Licensing someone elses' song for recording...

soundeziner · Post by **soundeziner** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:56 am

BTW James - I wanted to commend you for putting this forum on UnicorNation as well as bringing up the licensing topic. 'You are going to need a music attorney' might be a common response but having a place where the up and comings can get some basic questions answered is great. Some of us had to learn by paying loads of money or spending days in a law library (or worse for some people!).

swampfox · Post by **swampfox** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:13 pm

I think I see why they do this. The publisher either don't have the time or means or inclination to handle the licensing. So they refer me to their Copyright Management company. Their objective of course is to make some money. That's fine by me. But I think their source of income should be the publisher whom they are collecting the money for. I want to pay the copyright holder their legal royalties. I don't want to pay an agency or middle man a fee for collecting my money to pay the publisher. It's the principle of the thing. The copyright law says very clearly that the publisher is bound to allow others to record a song after the original copyright holder has once published it. And that the person or persons who cover it must make royalty payments at the statutory rate which is now 9.1 cents per copy per song.

I'm only asking for a limited quantity license to make 250 copies. A bit over 22 dollars. A license is nothing more than a piece of paper or an electronic document cranting me permission to record and obligating me to pay royalties. A very simple matter.

There is a clause in the copyright law about a compulsory license. I am no lawyer, but it reads to me like I just need to serve notice to the Publisher and pay the royalty and I'm clear. But like I said I'm no lawyer. And I'd like to hear from anyone who has had to deal through the compulsory license provision of the US Copyright act.

Is there a lawyer on this list?

Well Forget I asked that, if I could afford a lawyer I wouldn't be quibbling over 15 bucks!

Or then again maybe I would. Because it's the principle of the thing.
Wally

johnnytucats · Post by **johnnytucats** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 8:18 pm

The Harry Fox agency charges a similar fee, it turns out. That would imply that it's above board.

Soooo...looks like you just have to shell out the three Lincolns for the one song and consider yourself lucky you didn't have to for the others.

By the way...you should copyright your arrangements of the PD songs. I worked at a major publisher that had many such copyrights and made money on several.

swampfox · Post by **swampfox** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:11 am

I am going to serve them notice according to the provision of the UA copyright Law. I have all the info I need to do this I think.

Pursuant to the compulsory license provisions of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. 115).

It's all explained online at the US copyright site.
http://www.copyright.gov/

I'll let ya'll know how it turns out.

Here is an interesting website:
http://www.artistshousemusic.com/alpert_dl/Home