Graduation Video & Music Copyright?

M

Mr. Durden

Active member
I was asked by my old high school to make a graduation video for them. They also asked if I could sync their video with their graduation song, as well as, a few other songs that they have chosen. But, I am unsure if I can do this. The school will be paying me and I will be making about 200 copies.

So what should I do?
Any suggestions?
 
I would strongly advise them to look into obtaining licensing and the fees, and penalties that surround that or provide that information to them. Chances are that they'll/you'll never get caught. I'd have them look into purchasing some royalty free music as a good compromise - lots of options out there. I'd tell them you arent willing to risk it. Especially if they arent paying much I wouldnt touch it with a ten foot pole. Money talks though :)
 
The short answer... it is illegal to use copyrighted material in you work without the proper permissions from the copyright holder/distributor, etc, etc, etc....
 
Is there a place where I can purchase royalty free music, or a place that can help me find royalty free music?
 
I have been doing some research and I came across a term called "Public Domain."
I spoke with the school and they informed that they wouldn't mind if I used classical music, like, Beethoven and Bach.
Is Beethoven and Bach's music in the public domain, how can I check?
 
Only problem with that... you have to get someone to perform that music live for you. You still can't use just anybody's performance of it. If such and such a symphony perform and record beethoven's 5th, you can't use it without their permission.

You can get the school band to perform some public domain works, and record them. That *should* be fine. I'm no lawyer, though

Jason
 
You're looking at two sepperate aspects of intellectual property: the musical composition, and the recorded performance. Even when a musical composition is in the public domain (eg. Bach, Beethoven), specific recordings will still be protected by copyright law. Intellectual propperty protection periods keep getting extended, so some music that one would expect to be public domain (eg. Gershwin) may well not be.

Search for a production music vendor that has in their catalogue the type of music you're after. They'll be more than happy to sell you a license to use specific pieces of music. Public domain music in particular is usually very reasonably priced. You can also comparison shop, since a given piece of classical music can usually be found in many different production music catalogues. Of course, always read the license agreement.

If you don't know for certain that you're entitled to use a piece of music, don't. Michael C Donaldson wrote a pretty good book on the subject entitled "Clearance & Copyright: Everything the Independent Filmmaker Needs to Know."
 
Hm, okay.
Well this is a shot in the dark, but, I have another question.
If I didn't put my name on the piece AND I was paid in cash.
Would I be able to use the music because nobody would have proof that I made it?
 
Just know that technically you are breaking the law, and must accept any potential consequences. If you use copyrighted music, you do so at your own risk. Period.

Jason
 
Mr. Durden said:
nobody would have proof that I made it?
Click to expand...

That assumes you wipe off all fingerprints and knock-off any witnesses.

-Dan
(Just kidding of course to make a point.)
 
You can use all the music you want, but when the school gets the phone call about the lawsuit guess who else will be getting a phone call... I wouldnt even begin to do it. Royalty free music is so cheap comparison to the fines, jail time, and bad rep.
 
They didn't till you posted here...

Mr. Durden said:
Hm, okay.
Well this is a shot in the dark, but, I have another question.
If I didn't put my name on the piece AND I was paid in cash.
Would I be able to use the music because nobody would have proof that I made it?
Click to expand...
 
I would go to Digital Juice and listen to what is there. I also have a fair amount of Royalty free music that I have pulled off the Web from various sites. There graduation music they may have an agreement for - or not.

You don't say were you are from, Canada is harder about infringement and goes after the editors also. But if you must at the very least get the school to sign an agreement that they are responsible for clearing all the music they want you to use. It's not a lot of protection but it at least gets you that Nixonian "plausible deniability" and may save your house.
 
Take a look at http://www.magnatune.com
I have purchased a few of their works at a very reasonable price for use in YouTube videos. They have various licensing options and rates - the school could probably purchase it for a non-profit or educational license; it could be something like $20 for a album with royalty free educational use; do a little research on their site. They do have a big selection of excellent classical music and might even have some graduation tunes. My experience with them was good and it was easy to buy (downloaded CD quality music). Good luck.
 
We just purchased a collection of royalty free classical music that has a license that includes use on commercial DVDs up to, I think, 5000 units. The music, which includes cuts from "The Nutcracker", as well as Pomp and Circumstance, 1812 Overture, and a bunch of others, was about $100.

These were good quality orchestral arrangements, provided via download immediately after purchase.

If you are interested, I can dig up the URL for the place we got it from.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top