Need a good song for 50 years old birthday slideshow!

amiga500

amiga500

Active member
Any suggestions about songs?
I'm making a slideshow of pics for a woman turning 50.
The slideshow starts with child pics til present.

It will be screened at the party.

Any songs in mind I could try?

I don't want it people get sad looking at the pics, it needs to be Happy emotional song but slow.

For example: "Music" from Michael Jackson.

Thanks!
 
Actually, if it is only for personal use, not commercial,... AKA: not intended to promote a product, or the video itself is not a product you are selling or profiting from, I believe it is OK. (there is a grey area here) I see tons of inter-corporate video's where they do this. Nothing is for sale, and the video is only intended for internal use, or Rah! Rah! sessions for the employees.

For commercial use, it is taboo to use more than 7 contiguous seconds of any copyright song. (Im not a lawyer, but someone who is, is welcome to chime in here)

Anyway, Wedding folks use copyright stuff all the time. About 3 million videographers/production companies would be candidates for Alcatraz if this were the case. (It should be noted, for non-commercial/broadcast use, I believe you ARE "legally bound" to give the artist credit somewhere in the video, if you use their material.)

No biggie, just don't plan to sell your video to the masses, post it on YouTube, or place it on a local cable access/peg channel. That could get you into trouble IF the right person happens to be watching and decides to make an example out of you. (provided the peg channel does not pay into ASCAP/BMI, this is, in simple terms, how radio Stations and big production companies do it, If so, you are free to do what you want under their licencing,... always check with thier lawyers first!!!)
 
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This is grossly incorrect.

Whether for profit or not, it is ILLEGAL to use copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright holder. Yes, people get away with it. But all it takes is ONE PERSON -- ANY person -- to call the FBI and rat you out, and you're looking at a $250,000 fine and federal prison. Do not take copyright infrigement lightly.

The only 'grey area' involves 'fair use', which is mostly limited to educational purposes (meaning schools for teaching purposes), parody or commentary/critique (including documentaries, but under very specific rules).

Any other copying of music, video, photos, or the written word, without the permission of the copyright holder, is a federal crime.
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
The only 'grey area' involves 'fair use', which is mostly limited to educational purposes (meaning schools for teaching purposes), parody or commentary/critique (including documentaries, but under very specific rules).
.
Click to expand...

The rules are not specific at all. In fact, they are very much open to interpretation and remain so to allow wiggle room.
 
Peternap said:
The rules are not specific at all. In fact, they are very much open to interpretation and remain so to allow wiggle room.
Click to expand...
On the contrary - they are very specific, it's illegal to use music without the copyright owner's permission. To do so without is equivalent to theft.
 
Forever young? There's also a punk rock version that is good.

Are you being paid to do this slideshow? Just curious. I worked for a company for 2 years editing weddings and life events.
 
If its a one off for someones 50th birthday, theres nothing preventing you from playing any song in your cd collection on a cd player - technically thats against the law as well.

How many parties have you been to where the host has said - hmm this constitues a pubic performance, I can only play royalty free music. I cant recall how many weddings Ive been to which are outside where they are playing (c) copyright protected music, technically its against the law.

Do the right thing and buy the song your going to use for this purpose only and for your own listening pleasure, dont torrent it.

I dont encourage copyright violation at all, Im just saying this is someones 50th birthday party.

TO know the best song for this person, you'd have to ask friends or family. Is she married? What was a song her husband and her listened to when they first met? That might invoke emotions on a 50th birthday.
 
OF COURSE IT's ILLEGAL.
So is driving 26 mph in a 25 zone.
Or drinking a beer when you're 20 years and 364 days old.

Fortunately there is a shred of common sense left in the world where not only are you not going to be thrown in prison for your little personal party video, but no one will bother to care.
Pirate 2000 songs to a university's server? Someone will care.
Own a club that doesn't pay ASCAP's annual fees? Someone will care.

As for the original question, I'd check out the Billboard charts for the top songs of the years the photos came from, or find what her personal favorites were.
 
ceejay7777 said:
On the contrary - they are very specific, it's illegal to use music without the copyright owner's permission. To do so without is equivalent to theft.
Click to expand...


B.S.

Creators benefit from the fact that the copyright law does not exactly specify how to apply fair use. Creative needs and practices differ with the field, with technology, and with time. Instead, lawyers and judges decide whether an unlicensed use of copyrighted material is “fair” according to a “rule of reason.” This means taking all the facts and circumstances into account to decide if an unlicensed use of copyright material generates social or cultural benefits that are greater than the costs it imposes on the copyright owner. Fair use is flexible; it is not uncertain or unreliable. In fact, for any particular field of critical or creative activity, such as documentary filmmaking, lawyers and judges consider professional expectations and practice in assessing what is “fair” within the field. In weighing the balance at the heart of fair use analysis, courts employ a four-part test, set out in the Copyright Act. In doing so, they return again and again to two key questions:

Did the unlicensed use “transform”
the material taken from the
copyrighted work by using it
for a different purpose than the
original, or did it just repeat the
work for the same intent and
value as the original?

o Was the amount and nature of
material taken appropriate
in light of the nature of the
copyrighted work and of the use?

Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of
Best Practices
in Fair
Use
 
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http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”

Anyone concerned about copyright violations should visit the copyright office (link above) and read the law for themselves.
 
Ah .. so now I understand. It's OK for the OP to use copyright music just so long as he has a tame team of
lawyers and judges
Click to expand...
on hand to
decide whether an unlicensed use of copyrighted material is “fair” according to a “rule of reason.
Click to expand...
Should be a no-brainer then:birthdays:
 
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