How do you get a royalty agreement to re-record a song if the company that published/produced the record is not in business anymore and the artist/s that made the album/s are not known (i.e. Various Artists)?? The album/songs I am considering is from the 1970's +/-. Maybe you could help - "Christmas is for Kids" - it was a album produced for Big N Department stores. I have searched the US Copyright Office online and have not come up with anything at all. The album was probably produced before the new copyright law went into effect (1978??). If anyone can help me I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!
2007-11-30 15:41:55 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Actually, you need to do some more research to find the copyright holder. If it was released & sold, it IS copyrighted, whether registered or not.
Find out who worked for the company and who was on the board of directors, etc. Contact them individually. It will be public record where the business dissolved, and their names will be available. Ask those individuals for the copyright info. Also, in the public records, they will name an attorney. Contact that attorney's law firm (name and address WILL be available) and ask them about it.
2007-11-30 15:49:05 · answer #1 · answered by cyanne2ak 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't need to do anything. Just re-record the song and wait for them to sue you. They can only collect the same amount that you would have paid them in royalties in the first place. This amount is established by copyright law (% of your sales); they don't get to dictate how much you have to pay for the rights. You can re-make any song, by any artist, without their permission as long as you pay them the going rate.
2007-11-30 15:55:12 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check the Library of Congress they will have the information on the song, then you can just follow the leads to either the company that bought the rights to the song or to the family of the artist.
2007-11-30 15:52:46 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two avenues you can pursue:
Big N was a division of Neisner Brothers Inc, which was purchased by Ames Department Stores Inc. You could contact their legal department and see if they have any information they can give you: http://www.answers.com/topic/ames-department-stores-inc?cat=biz-fin
The other method would be to contact the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to check for the owner of the rights to the song you want to record: http://www.riaa.com/
2007-11-30 15:54:34 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋