Attributions For Tunes

[shelly0312]

I just relistened to Randy Stein's interpretation of " 'Round Midnight"--Thelonius Monk (this month's TOTM). That is just ...... RIDICULOUS (don't you just sit with your mouth hanging open? ) So, I thought I would go back into UTube and hear other interpretations. There are hundreds, on all sorts of instrumentation. Which then brought up the question: if you recognize the source of a tune that you work around your instrument, do you pay royalities? Did all those musicians do such? or is just the acknowledgement enough?

[hjcjones]

Copyright is a complex area, made more complicated because different countries have different laws. Generally speaking you don't need to pay royalties simply to play music for your own pleasure, only for public performance including recording.

 

In most countries there are organisations which handle music copyrights on behalf of their composer members. In the UK there is the Performing Rights Society. The US seems to have several. They charge venues a licence fee for hosting live music performances, and then apportion the income between their members. As a live performer, you don't need to worry about asking for permission from the copyright owner but you may be asked to provide details about the music you perform to assist in this distribution. However you may need permission to arrange a copyright piece.

 

For recordings, the publisher must pay a fee for all copyright music before an album can be released.

 

I believe Youtube has arrangement with collection agencies to pay royalties. However if you are using someone else's music it expects you to have obtained the rights to do so. In practice this can be difficult - PRS seems to have no system to pay to use individual pieces of music online, and its licensing structures are aimed at sites hosting large volumes of music. I suspect in practice this requirement is widely ignored, but if the copyright owner objects they can ask Youtube to remove the video.

 

This is a massive oversimplification of a complex area of law, and if it concerns you you should look into how it applies in your jurisdiction and perhaps get advice from the relevant collection agencies. However, copyright aside it is always good practice to acknowledge the source of your material.