[Harp-L] RE: public domain / ASCAP lawsuits



As performers, there is no need to worry about covers vs. originals at gigs. BMI and/or ASCAP deal with the club owners, not with the musicians. Even if the club refuses to pay, it's not on us as musicians -- it's between the club and the performance rights organization(s.)

As recording artists, however, things become more complex. The record company is obligated to obtain compulsory licenses for all non-original songs, and must pay royalties of 9.1 cents per song, per unit sold. If you have a contract -- i.e. if you are signed to a label -- then it's not your worry; it's up to the record label to pay these royalties. However, if YOU are the "record company," then you have to pay the royalties, or face possible lawsuits for copyright infringement.

In the old days it was possible to sort-of fly under the radar if you were doing a tiny pressing, but nowadays, with everything computerized, publishing houses routinely search for cases of a song being recorded without a license, and they don't hesitate to pursue copyright infringement claims.

The easiest way to take care of all this is to prepay online for (X) units, via the Harry Fox Agency. http://www.songfile.com
They also have a search engine where you can look up any song by title, and see who wrote it and who published it. (BMI and ASCAP also have searchable data bases.) If you are in doubt as to whether an old song is in the Public Domain, I suggest searching there for the song, then looking closely at all the recorded versions. If somebody has recorded it as "traditional/arr by (themselves,)" that's usually a pretty good indicator that the piece has fallen into the Public Domain, and therefore can be recorded royalty-free.


Please keep in mind however, I am not an attorney. I only play one on TV. :)

cheers,
Tom Ball
http://www.tomball.us



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