hi i am in talks with some Dj's about making a mini documentry on clubbing life, what im lost on is if i am going to be filming in a club the dj's will be playing music but it will be their mix. as it is not garenteed that they will be changing 25% it might be considered plaguerisim, so from where would i stand in regards to copyright? I couldnt really call the music insubstantial so what would i need to do to cover myself leagaly? Thanks Iain
Since the music's going to be key to your film, I'd definitely talk to a copyright lawyer. S/he can advise you on whether you need to get performance and composition rights. Even if the DJs were using all-original music, you'd probably want to get an agreement done anyway just to cover yourself.
Coming Out of Left Field
http://bostonian71.blogspot.com
Movie Help Web
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This is one of the reasons you don't see many documentaries on clubbing. Music is an essential part of it and music rights are extremely expensive.
You need to have every piece of music that appears in your movie cleared. No exceptions.
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
The idea of "If I change it by 25%, it's not copyrighted" is complete fallacy. Whether your use of music (or any other copyrighted work) breaches the owner's rights is down to the court's interpretation on a case by case basis (where you can't argue "fair use").
In the case of music in a club scene, you will need to get copyright releases for any music that is discernable in your film, regardless of whether it's being remixed or not, and regardless of whether it's incidental or featured. It will be a lot of hassle, and potentially expensive, so best to keep the amount of music used to a minimum.
As a side point, you might be wondering if TV networks (like MTV) have to go through that much hassle when they shoot in clubs. The answer is that large media organisations obtain blanket licenses for use of music on their programs (rather than individually) so, as long as the music is represented by the rights organisation the broadcaster has an agreement with, they can use it without having to negotiate separately or pay additional money. Obviously this kind of blanket deal is only available to large companies who can afford the hefty charges they incur.
Ben C.
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filmmaking.net
(Incorporating the Internet Filmmaker's FAQ)
Please note the opinions expressed here are those of the author only and do not constitute legal advice. The author cannot accept and liability whatsoever for inaccurate or outdated information contained within.
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Benjamin Craig
Editor-in-Chief, filmmaking.net
Hmm this does change my view on these! see my budget is small as im a student and this is a Final Major project for my BTEC. I suppose its time to find out if i can maybe pay for rights to use one or 2 songs and just have the clubbing clips with those over the top. Thanks alot for that guys! i have been trying to find out this for ages!
Before you consider my advice PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE check it out. In addition to checking copyright laws in your country you can check:
?url? http://www.bmi.com/?/url?
?url? http://www.ascap.com?/url?
?url? http://www.sesac.com?/url?
?url? http://www.cmrra.ca/default.html?/url?
?url? http://www.clearance.com/?/url?
?url? http://themusicbridge.com/?/url?
?url? http://licensemusicnow.com/?/url?
If you are only using this project for school, and it will NEVER be shown in public (for pay or for free) then you don't need to obtain music rights. The downside is; if your movie turns out really good, you will want to show it - and you won't be able to.
=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
Hi, Im a dj and producer, ive been just getting into film making recently and decided to have a look through this site, it was a coincidence to see a post like this. This is only really of help if it is dance/club music your referring to, sorry if Im gettin the wrong idea otherwise
anyway your main concern should be finding out what particular tunes are being played,djs do not own any of the copyrights of the tracks theyre playing(unless theyre playing theyre own tracks of course). Once you have the names of the artists and their labels that have produced these tunes you should try getting in contact with them or their agents etc. I can be pretty sure most artists/small labels will not mind theyre tracks being on this documentary for a very little amount. seeing as this particular clubbing scene is getting progressively underground again any bit of exposure means alot to them and clearing tunes shouldnt be as big a problem as you'd expect
