What are the laws surrounding recording/performing other people's songs?

Question

I've heard a bunch of different answers on this topic , but have never seen anything in legal-ese to back it up... website, book, or otherwise. This realy is multiple questions in one I guess...

If you're in a cover band, and play others' songs out in a bar for money, you don't pay royalties, correct?

With the above, do you need to pay licensing fees to any organization(s) like with jukeboxes, or is that the bar's responsibility?

To record & sell another artist's work, you must pay royalties, but don't nessecarily have to obtain permission, correct?

Does any of this change if the song is a jingle for a commercial and owned/trademarked by a large company?

I'd really appreciate any real concrete answers with links for backup/further/research if anyone's able to provide them. Thanks in advnace for taking the time to read & hopefully help out!

Answer 1

if it has a copyright on it you must have permission to use it in any form.

Answer 2

The biggest one is you have to get permission to use that song from the band or if they are not alive (meaning older band) the company that owns the rights to their song must give you permission.

If you are a small name band it shouldn't matter, but like if you are regonzied by record comanys yes it does.

It's your problem to pay what you do, the only thing the bar is paying for is what you get their.

Selling is a whole other story, and that's copyright so therefore you will have to pay the fine and just hope you don't go to jail for selling and stealing someone else's artwork and music.

If the song is used for a jingle usually the whole song is not used, but you still need permission. Once again with that it is up to the people who own that recorded right.

My internet wont load the place I found those, but I asked my friend who works at Epic Records and who is also a singer.

Answer 3

It all depends on the songwriter, the music, and the music publishing firm they go with and with new laws being written every years to keep up with the Internet you have to keep checking.

Covering a song live as an unknown or even well know singer usually is not an issue but if you record a video and broadcast it later or record a live version and release it than you will need to pay for the mechanical and/or broadcasting licensing rights.
Many lesser known bands who make money from their Cd's but are not independently wealthy bypass this step because they can use the Internet to sell their disc and then bypass the bar code you need to sell in a record store. Not being sound scanned via a bar code keeps you off the "charts' but it also keeps you off the radar of taxes and royalties. To many bands who may not chart , making money is more important than playing by the rules.

Some artists, such as Pete Townshend, are very kind about their music being used for non-commercial purposes such as if you make a You Tube slide show or funny video but there are a few songwriters and bands out there who trawl the net looking for ANY and all unauthorized usage of their work though it is admittedly a pointless quest as the Internet is so vast.

Here are few examples of how nebulous the laws you ask of are:

Under the "fair use" provision of U.S. copyright law, affirmed by the United States Supreme Court, one does not need permission to record a parody but artists such as Weird Al t out of respect for the artist, always asks anyway. You do however have to have permission for a straight up commercial cover such as John Lydon turning down Guns and Roses for "Anarchy in The UK" but allowing Motley Crue to cover it.

Lord David Dundas wrote a theme for at TV show in the UK and then part of it (a few notes) was used for another show without his permission and he sued to the tune of millions.

George Gershwin, who wrote "Porgy and Bess" decreed in that the leads in his famous musical never be performed by white singers and to this day his estate still does not grant permission.

Some music that was never copy written like "House of The Rising Sun" has been tagged with "Arrangement by..." therefore allowing someone who never wrote the original song to make a fortune.

All your questions are good but once again they pertain to individual situations which are in a current state of flux as intellectual and commercial property laws are being rewritten. You really should consult a lawyer for the most concrete answers.

Long Live rock!

Answer 4

It is wise to ask these sorts of questions.

(Assuming that you are in the U.S., as copyright laws vary internationally...)

http://www.copyright.gov/ is THE website to get all of your legal copyright information.

You must obtain rights to record another person's song for public release. Unless you are famous, it doesn't matter much if you are covering another writer's songs in dive-bars, coffeehouses, and what-not. If you were a well known performer, you would pay royalties for use of the song in a public performance.

Answer 5

Go to the web site, look around, read then pay for the song you want to make money on.
By using someone else's material you are stealing. If you do not believe in making up your own song then at least pay for the use of someone else's.
Just think if you wrote a hit song and others were singing it for free. Why bother putting your material out there.

The link below is just one place there is another place but licenses here are easy to get.....

Answer 6

Gosh, I thought one of the previous 8 answers would have had it right.

1) As a performer in a cover band, you NEVER EVER have to pay royalties for the songs you use. The producer of the event (bar owner, concert sponsor, etc.) is responsible for any royalties. Most bars that use cover bands pay a hefty fee and get a sticker to put on their door. But it's nothing you have to worry about.

2) If you cover anyone else's tune and distribute it--as a recording, or a broadcast--for pay or for free--then you're liable for royalties (unless you have a clear understanding that the producer will cover them--get that in writing). If you cover something, video it, and put it on YouTube or Myspace then the original copyright owner can contact the service provider and require them to remove it. The only exception here is if you are using it for religious worship, or if it's a face-to-face educational setting (or, if online, a class website that's restricted by password).

Now, if you're interested in releasing a self-produced cd of cover tunes, the bloviated shyster--er, legal firm--that handles most of that is Hal David Inc. Google 'em up and happy shopping.

Answer 7

From Wikipedia:

Performance royalties

Copyright law extends protection to each public performance of a copyrighted work. In the United States, performance royalty rates are set by the Library of congress' Copyright Royalty Board. Mechanical rights to recordings of a performance are usually managed by one of several performance rights organizations. Payments from these organizations to performing artists are known as residuals. Royalty free music provides more direct compensation to the artists. In 1999, recording artists formed the Recording Artists' Coalition to repeal supposedly "technical revisions" to American copyright statutes which would have classified all "sound recordings" "as works for hire", effectively assigning artists copyrights to record labels.[1] [2]

Answer 8

Hi I'm sorry without going into too much research, try finding a copywright/ music solicitor. There are lawyers out there who specialise in intellectual property and contracts in the music industry to protect artists. One quick search i found vmsolicitors.com.au. Or a quick search in your city will find some. If you ask one of them they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Answer 9

1

Answer 10

Q1: No, because your just singing it like you were doing kareoke....
Q2: no.
Q3: yes and yes you do have to obtain permission (i.e. Vanilla Ice).
Q4: no. they get permission and pay.

Sites:
http://www.onlinerock.com/howto/coversong.shtml
http://www.intimateaudio.com/cover_song_quagmire.html
http://www.wiley.com/legacy/authors/guidelines/stmguides/3frames.htm