Copyright Information

Music falls under the same rules as print materials. Technology today makes it very easy to include audio/music to multimedia projects. However, that does not mean that it is legal to do so. Music falls under the same rules as other media and is protected by copyright law. Permission needs to be obtained for any use that does not fall within fair use. See below.

You may make a copy of an audio file once it passes into the public domain. See table, When Does a Work Pass into the Public Domain to determine if the work is in the public domain.

Use in a class setting is okay, provided fair use guidelines are met. If it is to be used outside class, check at the source to determine copyright permission.

Classroom Guidelines: There are no absolute numbers to rely on, but there are some guidelines that are often cited. They were developed by the Ad Hoc Committee of Educational Institutions and Organizations on Copyright Law Revision, the Authors League of America, Inc., and the Association of American Publishers, and were made part of the Congressional Record to the Copyright Law. Their document is entitled "Agreement of Guidelines for Classroom Copying in Not for Profit Educational Institutions" but is most often referred to as the " Classroom Guidelines"). The Classroom Guidelines use the concepts of brevity, spontaneity and cumulative effect to illustrate what may or may not be a fair use. They suggest numerical limits as the minimum standards of educational fair use under Section 107.

For music, lyrics, and music video, the guidelines suggest up to 10 percent of the work but no more than 30 seconds of the music or lyrics from an individual musical work. Here are reprinted the Classroom Guidelines list of permissible uses and prohibitions.

Permissible Uses

1. Emergency copying to replace purchased copies which for any reason are not available for an imminent performance provided purchased replacement copies shall be substituted in due course.
2. For academic purposes other than performance, single or multiple copies of excerpts of works may be made, provided that the excerpts do not comprise a part of the whole which would constitute a performable unit such as a selection, movement or aria, but in no case more than 10% of the whole work. The number of copies shall not exceed one copy per pupil.
3. Printed copies which have been purchased may be edited or simplified provided that the fundamental character of the work is not distorted or the lyrics, if any, altered or lyrics added if none exist.
4. A single copy of recordings of performances by students may be made for evaluation or rehearsal purposes and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher.
5. A single copy of a sound recording (such as a tape, disk or cassette) of copyrighted music may be made from sound recordings owned by an educational institution or an individual teacher for the purpose of constructing aural exercises or examinations and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher. (This pertains only to the copyright of the music itself and not to any copyright which may exist in the sound recording.)

Prohibitions

1. Copying to create or replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations or collective works.
2. Copying of or from works intended to be "consumable" in the course of study or of teaching such as workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and answer sheets and like material.
3. Copying for the purpose of performance, except as in permissible uses (1) above.
4. Copying for the purpose of substituting for the purchase of music, except as in permissible uses (1) and (2) above.
5. Copying without inclusion of the copyright notice which appears on the printed copy.

Permission must be obtained for any uses that are not instructional.

Purchased audio/music materials may be placed on reserve.

If you have purchased a set of tapes and wants to make and put a copy of the set on reserve but wants to keep the original set for your own use, you must obtain written permission from the publisher (copyright holder). Frequently publishers will give permission without charging, but that cannot be assumed. The Library will seek copyright permission, as needed, and keep you informed.

You are responsible for copyright permission for your own web site.

Just because something is on the Internet and is easy to use, does not mean it is free to use!  Be sure to cite or attribute what you do use appropriately. Internet resources often combine both copyrighted and public domain content. Use care in downloading any content from websites. Check site to see if permission should be requested or if allowed.

Be aware of the copyright ramifications of including embedded additional links to that particular site. Deep linking to pages several levels deep within a site may also lose this context and raise the objections of a site owner. These are at the very least courtesy situations and may be considered contributory infringement. In losing context, you may obscure attribution.

If you wish to perform a musical work on campus, you will need to obtain the appropriate permissions.

If you want to record and distribute a musical composition that has already been recorded by someone else, or synchronize music with visual images, you need permission as well. One source is to check with The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. Online performances are quite complicated. They involve three rights:

1. the performance right in the musical composition (ASCAP, BMI)
2. the performance right in the sound recording (usually the record label -- see the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
3. the right to duplicate the musical composition (i.e., Harry Fox Agency)

Each of these rights must be licensed from a separate entity.The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) represents most major labels and has a good explanation of the statutory license available to certain Webcasters. You will have to get permission from each record label whose recordings you wish to Webcast. Music Research Consultants' web page contains links to publishers, record labels, music rights agencies, and more. This is a good place to gather contact information. If you know the name of an artist, album, song or label, the All-Music Guide allows you to search for more information and often links directly to the source.

See these resources for additional information:

Music Publishers Association Copyright Resource Page
Recording Industry Association of America