Clearing composers rights

[Martin Weiss]

So far I've usually used royalty free music, but we've come across a piece by a living classical composer, that just fits the mood perfectly. How does one go about clearing the rights of the composer, if we do the actual recording and arrangement ourselves? Are there some standards, or is it like with recorded music?

Thanks for your input/help.

 

[Mike Garrick]

You must pay for or negotiate the rights to use the composition regardless of who plays it, even if its great aunt Abernathy playing on a piano. You can not rely on a verbal agreement it must be in writing.

If the composer is classical & still around chances are he/she will not charge much, if anything. Best way forward, that has worked for me, is if you have the sheet music make contact with the publisher & they can refer you to his/her agent ( if they have one ).

 

[Chris Henze]

As far as the performance rights to the song in my experience there are no standards. It's whatever the copyright holder wants it to be. There can also be multiple copyright holders, usually the artist and the publishing company share rights for songs that have been distributed by a record company. Contact the artists manager or the record company to start negotiations. Bid low see if they go for it. They'll usually be pretty accessible. Also you're well served by recording a version of your own. That way you don't have to pay for the performance and may even receive royalties for your performance.

My friend Kurt put Colin Hay's "Down Under" into the movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and knowing them the deal was pretty reasonable. Kurt's band then did the cover for the song and kept the performance rights. I directed the music video. Check it out to see how different their version was from Men At Work. They even get to sell their version of the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF5zcyzJIs0

 

[Tom Hamilton]

I'd like to use a living composer's piece for a demo reel, not for sale or commercial use, just some nice background music I can use when I'm pitching projects. Do these same rules apply?

 

[Chris Henze]

When music is being used in a private and non-commercial way you can use anything. Where it gets difficult is you can't have the piece in the public in any way. Including YouTube. You can share the reel via the Internet but only via direct links or password protected pages. If you don't then you risk YouTube flagging the piece or someone shutting you down. That said I see copyright violations all over YouTube. A person puts up footage of their dog sleeping and there's a pop song on the radio in the background. That's a copyright violation but they seem to let it pass.

The most important thing to remember about copyright violation is that you shouldn't be drawing value from the work you are using. So if you intend to use the piece to imply that you are associated with the artist and therefore more valuable then, in my opinion, even if you are using it privately you are violating the rights of the composer.

I am not a copyright lawyer and the advice I give is from my direct experience and not legal. Good luck.

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Thanks very much Chris, seems it's a landmine-filled business, and since anyone can sue you for anything in this part of the world, just defending is an expensive proposition.

Will find some royalty-free stuff to do the job. Too bad, the piece is perfect fit.

 

[Gunleik Groven]

TONO evt n©b...

 

[Gunleik Groven]

To expand a bit...

If the composer (which most pro composers are) is a member of a Rights Management Bureau, he/she has actually disclaimed his/her rights to manage the rights personally, and the Bureaus are quite unflexible in their approach to this, usually...

There could also be a publisher involved. More often than not - for "not so famous" composers, that would be the composer in person, so that part is usually more allowing.

 

[Gunleik Groven]

Yup... And as mentioned, the performance rights are separate for the composition rights. It could even be a situation where the composer would not accept "your" performance for publishing...

And even if it was the Berliner Philharmonics, the composition rights is in the ballpark of 80% while the performance rights are in the 20% region...

Guess why the record companies tried to get the composition & publishing rights for their bestselling artists back in the day?

(... or why orchestras more or less exclusively focus on long-gone composers...)