Music Copyright Information and guidance for Herts Music Service activities Wednesday 27th April 2016

Topics covered in this presentation  How to work out whether music is in copyright  What you can and can't do either copyrighted music  Getting permission to use copyrighted music for performance, arrangements and recordings, plus making photocopies.  A notable exception – Grand Rights The information and processes covered in this presentation are not applicable to stage works such as operas, musicals etc. Rights for these works will only be controlled by the owners directly and are not covered by any of the licences or schemes discussed.

Copyright on musical works Length of copyright  In the majority of countries, including the UK and all EU member states, music is in copyright for 70 years from the death of the composer  This term is until the end of the calendar year, so you don't need to know the exact date a composer died or that the recording was made  If this period of time has elapsed the music becomes Public Domain, which allows anyone to use and copy the music without regulation.  The exception to this is where a significant new edition is produced which can be copyrighted for 25 years, for instance a new critical edition of a Mahler symphony.

Copyright on musical works What you are not allowed to do (without proper permission)  Make copies of the work, either physical or digital copies.  Rent, lend or give copies of the work  Perform the work to the public  Adapt the work e.g. arrangements, sampling

Making copies of printed music How to get permission  If delivering work in schools making copies might be covered by the Schools Printed Music Licence.  Otherwise contact the publisher requesting permission to make copies with details of how many and the purpose.  There are some circumstances where you are granted permission to make copies without having to contact the publisher. These are set out in the Music Publishers Association Code of Fair Practice.

Making copies of printed music Notable permissions granted under the Code of Fair Practice (MPA)  Exams - photocopies can be made for examiners but original copies must be used by the candidates  Emergency copies – where parts have gone missing from an ensemble set too close to the performance to obtain a genuine copy. Further to this, if the music is available to purchase, a replacement should be bought as soon as possible. The copy should then be destroyed. If the work is on hire, the copy made should be returned with the other hire material after the performance.  Performance difficulties – if there are awkward page turns it is permissible to make copies of individual pages as required to allow for an unhindered performance.  Orchestra and Band parts – if you require more parts and these are not sold individually you may make additional copies up to 25% of the number of parts provided with the set. You should make contact with the publisher to check that they don't sell individually before making copies.  Bowed string parts for future performances – if you are likely to hire a work again in future you are allowed to keep one copy of each string part including any bowings/fingerings used

Making copies of printed music Schools Printed Music Licence  Last updated in February Now much more useful to music services and their staff in schools. However work delivered in centres and on courses run by Music Services is not covered.  The licence permits schools to legally make copies of printed music by photocopying, scanning, score-writing software programs, notation by hand & posting on a school VLE.  Music must be owned by either the school, music service or teacher delivering the work.  Can be used for individual or group lesson teaching as long as it is part of the schools Collective Educational Provision.  Some music is excluded or restricted. Updated list can be found on the CLA website but notable exceptions are Trinity College Theory workbooks and Rock School grade books. Anthologies and Vocal scores containing multiple pieces have a limit of 10% of the pieces included.

Performance and recording permission Performing Rights Society and licensing  Venues require a licence from the Performing Rights Society (PRS) for live performances or listening to recorded music. This must be in place before the event happens.  Generally most concert halls, churches and workplaces will have a PRS licence, as well as most other small and large businesses. However you should always check when going to a new venue that they have this. Occasionally a venue may require you as the promoter to obtain a licence for the event yourself.  After a concert the PRS licence holder will be expected to pay a royalty fee. Some venues pay this themselves as part of your hire and some expect you as the promoter to pay this yourself. Again you should check at the point of hiring the venue what their policy is to avoid unexpected bills.  N.B. Many music hire contracts and some music made for purchase specify terms about you being required to seek permission to perform the music in public. This is usually referring to having a licence in place with a royalty collecting society, in the UK being PRS.

Performance and recording permission Sound and video recordings  Make sure you have permission from the copyright owners to make a recording of the music. If you have purchased or hired printed music the publisher will often deal with requests themselves on behalf of the copyright owner.  Purchase an appropriate licence from PRS. In most instances you will only need to use the Limited Manufacture Licence as this goes up to 1000 copies. This can be completed online in c.15mins.  If you intend to upload a recording onto the internet this will also need to be licensed. There is a similar limited use licence available from PRS for this purpose.  YouTube has their own licence in place to allow content providers to upload copyrighted material without additional licensing. Permission is still required from the copyright owners to do this but there should be no additional admin or fees.

Performance and recording permission Sound and video recordings – who has rights? There a number of different parties that hold rights when making a recording. Make sure you have permission from the following:  Copyright owner – often dealt with via the publisher plus getting a licence from PRS  Performers - Most paid performers would come under the heading of Non- Featured Performers. This is where a performer sacrifices their rights to a recording for an additional one-off payment. Be aware when engaging professional musicians that they may demand this and should be notified in advance if a recording is being made of a concert. Most will waive this for amateur and student performances if the recording isn't being made widely available.  Recording engineer – even if this is just the person who presses the record button on a handheld device. If engaging an outside company who holds what rights to the recording should be agreed in the contract.

Creating & using arrangements  Any music you wish to arrange that is in copyright will need permission from the copyright holders. This is often done through the publishers but may sometimes be directly with the owner.  The processing time for arrangement applications can vary in length. They can take several months, so always get them done as soon as is possible. Generally if you make a request with less than 3 weeks notice don't expect to get permission.  In almost all instances the publisher/copyright owner will want to see a completed version of the arranged score before they will consider giving permission. This should be ready and sent with the initial application.

Creating & using arrangements Identifying who to contact  Look at the copyright line that can be found either inside the front cover or at the bottom of the first page of the music, to find out who owns the copyright for the piece.  Sometimes the copyright is owned by multiple writers and companies. You may have to make several applications. However generally there will be only one or two companies that administer the rights.  Once the owner is identified, contact the appropriate publishers.  If you're unsure contact a publisher that you are able to buy the original music from. They should know who controls the rights for the music they sell.  You can also contact PRS or the Music Publishers Association who may be able to identify the copyright owner.

Creating & using arrangements  There will usually be two parts to your application. Permission to arrange and a licence to print copies of the arrangement to perform from.  Typically the arranger will not hold any copyright from the arrangement and will not be entitled to any royalty payment for its use. However they can be credited on the score.  Often arrangement permission is granted for a specific use, for example a song arrangement to be used at a specific concert. You will generally not be allowed to lend, sell or hire the arrangement.  If you are making an arrangement to use in a school event permission will probably be covered by the Schools Printed Music Licence and you won't need to make any additional application.

Useful links and information  Photocopying guidelines practicehttp:// practice  Schools Printed Music Licence licences/schools-printed-music-licence/ licences/schools-printed-music-licence/  Public Domain Music Library  Performing Rights Society  Copyright for UK sound recordings recordings/copyright-in-sound-recordings recordings/copyright-in-sound-recordings  American copyright database search/index.aspx