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Music: Copyright Law

The label is the plantation and the artists are the slaves.

Music: Copyright Law Book

Tags #Music Business, #Music Contracts # Music Deals #Music Societies, & # Music Agencies, #Successful Music Paradigms #Music Copyright Law #Music Downloads

  1. This Page
  2. MUSIC COPYRIGHT LAWS: Licenses, Royalties, Resources and References. History of Licenses, Music Copyrights Clearance Organizations, Music Mechanical Rights Societies and Collection Agencies, Music Performing Rights Societies, The History of ASCAP and BMI.
  3. MUSIC LAW: CONTRACTS AND MUSIC DEALS
    How to make money in the Music Business.
  4. FAIR USE: Learn more about why file sharing is not theft and the false claims of the RIAA due to P2P, From the Educational CyberPlayGround.
  5. CHEAP MUSIC DOWNLOADS
  6. MUSIC LAW: music DEALS
    PRODUCTION DEALS = yahoo + youtube + warner and Payola
  7. MUSIC LAW: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
  8. Music Contract Law and
    Why File Sharing Is not theft Learn more about why file sharing is not theft and the false claims of the RIAA due to P2P.
  9. Do you need to go to College? Education, Values, & Learning How To Think
  10. KNOW YOUR JURY RIGHTS: DEFEAT THE RIAA IN COURT - DEFEND YOURSELF IN COURT FROM THE RIAA. THE JURY ACTS AS THE FOURTH BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT. The Principle of Jury Nullification. Judges and Lawyers won't tell you that Jurors have the right to judge the law as well as the facts of a case.

To paraphrase the Prussian military strategist Karl von Clausewitz, litigation is the continuation of politics by other means.

Can you legally resell your digital goods? Is it legal to sell your MP3s?
If you have a CD or book you don't want anymore, you can sell it. The law says that's perfectly legal.
The judge said that the first sale doctrine does apply to digital works, but it only protects the sale of that " 'particular' phonorecord, be it a computer hard disk, iPod, or other memory device onto which the file was originally downloaded."
In other words, the judge said you can sell your old MP3s — as long as you sell them along with whatever device you used to download the MP3s in the first place.

MONEY

 

2018 The New Music Modernization Act Has a Major Fix: Older Recordings Will Belong to the Public, Orphan Recordings Will Be Heard Again Recordings made before 1923 will exit from all copyright protection after a 3-year grace period. Recordings made from 1923 to 1956 will enter the public domain over the next several decades. And recordings from 1957 onward will continue under copyright until 2067, as before. These terms are still ridiculously long—up to 110 years from first publication, which is longer than any other U.S. copyright.
“Orphan works” allows more use of old recordings even if the rightsholder can't be found. By filing a notice with the copyright office, anyone can use a pre-1972 recording for non-commercial purposes, after checking first to make sure the recording isn't in commercial use. The rightsholder then has 90 days to object. And if they do, the potential user can still argue that their use is fair. This provision will be an important testcase for solving the broader orphan works problem.

Think about it: Darwin didn't say the strongest survived, but the most ADAPTABLE! ~ Karen Ellis

To live outside the law, you must be honest.

How to legally sell downloads of cover songs.
Works for Hire, Agencies, Music Rights, License

“In the future, records will be made from records” ~ John Cage (1956)

IANAL. (I am not a lawyer.)
TINLA. (This is not legal advice.) ~ ECP

Future of Music Policy Summit Oct. 3 - 5 2010 intersection of music, technology, policy and law.

Even Monkeys have a sense of justice!
They will protest if they see another monkey get paid more for the same task. Scientists say this work suggests that human's sense of justice is inherited and not a social construct.

What is the definition of copyright?
Nearly a century ago, a new technology emerged that changed the music publishing industry forever by leaving a lasting impact on the law. That new technology was the piano roll essentially long perforated sheets that operated a player pianos keys. To make sure that musical compositions were widely available for reproduction as piano rolls and in other forms, Congress in 1909 enacted the Section 115 mechanical compulsory license. This statutory mechanism allows anyone who wants to make use of a musical work to obtain a license to reproduce and distribute phono records of the work, in exchange for paying a royalty set by statute, as long as the terms and conditions of Section 115 are followed. In the original 1909 Act, Congress set the statutory rate for reproducing and distributing musical works at 2 cents per song. Remarkably, this rate did not change for almost 70 years, until 1976.
Copyright giants do not care whether bits are books or music: its goal is control: to close the net. Consider the principle that humanity has a natural entitlement to enjoy what is open and free in our environment: apply that to the net. CD companies have a beef with whomever ripped past their drm to put their copyrighted work up free in mp3, but once the music floats free. . . There is no crime in noncommercial filesharing. check it out. 17 United States Code 506

- Every time a new technology comes along that affects the music industry it changes the industry. Piper Jaffray found 72% of teens own an MP3 player, and 79% of those are iPods. (2006)

- The unfortunate truth is that anything can be copyrighted, at least for a time. Unlike the United States Patent Office, there is no one in the Copyright Office to verify the originality of the work to be copyrighted. However, I know of at least one federal case in which the court ruled that if the antiquity of a song can be proven, the copyright fails.

Word to the Wise:
Strength is not the law. The contract might SAY one thing, but getting it enforced? How many acts have never gotten the second half of their publishing guarantee after their record stiffed? How many acts have been cheated out of their royalties? You might have the RIGHT, but do you have the POWER!

music Copyright Page 2

  • References and Resources
  • History of Licenses
  • Synchronization Rights
  • About Music Royalties
  • How BMI pays its Royalties
  • Music Industry Associations - Unions
  • Music- Performing Rights Societies - Who to Join
  • Music Mechanical Rights Societies and Collection Agencies
  • The History of ASCAP and BMI
    Surprise: ASCAP And Music Labels Colluded To Screw Pandora
  • Podcasting Licensing Agreement / Digital licensing Bill / Webcasting / Radio Streaming License
  • Advice about securing permission to avoid copywrite violations. Who do we contact...pay...
  • Is it in the Public Domain? How to find out.

MUSIC CONTRACT LAW Page 3

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." ~ Hunter S. Thompson

  • DRM TECHNOLOGY & THE LAW
    Standard English Language vs Technical Language. The Future of digital music.
  • How to make it in the music business.
  • Who makes money on Taxed Media?
  • FYI INDIES Robinson-Patman Act
  • AFM & AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund - Does anyone owe you money?
  • Works For Hire
  • Courtney Love issued a letter to the music industry
  • World Intellectual Property Organization Geneva
  • Production Deals, Contract Law, GRAY TUESDAY, DJ Dangermouse
  • The MP3 Model Statement of Roger McGuinn The Byrds on “ The Future of Digital Music: Is There an Upside to Downloading?”
  • Different Kinds of Licensing Rights
  • How to Legally Sell Downloads of Cover Songs
  • Statutory Royalty Rates
  • CopyRight Issues: Use of early recordings for documentary vide
  • Licensing Rights

Music | music law, distribution contracts, production deals

P2P why file sharing is not thefT PAGE 4

Money in this networked economy follows the path of attention, and attention has its own circuit.

  • Free Music Downloads: Why file sharing is not theft.
  • Fair Use
  • CALEA
  • Digital Intellectual Property
  • peer to peer file transfer / BitTorrent
  • Technolgy Law and DRM language
  • Courtney Love Manifesto / Bob Dylan / Dr. Mashup; or, Why Educators Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the Remix
  • Beyond Free: what can't be copied? Eight Generatives Better Than Free:
    Immediacy, Personalization, Interpretation, Authenticity, Accessibility, Embodiment, Patronage, Findability.

Cheap Music Downloads Page 5

CONTRACTS AND MUSIC DEALS

  • EXERCISE YOUR TERMINATION RIGHTS NOW
  • Columbia Records and Stephen Foster
  • YOUTUBE PARTNERSHIPS
  • BITTORRENT DEALS WITH STUDIOS
  • Britain reached an agreement over royalties for online music sales
  • Larry Lessig / Loudeye /
  • Plugola & Payola - "Radio and Concert Disclosure and Competition Act of 2005"
  • Spitzer found Sony had funneled millions in money and prizes to radio broadcasters.
  • Cost to Launch - internet and music distribution, statistics, future of music
  • What's The Deal With Production Deals

Music Business Management

MUSIC LAW: MUSIC DEALS

How to Make it in the 21st century Music Business Paradigm

Music Business Success Stories

Health Coverage For Musicians

SCORES
Edward W. Guo's online repository of free, downloadable music works has grown to 85,000 scores, with additions every month. The International Music Score Library Project, is an open-source repository that uses the Wikipedia template and philosophy, “a visual analogue of a normal library,” in the words of its founder, Edward W. Guo, the former conservatory student. It is just like Google Books and Project Gutenberg and grown to be one of the largest sources of scores anywhere. It claims to have 85,000 scores, or parts for nearly 35,000 works, with several thousand being added every month.

False claims
of the RIAA

Technology Law and DRM language

Scholars have explained the difference between technology, drm and the legal language that has been twisted and misused by Vendors and unexplained by the media, that aids the RIAA mass litigation strategy for making money. Also learn more about why file sharing is not theft and the false claims of the RIAA due to P2P.


Know your Jury Rights
Learn how to use your Jury votes to control your government.

Know how to defend yourself against the RIAA in a trial. The right of "Jury Nullification of Bad Law" is the ultimate right of the people to control their government.

2009 RIAA dumps MediaSentry used since 2003 [a unit of Belcamp, Md. based SafeNet Inc. a frequent target of civil-rights advocates and others] to get evidence for 35,000 lawsuits.

We The People control the law. The jury's vote is the most important check against bad laws of politicians, and judges who have been corrupted. The Grand Jury, and the Trial Jury were put in the system as separate powers.

The Trial Jury Check is the most important check and the final check in the system of checks and balances. they are the check against all the others, because

EVERY JURY is allowed to Judge BOTH THINGS
1) the law itself !! -- is it just? is it right? or is it total crap and
2) the guilt or innocence of the defendant.


The Jury nullification is an act of a jury (its verdict) intended to make an official rule, especially a statute, void in the context of a particular case.
In other words, "the process whereby a jury in a criminal case effectively nullifies a law by acquitting a defendant regardless of the weight of evidence against him or her."
The underlying common law concepts firmly establish the fact that Jurors cannot be punished for their verdict. As well, jurors are not required to give a reason for the verdict they render. The fundamental right of Jurors to render their verdict based on conscience, individual sense of justice, and human duty, is basic to the preservation of Justice, and to our Lawful Society.

RESOURCES

THE DO'S AND DON'TS OF MUSIC COPYRIGHT LAWS

K-12 PRIMER - WHAT IS LEGAL IN THE SCHOOL CLASSROOM
"Are there any copyright restrictions for using music in classrooms? For example, if I wanted to use Billy Joel's song, "A Matter of Trust," could I? What if I just wanted to play the song or his CD, in general, before or after a class? Are there restrictions regarding what you can and cannot use in a class setting? What about before or after the class?"

Free Music Chapter

  • FREE MUSIC DOWNLOADS WHY FILE SHARING IS NOT THEFT
  • COPYRIGHT <> COPYLEFT
  • Courtney Love gave an excellent unedited speech
  • Debunking of RIAA's claim that their revenue decline is due to piracy.
  • John and Alan Lomax, who also devoted themselves to collecting and preserving traditional folk music, took the controversial step of copyrighting in their own names the songs they collected, as if they had written the songs themselves.
  • Spotify lets you download and stream songs for free to your PC or phone.
    It won't work in the US unless you violate Spotify's user agreement by using a UK-based proxy server that will trick Spotify into thinking your computer is located in the UK, not the US. After you use the proxy server to create an account, you can download Spotify's desktop application to stream unlimited music for free. > Go to www.daveproxy.co.uk and enter this URL into the bar on the site: >https://www.spotify.com/int/invitation/ and click Go.
    Now you'll be taken to the Spotify registration page. Dave Proxy is running in the banner at the top. That means Spotify thinks you are visiting the site from a UK computer.
    > Click "Try Spotify Now" to get started.
    >Choose your user name and password.
    > Then click "Go to the next step"
    > Your location use UK postal code "W21EG" and fill out the rest of the form.

OPEN CULTURE FREE COURSES, AUDIO BOOKS, MUSIC, MOVIES, TEXTBOOKS, EBOOKS Open Culture editor Dan Colman scours the web for the best educational media. He finds the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & movies you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday” copyright defense: Those “words” and “text” are ours
Even if the owner wasn't first, "Copyright law requires originality, not novelty." by Joe Mullin - Feb 11 2014

There may be no song more widely sung in America than "Happy Birthday," but it isn't free to sing. Warner Chappell music licensing, which has long claimed copyright to the words, typically dings filmmakers and TV produces a few thousands bucks for a "synchronization license" anytime the song is used in video. Warner reported that by the 1990s the "Happy Birthday" licensing enterprise was pulling in upwards of $2 million annually.
In June, a filmmaker who paid $1,500 to use the song in a documentary (called "Happy Birthday") challenged Warner Chappell in court. The filmmaker's lawyers argued that the 1935 copyright isn't valid — at most, it covers a particular piano arrangement, and a second verse to Happy Birthday which has no commercial value. The melody has been around since 1893, argues the complaint, and the "Happy Birthday to You" lyrics were in wide use by the early 1900s. The plaintiffs hoped to form a class action, and make Warner pay back everyone who's paid a license fee since mid-2009.
A status update filed in court on Monday offers a first glimpse of some of the defenses Warner may use. In its brief statement, first mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter, Warner lawyers explain it's on the plaintiffs to prove that the 1935 copyright registration "was not intended to cover the lyrics to Happy Birthday to You."
Even if the plaintiffs show that the lyrics were published elsewhere, "this would not show that the author of the lyrics copyrighted under certificate E51990 copied those lyrics from somewhere else," argue Warner's lawyers. "Copyright law requires originality, not novelty."
The burden is on the plaintiffs "to disprove the validity of Warner/Chappell's copyright and the facts stated in the registration," argues the defense. And that registration clearly references "words" and "text," which they believe is the traditional "Happy Birthday" verse. Warner's lawyers write:

Certificate E51990 applies on its face to a "published musical composition" entitled "Happy Birthday to You" and the listing under the byline is as follows: "By Mildred J. Hill, arr. by Preston Ware Orem;* pf.,with words." (Emphasis added.) The certificate further states: “(© is claimed on arrangement as easy piano solo with text).” (Emphasis added.)... All of this, as well as the validity of the copyright, is prima facie presumed true in this litigation.

The plaintiffs are claiming that the words were published in a variety of formats pre-1935. An amended complaint filed in December lays out the most detailed version of their argument.

 

There is a difference between Art and Commerce.
How to make a Sexy Rock Star.