Music for personal use

[ronscuba]

Youtube has removed videos from their site when they've been contacted by the artist who owns the rights to the copyrighted material. I'm not aware of things going any further than that.

 

[nilsdiver]

So how can I know which of the old Classical Greats are OK to use. What do you look for to know if some piece of music has copy rights. This is probably a dumb question but I honestly don't know. Do you look for some type of label or would it just say that it has copy rights?

See this link: Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States

It has a pretty good summary and it is not simple. And this is just for the US. Any published work before 1923 is in the public domain. After that it gets complex.

 

[BDSC]

See this link: Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States

It has a pretty good summary and it is not simple. And this is just for the US. Any published work before 1923 is in the public domain. After that it gets complex.

Thanks. I took a look at it and I think I understand some of it but some I don't. I'm sure this is a very complicated issue at many levels.

I was aware that there are all kinds of copyright issues when I made my first video. And so when I decided to use some of the songs from "The Living Sea" album I kinda thought about it like this:

By using one or more of these songs, am I in any way doing harm to the artist? Am I profiting in any way and in turn has that taken away from the artist? Am I using the song/songs in any crude or distasteful way? (I hope no one would find my videos crude or distasteful) Do I do this as a profession or semi-professional or is it just a fun hobby as a part of diving? Who is going to see my videos? Will I post them on any websites or whatever for others to see or is it just for a select group of friends that are either in the video or are interested in the underwater world? I could go on but I think people get the picture.

I fully realize that while using the song/songs in my videos may be technically illegal, I also believe there is a difference in the "letter of the law" and the "spirit of the law". I'm not so sure that when all the music copyright laws were being put in place, they were thinking of the scuba diver or just the average family who may want to use a song from an artist now and then to put to a family video. Going 56 mph in a 55 zone is speeding but it's not likely you'll ever get a ticket for it.

You could also debate about buying a music CD and then making a copy for a friend? I've never done that (because no one my age likes my kind of music) and to me that would be more harmful to the artist than using one of their songs in a video.

The bottom line for me is if I thought what I was doing was in any way harmful to the artist or the music industry, I wouldn't do it. But I don't think it is and I'd even be willing to bet that if Sting saw my video, he'd approve.

 

[ronscuba]

BDSC, I agree with you 100%. Key question you asked is "Who is going to see my video ?" Youtube and vimeo both have options to make your video private, available only to people you give access to.

Bottom line it's what the artist/record company thinks that matters. Will they ask youtube or vimeo to remove your video ? Maybe. Will they "go after" you ? Doubtful.

 

[sharksdelight]

There are so many royalty free music companies out that I don't know why anyone would bother using something that is not theirs to use. While I love Sonic Fire Pro 5, you can make your own music using Soundtrack and Garage Band in FC Studio and Soundbooth in the Adobe Suites. Then there are the companies like Music 2 Hues, Sound Ideas, Music Bakery, Stock 20 and many others.
As far as classical is concerned, just because a piece of music is 200 yrs old, if you, for example, use Beethoven's 5th recorded by the Boston Symphony, it is still illegal as you are using their recording, their talents and arrangements without authority to do so.
Steve

 

[BDSC]

BDSC, I agree with you 100%. Key question you asked is "Who is going to see my video ?" Youtube and vimeo both have options to make your video private, available only to people you give access to.

Bottom line it's what the artist/record company thinks that matters. Will they ask youtube or vimeo to remove your video ? Maybe. Will they "go after" you ? Doubtful.

Hey Ron,

If they want to come and get something from me they can come on. I thought I had a little something at the beginning of 2008 but when I look at my 401 now, they would have to give me something first so they would then have something to take away!

And I have checked out a lot of the sites where you can compose your own music that some people mention here. But it takes me forever to decide where to begin and end clips, what to edit out and what to keep, etc. I can't even imagine going down the road to try and "compose" my own music and make it fit just right. Thank goodness there are many talented composers/singers/song writers that I can call on in my darkest hours.

BDSC

 

[sharksdelight]

BDSD----take a good look and a demo download of Sonic Fire 5. With it, you can take any piece you choose and say exactly the time you need it to be and the app will do it for you perfectly. You don't need to be a musician.
Steve

 

[BDSC]

BDSD----take a good look and a demo download of Sonic Fire 5. With it, you can take any piece you choose and say exactly the time you need it to be and the app will do it for you perfectly. You don't need to be a musician.
Steve

Tell you what Steve, I'll take a look and see what it's all about. I don't think I have looked at it so you may just be spot on. Thanks! I'm up for doing things a better way when possible. (Might be a few weeks before I can fully check it out but I'll do it)

BDSC

 

[robint]

One of the royalty free music websites referred to me last year:
Royalty Free Music Licensing, Stock Music, Production Music, Sound Effects, Royalty-Free Classical Music, Synchronization Licenses
you can get quite a bit, all different types of music, short and long clips. I like that you can listen to them first rather than ordering blind like some of the websites.
I haven't gotten anything from them yet, but probably will. I have a group of CDs that I like to use right now (all middle eastern or new age) , very unlikely I will ever get sued, but who knows....

robin

 

[JohnEGates]

Has anyone tried obtaining permission? When you really need that special copyrighted piece it would be useful knowing where to start.