (External Link) .

Layton, Julia. "How Digital Rights Management Works." , accessed 9/28, 2010, (External Link) .

Legislation Committee, Music Library Association. "Copyright for Music Librarians." Music Library Association 2010. (External Link) .

Stanford University Libraries. "Copyright&Fair use. Summaries of Fair use Cases." 2010, (External Link) .

USC 110(5) Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Exemption of Certain Performances and Displays. The "Home-Style" Exemption., USC (a).

USC 17: 109. Limitations of Exclusive Rights: Effect of Transfer of Particular Copy of Phonorecord. (b).

United States Copyright Office. "U.S. Copyright Office." U.S. Government, accessed 9/10, 2010, (External Link) .

Washburn University Copyright Committee. "Copyright Glossary." 2011, (External Link) .

World Intellectual Property Organization. "WIPO-Administered Treaties." 2010, (External Link) .