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Licensing, Copyright, and Distribution Info
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View this Thread in Original format
| tu_face |
hullo there
im posting this as im not sure about the level of awareness on these subjects in this forum. i think those that dont practise these things i am about to write, should, otherwise they might end up bein screwed/lose out on monies due to them :) so especially if you are looking for a release in the near future, make sure u read and do this :)
firstly and most important, is the copyright. if you dont have proof of copyright ownership then u have nothing to sell to the labels, and if you send uncopyrighted material to a label and they perhaps like the idea, theres nothing to stop them making their own version of the track, releasing it and you not getting a penny.. now in the UK all this requires is sending yourself a master copy via special delivery. this ensures that u have a receipt of postage with a date and signature on it. the cd and inlay must state the copyright statement i.e. "© . All rights reserved". make sure on the package you write which tracks are in the package (if any legal arguments occur u dont get 2 chances in court :)). make sure you keep the receipt and the package in a very safe place. another way of ensuring copyright ownership is leaving a copy in a safe deposit box, with a receipt dated & signed by the bank manager. make sure you write exactly the same things as stated above on the cd and package, and keep the receipt in a safe place. i understand that copyright laws differ from country to country, so if ur not sure then make sure you check what must be done!
secondly, whether your signed or not, if your tracks are good then people will play them. In most countries there are royalty collection agencies, the two most important of which are the performing rights (when ur tunes get played to the public), and the mechanical reproduction rights (if ur tunes get pressed to vinyl/put on a compilation cd). For UK artists, these are called PRS and MCPS.. go to www.prs.co.uk where there are links to the MCPS & details of how to join each. i cant remember the name of the agencies in the US & other places, but search for royalty collection on a search engine.. if you know your tracks are being played, join these agencies so that u can receive these royalties for your work. they will require proof of your tune being played (a letter from either a broadcaster, promoter or venue owner confirming the public performance/broadcast took place).
i hope this helps some ppl :) |
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| DJ Mikey Mike |
thanks for the advice. :) Will keep this in mind. |
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| vmc |
I guess there is also a possibility to register a track in a royalty collection agency, so that someone who plagiarize your track later won't be able to release it without paying you royalties.
This thread contains pretty important info, should be made sticky IMHO. |
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| tu_face |
| thx for the stickage ;) |
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| Project T |
np face of 2, i thought u had powah in here so i just left it alone until i saw that your name aint up there, rather strange...
get on IRC need to send u a clip of remix action ;) |
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| big dave |
| some good info up there tu_face :D |
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| Maaz |
For those of you who want to know more about copyright (and couldn't be arsed to use the  engine :p), here are some links from other threads:
http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...light=copyright
http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...light=copyright
http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...highlight=steal
(the last one is quite entertaining actually :p)
Here are some remaining doubts after reading all this stuff:
1) What can't be copyrighted? I've been told that beats cannot be copyrighted, so it's okay to rip the beat off some other tune - I want to check it with you guys, since I never read a law about it. All I read is that you can only copyright the melody (which is kinda weird for electronic music, since we deal with a lot more things than non-electronic music, such as filters, effects, et cetera).
2) Isn't the "mailing thing" protected by international treaties? As far as I know, no matter where in the world you are, it may be used in court.
3) I didn't get the royalties thing :p How can you be sure the broadcaster is gonna contact you, for example? Could someone be arsed to explain, please? :D
4) What's the best way to contact labels? Should I send at least a couple of tunes or it's okay to send just one? |
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| tu_face |
ok firstly, beats are a weird one.. if its a blatent rip then i suppose its copyrighted just as much as the melody. but u cant really get away with that if u just have a kick and a hat.. it has to be something very unique.. i.e. techno :) when u create the copyright, u are copyrighting the entire works anyway :)
re: the royalties thing...
Performing rights royalty: radios, clubs, bars, shops etc all have to purchase what is (in the UK) a PRS license if they wish to play music to the public. the fee they pay differs depending on the music they play, i.e. a radio station will pay a higher fee as they play loads of music, whereas a shop wouldnt have to pay so much as ppl arnt there for the music. this money is then put into one fund and split between members of the PRS at a percentage that represents the amount of music of yours that gets played. radio's keep playlists of what is played. I think shops have to note what cd's are played, and a new movement in the UK by the PRS is to get DJ's to hand in setlists, so that royalties go to the right pockets.
The mechanical copyright royalty (by joining the MCPS): this means you get money for when ppl license the track to go on compilations etc. i think this also goes if you get a repress after the initial release.. but dont quote me on that one :)
contacting labels: i posted about this on i:vibes so ill paste what i wrote here to save effort :):p
the key is good presentation. they are more likely to take notice of something that looks good instead of putting it to one side and forgetting about it. so a good cover is essential
as far as the tracks are concerned, put no more than 3 or 4 tracks on your CD, starting with your best work (so they dont hear something not so good and ditch it )
its also very important to put all contact info (mobile, email, home address) in the sleeve (and on the CD if possible as the two may get separated).. another thing that has to be on the sleeve (and the CD) is the copyright statement.
another thing to include is a short history about yourself, how u started producing.. who you are influenced by etc etc
hope this lot helps :) |
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| DJ_FRAZ |
A lot of in depth stuff i didn't know.
Excellent advice |
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| DJ-Ande |
good to know some1 cares bout what happens to our fellow TA'z tracks:D :D
nice work!! |
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| Maaz |
Another good topic: getting signed in a label from another country -> how risky is it? Is there any difference from getting signed in our homeland?
This sort of stuff :p |
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