Re: Copyrights & Royalties

[Eliezer Kaplan <zelwel...>]

Steve-
Thanks for your intelligent well-thought-out answer. Since I am embarking on
this project lishma (for it's own sake- for the sake of the music which
needs to be kept alive) I've decided that this particular project and its
consequences will have to be kept fairly private, and for actual public
performances I should stick to my other shtick. We're not talking concerts
here, we're talking about a private citizen's activities of playing records
for 30 or 40 friends. And nothing (unlicensed) on the web site.
                            ek


----- Original Message -----
From: <BarMusProd (at) aol(dot)com>
To: "World music from a Jewish slant" <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Cc: <zelwel (at) attbi(dot)com>
Sent: Sunday, November 03, 2002 11:38 AM
Subject: Re: Copyrights & Royalties


> Dear Eliezer,
>
> In a message dated 11/3/02 9:17:40 AM, zelwel (at) attbi(dot)com writes:
>
> >I'm working on a project which will involve samples and cut-ups of old
> >Jewish music. Most of it is long out-of-print 78's that have been
> antholigized
> >by various people in research, some of whom are actually list members.
>
> I am not a lawyer, but I have studied copyright a lot over the years.
>
> Are you saying that you are excerpting your work from reissues off of CDs,
or
> do you have the original out-of-print 78s? If you are excerpting off of
CDs
> or compilation recordings made in 1974 or after, you are already in
violation
> of the copyrights of these sound recordings (1974 was the first year a
> limited protection was placed on the sound recordings themselves; the 1976
> law, which went into effect in 1978, covers them more fully with form
SR--the
> circle P symbol you see on all recordings today). However, if you are
using
> properly researched CDs for your source material, then someone else has
done
> the research for you. Check the booklet for permissions for the music that
> you are using in addition to receiving permission from the reissuing
company.
>
> >Now I know that as a 'DJ'  (the new Jewish Fatboy Slim ;-) I can get away
> >with most anything in live performance- I'm just playing records for the
> >people.
>
> Well, no, that's not true either. All recordings played publicly in the
U.S.
> are covered by one of the three performance societies: ASCAP, BMI, or
SESAC.
> If you are playing for the people, as you say, in a venue that does not
have
> a blanket license for public performance of music, you are again in
violation
> of the copyright law and you are personally responsible for paying the
proper
> royalties for each recording that you play under the society's aegis (most
of
> the time this is not a problem, as most public venues purchase annual
blanket
> licenses). But if it is a questionable venue, you need to check in advance
> that these venues you are performing at have blanket licenses. It's like
> playing recorded music in a restaurant, either live or off of CDs (or even
> off of a radio station through the speakers). The restaurant must have a
> blanket license (for which it pays an annual fee) to play copyrighted
> recorded (or live) music for the paying public. You are using someone
else's
> creative effort for your profit, therefore you or the venue (most often
the
> venue) must pay for that privilege.
>
>  My question is actually about publication i.e. actually creating
> >new electro cut-and-paste work based on what I've done & putting it on
> >a CD or web site. Is this going to involve tons of research to find out
> >who-all's estate gets owed money (I can imagine the distribution issues
> >can get quite complicated & I don't really want to get too involved in
> >that- I'm not a big record company and I can't hire lawyers) or is there
> >a one-stop-shop where I can look all this info up? Maybe the real
question
> >is how can I easily find out what's public domain and what isn't
> >
> Generally speaking copyrighted material published before 1923 is public
> domain in the U.S. If it is published from 1923 to 1977, generally
speaking
> (if the copyright were renewed properly) it is 95 years from the original
> date of the copyright (28 years initial term plus 67 years renewal).
Today,
> it is the life of the author plus 70 years (it was 50 years but Sonny Bono
> [and the publishing industry] pushed for 20 more--this is currently under
> review by the Supreme Court).
>
> There is no "easy" way unfortunately to research this stuff. I would first
> try the online data bases of ASCAP and BMI (I would be surprised if any of
> the older Jewish music would be licensed by SESAC). The Library of
Congress
> might be a resource for older copyrights (I don't know how much is
currently
> online and available). The central clearing house for all of this--the
> one-stop shop you may be looking for--is the Music Publisher's Association
> "Harry Fox Agency" in New York. They have a massive data base of music and
> often even multiple listings specifically by performer. I don't know if
you
> have to agree in advance to use their services to access their data base.
> They can license most anything except dramatic performances, I would
think.
>
> Sorry to not be more positive. Put yourself in the creator's (and/or
> copyright holder's) shoes. Would you be pleased if someone used or even
> excerpted your creative work without paying you for the privilege? I don't
> want to get into a philosophical discussion here about dead composers and
> lyricists, bloodsucking record companies that really own the copyright, or
> don't even exist anymore, and all of the other standard arguments about
using
> "old" music. Someone has put out time and money to make all of those
> wonderful old recordings available to all of us today. Not all of them are
> altruists, of course, but they must have seen some value in keeping this
> music alive. Their compilation work is under copyright, even if the
original
> music is not any more.
>
> Best wishes,
> Steve
>
> Steve Barnett
> Composer/Arranger/Producer
> Barnett Music Productions
> BarMusProd (at) aol(dot)com
>
>
>


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