All Questions
158
questions
27
votes
3
answers
10k
views
What is the legal distinction between watching a YouTube video in a browser and downloading it for personal use? [duplicate]
If the act of watching a YouTube video creates a temporary download in my internet cache, why is it illegal to use an app that intercepts the YouTube API to download music videos to listen to later ...
- 278
13
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Is it legal to buy second-hand vinyls?
I live in a town that has lots of second-hand stores that sell second-hand vinyl records, tapes, etc, for incredibly low prices.
I recently bought the soundtrack from A Clockwork Orange for 1 dollar ...
- 637
10
votes
3
answers
21k
views
Will using a cover of a song in a film free me from legal obligations?
I want to use the song "Whole Lotta Love" in my upcoming film. Obviously the song is copyrighted by led Zeppelin. So I'm planning to get a few musicians and cover the song and then use it as a ...
- 223
10
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Legality of busking a song with copyrighted melody but using different lyrics to deliver a message
Are there any legal impediments to busking a song with melody and lyrics copyrighted in the United States---with the same melody but with different lyrics---on U.S. streets?
Does it matter if the song ...
- 1,273
9
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Performing music in public
I am a musician. I want to perform music. How do I do this without being sued into oblivion?
I am particularly interested in UK law.
As I understand it, a specific sound recording (of anything) is ...
9
votes
4
answers
621
views
Auto-generating every possible melody to forstall copyright: will this work?
This article describes a scheme to have a computer generate every possible "8-note, 12-beat melody combo" and release it under a Creative Commons license so that anyone can use it (not exactly public ...
- 13.7k
6
votes
2
answers
2k
views
May I add additional lyrics to a copyright song without claiming any ownership?
A copyright holder has flatly refused my request to add additional lyrics to one of their songs, for use in a private congregational church setting.
Does this mean it is simply illegal?
I have seen ...
- 309
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Can a song be used in a presentation for work?
Does it fall under that Fair Use Act of 1976 to include a song as the intro to a presentation for work if the presentation is being given for educational/teaching purposes?
- 163
6
votes
1
answer
405
views
Is it legal to arrange music I don't have rights to if it is never performed?
I had the idea to transcribe and arrange the music from the musical Ride the Cyclone for a wind ensemble for my school. I got in contact with the company that owns the license (Broadway Licensing) to ...
- 543
6
votes
1
answer
199
views
Uploading images of music notation: Do we violate copyright laws?
As I have noticed, it is rather common on music.SE to post a photo of a few bars and ask for help how to play it, e.g. fingering, how to play ornaments, etc.
Is that according to copyright laws?
My ...
- 113
5
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Does buying a song on Gumroad allow me to use it in my video commercially?
If I purchase music from the link in a_hisa's music video description, can I use the music in my video?
Description:
a_hisa - Happiness Bell
from 8th album「colors 6」
buy on Gumroad
https://gumroad....
- 159
5
votes
1
answer
298
views
What prevents me from making a derivative of a work never fixed in a tangible medium?
Suppose I'm a singer-songwriter in the United States, and at one of my concerts, I perform a previously unreleased (and in fact never-before-recorded) song. I play this song from memory and by ear; I ...
- 3,339
5
votes
1
answer
240
views
Would I be violating copyright by transcribing music that was written over 100 years ago, but published in 1992?
A particular set of piano rolls were recorded before 1913, but to my knowledge were not published until 1989. The recordings are piano transcriptions of symphonic works, performed by their composer/...
- 53
5
votes
3
answers
305
views
Is it necessary to audibly announce a copyright notice when using music licensed under Creative Commons Attribution?
I would like to use music licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) as on-hold music; however, the only way to provide attribution would be to announce a copyright notice ...
- 151
5
votes
3
answers
13k
views
Transcribing music and the legality of using musical transcription
I'm learning to play an instrument and I would like to transcribe the songs I heard for later practicing. I have some questions regarding transcribing music and the legality of using musical ...
- 161
5
votes
3
answers
457
views
Write song to the tune of a copyrighted song
my wife is considering writing (and selling) some childrens' books which will contain songs which are to the tune of various copyrighted songs (like the "Let It Go!" song from Disney's Frozen). She ...
- 151
4
votes
2
answers
312
views
Are the title and author of a song protected by copyright?
I am developing a platform where users can search songs by BPM and Key.
The only thing that came to my mind is: can I show songs' titles and authors after the user does a search, without violating the ...
- 61
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Is the Scarborough Fair Melody Really in the Public Domain?
According to Wikimedia Commons:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scarborough-Fair-Melody.png
the melody to the tune Scarborough Fair (which had been popularized in the 1960s by Simon and ...
- 1,273
4
votes
2
answers
673
views
Could a song that uses different, but phonetically identical lyrics violate copyright?
There is a YouTube video of a song called "Hapi Berth Dey", which the user says is to the tune "Good Morning to You", which is in the public domain.
The video never explicitly mentions "Happy ...
- 2,028
4
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Why is a cover song not fair use? (But parody songs are?)
Considering fair use law, parody, transformative works: Weird Al always asks for permission for his parodies but many law professionals have stated he would not have to.
Considering all this, why does ...
- 141
4
votes
1
answer
189
views
Publish rewritten sheet music
I used a scorewriter to notate a musical piece. I did so by ear and I do not own the original sheet music. (If it makes any difference: I wasn't able to find the sheet music for sale anywhere online)
...
- 143
4
votes
1
answer
819
views
Is caching copyrighted content illegal in EU?
I found this question and this article on wiki about copyright aspects in EU. However they don't talk about caching (I found only this for US). Imagine the scenario where there's a service/website ...
- 141
4
votes
2
answers
368
views
Can anyone record a cover of a song I put on SoundCloud?
My friend asked me if he could record a cover of a song that I put on SoundCloud called Gratitude (License: All Rights Reserved).
What legal rights does my friend have? Does he need my permission?
...
- 141
4
votes
2
answers
205
views
Is it allowed to use a copyrighted music track on a video, but without integrating the audio into the video?
It's generally known that if you use a song to create a music video, you must have obtained a master use license to publish the track as a part of the music video, and also a synchronization license ...
- 183
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How are royalties handled for modern orchestral music?
I'm curious how royalties are handled for orchestral compositions (e.g. symphonies, concerti, quartets, etc.) in modern times (20th Century and later).
For example, Dmitri Shostakovich's compositions ...
- 253
3
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Are Midi files copyrighted?
If I have a midi file of a public domain work, it the midi file copyrighted? This is a question that is related to this thread/question: Can I use public domain midi files commercially?
user35902
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Copyright transcription of public domain music?
Can I copyright my transcription of, say, a public domain Mozart symphony for brass quintet?
I downloaded a public domain PDF of a Mozart symphony. I used the musical content from the PDF and created ...
- 31
3
votes
1
answer
240
views
Is it illegal to perform a song from sheet music that I transcribed?
So I have been transcribing a copyrighted song (as a HOBBY) that I love and was thinking about using it as a graduation song for my music school, but I’ve had to make some tweaks because there are ...
- 31
3
votes
2
answers
5k
views
When is it illegal to play someone else's copyrighted song on an instrument?
I am learning guitar and found out that Justin Sandercoe (from famous guitar teaching website justinguitar.com) has been forced to remove some of his lessons because the song he was teaching his ...
- 133
3
votes
1
answer
239
views
Song titles and copyrights
As the copyright owner of a song, can another artist decide to change its title? Or should that be open to change by a performer who wants to perform the song?
- 131
3
votes
1
answer
655
views
What can I do to use classical music in an advertisement?
I'm considering using one of the following pieces of music for a commercial (advertisement of my book):
Richard Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries
Carl Orff, Carmina Burana, O Fortuna - Fortune plango ...
- 629
3
votes
1
answer
150
views
Who owns the copyright in this case?
As a layman interested in the law, I'm facing a bit of a conundrum posed by my cousin.
Here are the facts:
A records company, M Ltd, has created (e.g. written code for, trained etc.) an AI that can ...
- 1,243
3
votes
1
answer
134
views
What does copyright law have to say about publishing written notation for recorded music?
If you google the name of any popular song, among the top suggestions will be " chords" or "tabs" or "piano arrangement", etc. Many of these hits will take you to forum ...
- 31
3
votes
2
answers
849
views
Are there legal consequences for giving away my own musical transcriptions of copyrighted works on a website?
I've transcribed a lot of video game music in my lifetime, and am interested in making these sheet music transcriptions freely available for download on a website. I see that a lot of other websites ...
- 31
3
votes
1
answer
141
views
Music law: releasing a song I wrote that is performed by others on Spotify
I'm a UK-based singer-songwriter. I've had a demo of a duet I wrote professionally recorded by two session singers in the US, as my voice wasn't what I wanted for this one. Piano track is essentially ...
- 31
3
votes
2
answers
132
views
Is an "anti-copyright" notice legally significant?
I found a picture of a record sleeve for an album independently released in New Zealand, and on the back it says "Anti-copyright (band name) 1986".
There is a wikipedia page for "anti-...
- 33
2
votes
2
answers
7k
views
How are MIDI files of copyrighted music licensed?
Anyone with a music studio can easily download a .midi file from the internet, and then use it to produce a musical track. A midi file exists online for almost every song in the world, and you can ...
2
votes
2
answers
272
views
Is an algorithm producing music copyrighted?
It is my understanding that algorithms (not their concrete implementations) are not copyrighted.
Musical scores or productions usually have a copyright.
Some music is constructed from a small set of ...
- 121
2
votes
1
answer
946
views
What would the copyright laws probably say about these 3 similar pieces of music? [closed]
Hopefully, someone with some knowledge or background in copyright and music can provide me with some insight for this question.
The following 3 short pieces of music seem to share a similar tune (or, ...
2
votes
1
answer
252
views
Can musicians effectively sue politicans that use their songs without permission?
Just about every presidential election cycle I can recall has multiple stories of candidates using songs at their rallies which they have failed to secure permission for. Afterwards, there will a ...
- 2,433
2
votes
1
answer
110
views
student music arrangements
Can a student create an arrangement or medley of music compositions for an assignment(not shared publicly) without needing permission from the composer? If the student gives credit to the original ...
2
votes
1
answer
714
views
Voice samples from the old movies in the music tracks
I bet most of you have heard - in some music compositions - short 5-10 seconds "injections" of voice-lines from some old movies.
I'm producing a track right now, where I want to insert a ...
- 123
2
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Copyright of children's folklore songs
Suppose artist A wanted to include a song to the tune of a children's nursery rhyme, such as Pretty Little Dutch Girl. This song was written in the 1940s, so if the composer was Australian, it would ...
- 257
2
votes
2
answers
93
views
Using a public domain opera, recorded by someone else, in a parody
I found a YouTube video of a public domain opera, and I want to use the sound portion in a musical parody. I will only use parts of it, alter it dramatically, and wish to claim "Fair Use." Is it ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
322
views
To what extent can one claim copyright over a sound?
It would seem unlikely that one could secure copyright of the musical note A 440 (for example). Generally, more complex sounds (music, sound effects) are complex permutations, mutations or ...
- 123
2
votes
1
answer
282
views
YouTube - fair / allowed / legal use - is it OK to record music performances?
Quite often I take a GoPro / iPhone and record fragments of a music performance.
Quite often I upload the content to YouTube.
Quite often I receive following message:
The copyright holder, which ...
2
votes
2
answers
67
views
Musical video production [closed]
I paid a video man to film a lady dancer and myself in a hotel dancing to my new music to be released. I wrote the lyrics, composed, recorded and sang it myself. He signed a contract with the hotel ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
175
views
How to use free sound for commercial use?
I discovered that some sound effects in Minecraft comes from web sites that offers free sfx, some of these sounds are under the 'CC BY-NC 3.0' licence which is a non-commercial one.
Yet, Minecraft ...
- 23
2
votes
1
answer
120
views
How to remove YouTube video that infringes my IP?
If someone made a video of my song and uploaded it to YouTube: Is that legal? If not, how can I block the video?
- 23
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Legality of Music Transcription Service
I'm considering creating a music transcription service as a side hobby project. With this service, clients could request that I transcribe a song (or parts of a song) for them in exchange for a fee. I ...
- 123