So I have been thinking about this topic latley and just wanted to open it up for some discussion -

Everyone seems to be debating Vinyl vs CD latley and it seems to be getting a bit confusing these days. First, I totally agree with supporting the artists and giving them the money that the most surley deserve, bottom line. But lets face it, TONS of big name DJs are using MP3s and other formats when they play out these days, its a fact.

But what really gives you the 'legal right' to play a song out at a club? For example. If I purchase a new Mix CD from one of my favorite DJs, lets say Danny Howells. So I just purchased his CD 24/7 which has 2 CDs with a total of about 25 tracks or so. Do I now own the right to spin and play out those tracks since I purchased the CD? Can I legally go download all 25 of those tracks (the full, un-mixed versions) and play them out with no legal consequences? I mean, I did pay for the CD and part of those profits do go to the individual artist's don't they? Or is the only 'legal' way to play songs in clubs to either puchase the original Vinyl or CD which you know is sponsered by the artist.

Ok, another tangent. Take white label records. Often times these are either bootlegged, stolen, or illegal copies of tracks. Now, even though you bought a white label, what gives you the right to legally spin that in a club? Sure you have a nice record in your hand but did the money really go to the artist? Or some guy who found the track in a full high quality version and had it pressed to vinyl.

And how about old tracks? Lets face it, most songs have a limited pressing for the entire world to enjoy. What if there is literally no way to find the track you want on Vinyl or original CD. Do you just have to cut your losses and move on? Or does the copyright issue suddenly not matter since the track isn't new and the demand is not as high.

And Final Scratch? People seem to be all excited about it these days, and I admit that it is aweomse technology. But it is no different then burning MP3s to a CD and playing them is it?

Anyway, lots more gray area questions from where these came from but I was curious what people thought

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dj Scott Keith
www.djscottkeith.com
Progressive House & Trance

First about copying (so in relation with cd burning, final scratch and stuff like that), if you buy a tune (or album) you are entitled to make copies for personal use (for example if you own the original vinyl, you can burn it on cd or rip it to mp3, as long as you can prove you own the original also, no problem). The real problem is distribution : if you got them from the net, or even from a friend, you don't own the original (own = you didn't pay for it, so have no rights) so you are using the illegally.

As for the rights, yes you paid for the songs so you own "some" rights. You can use it privately. So basically if you have to spin on a wedding that stays "closed to relatives" it's still considered private. No problems there.
The problem arises when using it publically. When you buy the music, you don't own the rights to broadcast it. Each time the music is broadcasted in public, the authors should be entitled to some money. That's what the organisations like RIAA are for (each country usually has it's own, like here in Belgium, it's SABAM). But usually it's the organisator that takes care of that.

Radio's, clubs, etc pay a regular fee to copyright organisations to clear the music. When it's a gig, the organisator has to arrange everything. Basically, if the dj is using legal music (so no illegally copied cd's, mp3's...) and he isn't part of the organisation, the only one that can be punished is the organisator. The authorities are not allowed to confiscate your music, only to ask you nicely to stop spinning (at least in my country).

Big parties are usually strictly controlled, smaller gigs are just a matter of luck. You can get away with not paying any fee's, but if they happen to hop by and do a surprise control, it might get messy.

White labels is a different problem. Real white labels are for promotional use, they are given away for free and can be spun freely (it's main purpose is to see how the people reacts to the track). I dunno what applies once the track gets commercially released, but I got a hunch you gotta pay for broadcast rights from then on.
Bootlegs is about the same problem. A real bootleg is done without consent of the original authors. Real bootlegs shouldn't be sold in stores, like promo copies (but yeah, we know most shops don't see the "not for sale" tag). Unless the original authors did express their desire to stop the broadcasting of the bootleg (what rarely happens) I guess it's ok to use it.

Last edited by Dj Thy on Aug-14-2003 at 18:45

All of this is covered in other threads using the 'search' function.. as I'm sure you know. Seems like your whole post is a rant, disguised as questions. What's the point of bringing so many flame infested topics into one thread?

es

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