??using unlicenced music in film festials??

No you're not "allowed" to do it but many people do it anyhow, because film festivals are just not that widely seen (unless it's Toronto or Cannes), and film festivals aren't usually something which generates income for the filmmaker (hey, you usually pay THEM to get exhibited at a festival). That said, there are stories of films that got buzz at festivals and offers of distribtution only to have the entire deals fall apart because the filmmaker did not have certain rights cleared. So while it's unlikely anyone is going to sue you for using their song in a festival release, technically it's a breach of copyright. And while many films show at festivals without clearing things like music rights, I'm a believer in doing it right.
 
sean90291 said:
and film festivals aren't usually something which generates income for the filmmaker (hey, you usually pay THEM to get exhibited at a festival).
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True, but they can and do make money for the theater and the festival so you would indeed be in breach of copyright laws.
As a musician, if I walked into a theater that people were paying to see a movie in and I heard my music being played without my consent, I would be pissed.
 
I say it depends on the festival and what you're trying to get out of it. If it's some lowbrow student thing, no one is gonna care. If you're trying to showcase your talents and get noticed, it's a bad idea to be unoriginal.
 
DerrickTempleton said:
I say it depends on the festival and what you're trying to get out of it. If it's some lowbrow student thing, no one is gonna care. If you're trying to showcase your talents and get noticed, it's a bad idea to be unoriginal.
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It can be a lot worse than a bad idea. The laws have changed about rights violations and the old "all they can do is stop you from showing the film" no longer applies. They can in-fact press criminal charges and have you arrested.
Now is that likely in a student film... not too, but then again "Eraserhead" was a student film. If you show it there is always the chance that it will get noticed, and if there isn't why would you make it in the first pace?

There is a ton of production music out there and a bunch of it is royalty free, or creative commons. There are also a few million musicians that would let you use there music for nominal consideration - small fee, credit, profit sharing... There is really no reason to put yourself at risk by infringing on someone's rights.
 
It is a bad idea to use music you did not get permission for. If you really want to use the music you can get what is called festival licencing. You basically get the right to use the song in a festival only. If your film gets picked up you will have to renegotiate with the artist. It does cost a bit of money to get festival licencing but it is a lot cheaper than buying full licencing. You can contact the artists management listed on their CD and they can tell you how much money you will need to come up with. I have seen people willing to let you use music for free because they want exposure. I've also seen anywhere from $500 for a song all the way up to several thousand. It just depends. If you believe a song is critical to a section of your film, $500 is a small investment.
 
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