DVD's and using music?

Question

Does anyone know if this is a violation of music infrigment? A friend of mine does still video's for people like for weddings, anniversaries...etc. She uses their pictures and her music, and charges them. We were amongst friends one day, and someone told her that was against the law. Do you know if this is true?

Answer 1

It depends on how you look at it. While it is technically against the law to use copyrighted music without permission, in the specific case of making wedding DVDs with commercial music, the DVDs are being created for personal use only, meaning that once the DVD is made, the couple would be using it for their own private viewing and not for distribution purposes.

Think of it this way: if you wanted to film your own movie just for fun and to show to friends and use copyrighted music then it would be alright. However, if you later decided to try to sell your movie then you would be reproducing the music illegally and using it for personal gain. It's all about the intent. As I said, it is technically illegal to use the music anyway, but for something like a wedding video no one really cares since it's for private use only.