What is a license?

Music clearance and licensing is the process by which one formally obtains the rights to use a piece of music in any given project. There are two inherent copyrights in every piece of recorded music. First, the words and music make up the composition, which is controlled by the music publisher(s). There may be only one publisher or as many as eight or nine publishers for any given composition. Secondly, the actual recording itself, formally referred to as a master or sound recording, is controlled by the master rights owner(s). It is rare to see a master recording with more than one owner, but not unheard of.  Depending on the usage that you want the music for, permissions, licenses and fees may be required from just the publishers or both the publishers and the master rights owners. For instance, if you re-record a song that has already been commercially released (i.e. a “cover” version), without changing the lyrics or fundamental character of the song, you would only need a statutory mechanical license, which is compulsory as set forth by U.S. Copyright Law. This type of license is the opposite of one that is voluntarily granted by individual copyright owners.  If you choose to use someone else’s master recording, you must also obtain a master rights license from the master rights owner. For some qualifying usages, such as a non-interactive digital audio transmission like certain webcasts, a statutory license may be obtained from SoundExchange, an independent non-profit performance rights organization designated by the U.S. Copyright Office to act as the administrative agent for the collection and distribution of digital performance rights statutory license royalties. For any digital usages not covered by SoundExchange, and any usage involving an audio-visual or reproductive element, such as a film, a corporate DVD, an internet download or an audio CD compilation, master rights licenses must be obtained from and arbitrary fees must be paid to the master rights owners.

What is a Copyright?

A copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain other intellectual works. It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by copyright law to the owner of the copyright.  For more information on copyrights please visit copyright.gov/circs/

Where can I obtain a copy of the written law?

The written law is very extensive. For more information, please visit copyright.gov/title17/

What are the laws for the popular video-uploading sites?

Google – “Our policies for US and non-US copyright complaints: It is our policy to respond to notices alerting us of content which appears on Google Video and which is alleged to infringe copyright. This document describes two processes: one for infringement of a United States copyright, and one for infringement of a copyright outside the United States. Please select the appropriate process for your complaint and follow the instructions below. What we do: Upon receipt of proper notice, we will remove or disable access to the video, which is alleged to be infringing copyright. We may also terminate the account of the user who has submitted that content, and we will terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.  What happens next: If we do remove or disable access to a video, we will, wherever possible, get in touch with the user who submitted it so that they are aware of the issue. We will pass them details of the notice (including contact information) so that they can take the matter up directly. Inside the United States, we will comply with the processes of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), discussed below.”

YouTube – “Content Verification Program: YouTube is committed to helping copyright holders find and remove allegedly infringing content from our site. To that end, we have created a Copyright Verification Tool that assists copyright owners in searching for material that they believe to be infringing, and providing YouTube with information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate that material.  This tool is designed especially for copyright-holding companies to issue multiple removal requests. Individual notifications may be submitted by following these instructions.  If you already have a YouTube account, you can apply for access to this tool by filling out the YouTube Content Verification Program Application, printing it, and faxing it to the fax number shown on the printout. This form identifies your authorized agents and acts as a legal affirmation that you hold copyright to the material about which you will notify YouTube. If you do not currently have an account, please create an account, after which you can access the Content Verification Program Application.” &

Vimeo – “VIMEO respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. VIMEO may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, terminate the accounts of users who infringe the intellectual property rights of others. VIMEO will remove infringing materials in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act if properly notified that content infringes copyright.  In order to upload to Vimeo you must own or hold all necessary rights (copyrights, etc.) to the videos and follow the rules set forth in our Community Guidelines. If you do not follow these simple rules, we reserve the right to delete your uploaded content and/or your Vimeo account without warning.”