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Christian music copyrights, copyright free royalty free music songs, legal music downloads
 A brief but informative overview of music copyright law and royalty payments. Please read the disclaimer at the bottom of this page, especially if you are entering into a music contract or looking for legal advice.
Non-profit organisations
- We will consider copyright free / royalty free use of the songs from
this website for non-profit purposes. Make application by sending us an
email stating who you are, the URL of your web site (if you have one),
and a detailed description of your intended use of the song, and we
will consider your request.
THIS WEB PAGE ANSWERS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS......
What is copyright?
Copyright
is "the right to copy". The author of the work is deemed the copyright
"owner", and they have the right to make copies or license to others
this right.
Do I need to copyright my songs? How do I copyright music?
Your
songs are copyrighted as soon as they're written, but if you want legal
proof that you own the copyright to the song then you need to register
it with the copyright office in Washington. This is about $30 per
registration, but if you want to protect your songs for less money,
bundle them all together and call your collection something like "The
collected works of me the songwriter" and get them all registered for
one copyright fee.
What are royalties?
"Royalties" are monies earned from songs and/or sound recordings from various sources.
Types of Rights and Royalties
Mechanical licenses and royalties
- A mechanical royalty is the royalty due from the sale of songs on CDs
and cassettes. The royalty is paid to the recording artist, songwriter,
and publisher based on the number of recordings sold.
Performance rights and royalties - The performance royalty is paid to the songwriter and publisher when a song is performed live or on the radio.
Synchronization rights and royalties -
The synchronization royalty is paid to songwriters and publishers for
use of a song used as background music for a movie, TV show, or
commercial.
Print rights and royalties - This is a royalty paid to songwriters and publishers based on sales of printed sheet music.
Digital music copyrights - There are now copyright laws and royalties for downloading music over the internet
Recording someone elses song.
What must be done to comply with music copyright law? What sort of royalty payments need to be made? How much is paid? How is this done?
Since I live in New Zealand, I will quote from our local industry, but the principles apply worldwide.
"Guide to the Audio Manufacture License Application - making audio recordings of musical works" (APRA/AMCOS )
"The
Commonwealth Copyright Act provides a statutory right to make copies of
musical works (the original tune and lyrics as composed and written)
onto audio recordings providing:
1. the sole purpose is for retail sale;
2. that a prior notice of the intention to make the recording is made to the copyright owner; and
3. an appropriate royalty is paid to the copyright owner.
The
Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society Limited (AMCOS) is a
copyright collection society that represents virtually all the music
publishers based in Australia and New Zealand for the reproduction
("copying") right and by way of reciprocal agreements with similar
societies worldwide many millions of international works. AMCOS acts
as the 'copyright owner' in all these musical works for copies made
under this statutory right.
If
you intend making an audio recording of a copyright musical work you
will always require a licence from the person or entity that controls
the relevant rights in Australia. In the vast majority of cases, this
is AMCOS."
In a nutshell, you must contact your local copyright collection agency and go from there.
However, many artists are independent ( not affiliated with any recording company or music publisher ) hence the collection of royalties is not handled
by the relevant collection societies. You must be "signed up" with a
record company before AMCOS or any other society will collect royalties
on your behalf - they only deal with the record companies and music
publishers. ( To qualify as a "publisher" you must have a "catalogue"
of artists and not just be "publishing" your own works. The collection
agencies do not represent individuals. )
So,
unless the artist is world famous and obviously has a recording
contract, if you want to use their song contact them and find out if
they are independent artists. If they are then you can negotiate some
agreement with them for royalty payment on a personal basis. If you
want to base this on the going rate in the industry at large then here
are the rates:
( Note: If a song has never been recorded before, the owner of the song must first give permission in
order for it to be recorded that first time. Once a song has been
recorded, anyone can record it as long as the mechanical royalties are
paid. Often there will be a deal worked out in which a
songwriter/publisher may agree to allow a recording for less than the
standard rate. )
The royalties are calculated differently depending on where you live.
AUSTRALASIA
In
Australasia the royalty is 5.6% and on a pro rata basis this means you
pay approx 14 c per song per cd sold (assuming there are 10 songs on a
cd witb a RRP $25 ) Royalties are paid at point of manufacture to the
copyright holder, and not as cds are sold.
So if an artist records another persons song,
and the parties agree to the industry royalty payment of 5.6% you do a
simple calculation on a pro rata basis. If the artist has 10 songs on
the cd, and the cd sells for $25, and he manufactures 1000 cds, he pays
the owner of the song 0.056/10 songs x $25 x 1000 cds = $140
USA
The
current statutory rate for a U.S. copyright is 8¢ (US) per song. (
effective January 2002-2003. The rate is changed every 2 years (even
years) in January. It will go up every two years until 2006, at which
time it will remain at 9.1¢ per song until changed. For more info on
this refer to freeadvice.com and songrights.com
So, what would be the US equivalent of a royalty payment for an artist wanting to use one song on an album?
With the current (2003) rate
of 8c (US) per song, the calculation would be $0.08 x 1000 cds = $80
(US) This is roughly the equivalent of the Australasian royalty
calculation depending on the current exchange rate.
What happens if an actual sound recording of a song is used as part of a compilation cd?
The
AMCOS 5.6% mechanical royalty is the rate if the artist RE-RECORDS your
song, NOT if your actual original sound recording is used as part of a
compilation cd. This is negotiated differently. To my knowledge there is no standard industry rate, so the whole thing is negotiable between the parties concerned.
Printed music. What are the royalty payments?
PRINT
INCOME: Print royalties are paid to the song owner that granted the
print music license. ( In the professional music industry that is
usually the music publisher but in your average indie artist situation
that won't be a publisher - that will be the writer of the song ) The
print licenses are usually non-exclusive and limited to three to five
years in duration. For a single-song sheet music, publishers are
usually paid 20% of the marked retail price.
What should a standard music copyrights notification include?
There are two copyrights involved when making use of a song. One is for the music and lyrics and the other is for the recording of the song. This explains why you find two copyright symbols on any tape or cd. "C" and "P"
Music and lyrics
For the first copyright there is the international symbol © (
If you're trying to type it on your computer go to WORD / insert /
symbol / choose Lucida console font - you'll find it there. Copy and
paste! ) You add the date the music was composed, then the name of the
composer, or publisher if a publisher is involved. Address, and other
contact info is included.
If someone elses song is being used then obviously their copyright information must be used with the usual "used by permission".at the end.
For
example, anyone wanting to make use of one of my songs would be
required to have the following information associated with the use of
that song. With CDs it would be printed on the liner notes after the
song lyrics. In the case of printed sheet music it would be printed at
the bottom of the page.
© 2003 Ray Watson - The Secret Place
P.O. Box 27 077, Mt. Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand.
All rights reserved, unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.
Used by permission.
I also request people add my website address : www.secretplaceministries.org
Recording
If
you are recording a song, you should also include the other copyright
symbol. Unfortunately my computer cannot make this symbol, but it
consists of a "p" with a circle around it, just like the © symbol. The
date and the band/artist's name should also follow this symbol, just
like the © symbol. This circled "p" symbol means that you are claiming
a copyright in the sound recordings on the cd.
Hence
any artist owning the copyright to a song and recording that song for
the first time should have something like this ......
© & P 2003 Ray Watson - The Secret Place
P.O. Box 27 077, Mt. Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand.
All rights reserved, unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.
www.secretplaceministries.org
Anyone
wanting to make use of the actual sound recording of an already
recorded version of a song ( for example on a compilation cd ) would
need to include the above copyright notification plus the words "Used by permission" at the end.
What is "Fair Use" copyright? Can I make copies of my music CD?
In
1992, Congress passed the Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA). This is the
law that allows you to make an audio recording for your own,
noncommercial use. Do not assume this applies outside the USA. More info
Linking Disclaimer
We
generally provide links to other websites as a service to our visitors
who may be interested in further information or resources. While we
try to add extra value to our site by only linking to those sites that
we feel are appropriate and do add value, by providing links to other
sites, Secret Place Ministries does not guarantee, approve or endorse
the information or products available at these sites.
MORE INFO copyright information music
poor man copyright, copyright downloading law music, copyright infringement music online,
Sharesong Click on "copyright" on Sharesong's links page and you'll find every link you ever needed on copyright.
CCLI - Church copyright license - christian copyright international licensing. How to license a song for church use.
http://www.ascap.com/musicbiz/ - bmi license music, ascap license music
http://www.apra.com.au/
http://www.mcps.co.uk/
http://www.josaka.com/Links/MusicResources.htm
Hope this helps!
Ray Watson
www.secretplaceministries.org
DISCLAIMER:
I am not a lawyer, please don't mistake the above for legal advice.
This site is not intended to be legal advice or a substitute for
obtaining legal advice from a licensed attorney. Further, this site
does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. No guarantee or
warranty, express or implied, is given with regard to the current
accuracy of any information provided and we shall not be liable for any
damages or liability whatsoever arising from the information provided
herein. We strongly recommend consulting an entertainment attorney
before entering into an agreement of any stature.
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