Legal consequences for short movies based on a copyright music.

[Lonzo N]

Please can you guys who are experienced in this let me know of all the legal ramifications one might face if I do a 10 -15 mins short movie based on a copyright song by a major artiste in the US. I will like to know the issues assuming I am doing the short for profit or for non-profit (free posting on Youtube).

The short is basically an adaptation of an entire song written and performed by a major artist. I will be writting the entire sceenplay myself alone but the whole story is based on the story in the song. I intend to use the names of the characters in song and I also intend to use this particular song as the starting and ending soundtrack.

Please chip in whatever you can regarding this issue. I just need advise on how to go about doing this short without any legal issues from the artist or his recording company.

 

[Scott Crawley]

Well if you want to eliminate your risk entirely there are two choices; get licensed, or don't post it... But I assume you know that already. If your piece is a parody then you may be OK but I'd still advise you to run it by a legal pro before you publish.

 

[Jean Déraps]

Unless you have negotiated the rights to use the song, *any* use, be it for profit or not for profit will be illegal. You should contact SODRAC (in Canada) and they should be able to point you in the right direction for licensing, etc.

http://www.sodrac.ca/About_EN.aspx

 

[Robert Frank]

I just need advise on how to go about doing this short without any legal issues from the artist or his recording company.

This sounds like "how can get away with using copyrighted material without permission and/or not pay for it".

Your asking for help with copyright infringement? Really? :glare:

 

[rod bradley]

I would advise against doing this -- unless you can somehow get full legal rights to do so. Innocence, ignorance, good intentions do not help at all in this area. Perhaps if you can get the original artist on your side (and remember they don't always control things legally) and convince them you are doing something special for them (highly unlikely if its a major artist that you could get through the filters) you might be able to make it happen without a lot of money.

Why not do a short film where you originate or have control over the material?

And bear in mind there are hundreds of talented and as yet unknown musicians who might love to have a film made featuring their song. And you might help them into the limelight and make a lifelong friend.

 

[Robert Frank]

Why not do a short film where you originate or have control over the material?

And bear in mind there are hundreds of talented and as yet unknown musicians who might love to have a film made featuring their song. And you might help them into the limelight and make a lifelong friend.

Excellent advice.

 

[David Rasberry]

I have a short film project in development that is bookended by a particular Tom Waits song that sets the dramatic theme. The film will not be produced at all unless I can negotiate full synchronization rights for the song at very modest cost. That is what you need if the film will be shown in any kind of public venue, whether YouTube or a film festival. There are two parties to synchronization rights, the owner of the song and the owner of the recorded performance of the song. They may or may not be the same person or company, but you must have permission from both to use a copyrighted musical performance in film.

 

[D Fuller]

Please can you guys who are experienced in this let me know of all the legal ramifications one might face if I do a 10 -15 mins short movie based on a copyright song by a major artiste in the US. I will like to know the issues assuming I am doing the short for profit or for non-profit (free posting on Youtube).

The short is basically an adaptation of an entire song written and performed by a major artist. I will be writting the entire sceenplay myself alone but the whole story is based on the story in the song. I intend to use the names of the characters in song and I also intend to use this particular song as the starting and ending soundtrack.

Please chip in whatever you can regarding this issue. I just need advise on how to go about doing this short without any legal issues from the artist or his recording company.

You are asking for legal advise from a bunch of people who are not lawyers, so be forewarned. I am not a lawyer either, or I wouldn't be hanging out here at Reduser. But I have dealt with music rights quite a lot in my projects; I've worked on projects with music by The Who (for more money than you want to know), Carole King, and Verdi, as well as many less-well-known artists, so I hope I can help a bit.

First, Jean Déraps is exactly right. If you use the song without permission, you are infringing on a whole bunch of other people's rights, with pretty severe possible consequences. (fines, jail, etc.)

My advice is to contact the artist. You can probably find all the info you need to contact them here: ASCAP title search or here: Search the BMI Repertoire. Tell him/her/them what you are doing, and ask their permission.

If you are expecting to make money out of your project, expect them to want to make money too. If you are not, then be as straight with them as you can, and if you are lucky and the Gods are with you, they may help you out. You need to know that many songs are owned by complicated groups of people who may not be at liberty to give you permission. They may have already sold rights that they would have to violate in order to give you permission. But many artists can still remember what it was like to be just starting out, so it's worth a shot.

If you can't work it out, take Rod Bradley's advice and find a talented local band who can give you an original to work with. But whatever you do, don't steal someone's work and expect them to be OK with it. You wouldn't want them to do that to you.

 

[Jeff Coatney]

Without a licensing agreement, a rights assignment document, a work for hire agreement, or any other form of formal consent from the artist to you, you are exposed to litigation. Surely there is another subject of interest to you that you can explore to make a film about without infringing on someone else's intellectual property?

Of course you can make a film about anything you want using whatever music you want - you just can't enter it into a film festival or otherwise charge money to screen it. You can't screen it at all in a commercial venue of any kind.

 

[Ace]

Umm..Why cant you just contact the record label who owns the publishing rights in your country? Pretty easy stuff. Depending on usage, it may not actually be that expensive...

I'll give you a precious resource that I dont tell many people about: www.ricall.com
They get you whatever you need and negotiate it for you.

Ive licensed Sigur Ros, Nine inch nails, Feddy Le Grand amongst other artists at modest costs for limited usage (such as limited public exhibition screenings etc)

 

[D Fuller]

Without a licensing agreement, a rights assignment document, a work for hire agreement, or any other form of formal consent from the artist to you, you are exposed to litigation. Surely there is another subject of interest to you that you can explore to make a film about without infringing on someone else's intellectual property?

Of course you can make a film about anything you want using whatever music you want - you just can't enter it into a film festival or otherwise charge money to screen it. You can't screen it at all in a commercial venue of any kind.

You also can't display it in public in any other way commercial or not. Without permission, it does not matter if you make money or not, you have no right to display it in public (and that includes the internet).

 

[Lonzo N]

Thanks guys I really appreciate all your input. I still know I will seek pro advise from an entertainment lawyer.

What if I Do Not use the song at all in the short and just act out the song's story with different characters names. Will it be the same as using the sing abd the original characters names... I guess I wanna be very Lear about this before seeking for license.

 

[Alex Mack]

Sometimes, its what you got to do when you're inspired in the moment by a song. Make the movie you want with the song in it just as you want. Then, if you like the way the movie came out, look into buying the rights. If too expensive, then just have someone compose a similar sounding song to fit in the same places. (quality composer counts) That is perfectly legal, and a wise strategy to avoid wasting money or inspiration of the moment.

 

[Michael Schrengohst]

Thanks guys I really appreciate all your input. I still know I will seek pro advise from an entertainment lawyer.

What if I Do Not use the song at all in the short and just act out the song's story with different characters names. Will it be the same as using the sing abd the original characters names... I guess I wanna be very Lear about this before seeking for license.

Most Ent Lawyers charge $500 an hour and higher....

http://www.thefilmlaw.com/7.html

Our general retainer is $5,000, however on bigger projects we may require a larger retainer to start. Our representation will not start until we receive our engagement letter (the contract we will send you between our firm and you) signed by you, and the retainer. We do not require a retainer for producer representative services alone. Where we are retained for production legal, our retainer is generally the greater of $5,000 or one half the fixed fee.

Check into these sites first:

http://www.ascap.com/licensing/licensingfaq.html

http://www.clearance.com/get_yourself.htm

Don't waste your time shooting or editing one frame of video until you know what the deal is....

 

[David W. Jones]

Please can you guys who are experienced in this let me know of all the legal ramifications one might face if I do a 10 -15 mins short movie based on a copyright song by a major artiste in the US. I will like to know the issues assuming I am doing the short for profit or for non-profit (free posting on Youtube).
.

It would be no different than me using footage from your short in my film without your permission.