Music

Using Works from the Public Domain

and Elsewhere

Before You Get Too Confused

In General

Permission follows the arrows

Money follow them backwards

But the Music Publisher gained copyright, so much less money goes all

the way back to the songwriter

The Music Publisher

Helps new songwriters get their work known

Make original fixed version

Register that song with other permission groups

Market the song and the artist to recording labels

Typically songwriters TRANSFER their copyright to the publisher when

this happens

Music Publisher Controls…

GRAND RIGHTS: permission for theatres to use songs as part of plays

SYNCHRONIZATION RIGHTS: permission to perform a song on tv or

in film

COPYRIGHT: Sells copies of the sheet music

Performance Rights SocietyASCAP, BMI

SMALL RIGHTS: Give permission to perform an existing song live or multiple

songs in a “non-dramatic” setting

PERFORMANCE RIGHTS: give permission to play a specific recording on the

radio, as a ringtone, etc

Radio stations & Universities often get a “blanket license” which is permission for

anything they control- per year

Businesses playing streaming services are legally required to sign up for a “business

account” which takes care of paying the rights for you

Turning on the Radio?

Mechanical Rights Company

Harry Fox Agency

MECHANICAL RIGHTS: Controls the right to record and distribute audio

recordings of a song (in an album, in a soundtrack, as a sample in another

song)

Also commercials, but they have a larger fee

Mechanical Rights Company

COMPULSORY LICENSE- once a song has been recorded, anyone

else is able to pay royalties and record it too

Can’t change song

Songwriter can’t say no

The Record Company

Receives permission to make a recording

Owns copyright of that specific recording

Can make recording available to performance rights society

Can make recording available to tv or film

Receives royalty from groups who play the recording

Pays fees to agency who allowed them to make it

The Coffee Shop- rights?

Have the radio on

Play a CD

Hire a live musician

The School- rights?

Play songs on the campus radio

station

Play songs in the school orchestra

The Compilation Album

Synchronization Rights

Permission to use a song in a tv show or film

Applies when there is video and audio

If you record your own version of the song- you are done

If you are using an existing recording- you also need “master use”

permission from the record company

Public Domain & Fair Use

Can belong to song, recording,

both or neither

Much more complicated after

Golan v. Holder

Works the same as other public

domain material

Same four-part evaluation

standard

Rumor that clips shorter than

30 seconds are free is WRONG

The Commercial

Parody and Criticism

Happy Birthday

Tune traces to 1893, with different lyrics

Piano arrangement published in 1935

Would qualify for protection, but wasn’t registered

ARGUMENT:

Music is public domain

If lyrics added before 1923, then is public domain

Many conflicting accounts & old books, with and without authors

It took until 2016 for a judge to decide that they were just optional lyrics for the 1893 song

now in the public domain, and never separately copyrighted.