COPYRIGHT INFORMATION FOR MUSIC AND STORYTELLING |
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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION FOR MUSIC/STORYTELLING |
SOS: SEARCHING OUT STORIES AND INFORMATION ABOUT COPYRIGHT FOR MUSIC AND STORYTELLING
Advice, Comments and References from Storytellers, Teachers and Librarians
(excerpts from Storytell posts plus original research)
Book titles and online links are in blue and underlined. Click on them to get more information.
Story and song titles are in quotation marks.
To retell any stories, obtain permission from the copyright holder if the material is not in the public domain.
Posts are added chronologically as they are received by Story Lovers World.
1) Query:
We have talked many times about copyright issues, but this one has me stumped. A fellow Riverwinder asked me this and I'm not sure how to respond. I kind of thought that it may be covered under the parody clause...Anyone??
What is the rule for using music in storytelling? I have an Aesop fable that I do as a jazzy bluesy type thing – I sing it – but it is set to the music of Rockin’ Robbin. I also have one that I do to the Beverly Hillbillies. I used them at Troy the other night – I figured – it’s a controlled audience – parents and students – but I’m not so sure that I could use those pieces if I were at some type of a festival that’s open to everyone. I’m sure there must be some type of copyright issue with the music.
Marilyn K. 4/14/05
Responses:
a) So far, the BMI/ASCAP police have not been casing the storytelling scene... However, when I lived in Florida, there were apparently agents from BMI/ASCAP that were shutting down venues without music licenses. I use a lot of music in my storytelling, most of it stuff I write myself, but when I performed at Barnes & Noble bookstores, I was not allowed to use any music at all, because they didn't have a license. Even when I wasn't being paid for the gigs... Pretty sad state of affairs there. That was in 2002, hopefully things have improved.
Leanne J. 4/14/05
b) But they DO case scenes where music is sometimes played. My storytelling contracts from some big theaters and community centers have required me to swear that I would only use original music or pieces for which I had written permission. If I had used ASCAP/BMI music, the venue would have had to pay an extra fee.
Fran S. 4/14/05
c) I believe Capitol Steps won a case on political parodies, using historical precedent in part -- I don't know if it carries over to storytelling.
Mary G. 4/14/05
d) Thanks to folks like the Beastie Boys, the courts say that parodies are absolutely fine to use any old time you want. So put any old words to the songs that you want. Have a ball!
Lainie L. 4/14/05
e) I use some music as background, esp. when doing magic. I have purchased royalty free music that I can safely do that with. I can use it in shows, I just can't sell the music. I have a number of different themes that sort of sound like commercial music but are not the same. There are a number of sources for this type music.
The one I use is Laflin Magic. They have several royalty free music CDs that are very nice.
http://www.laflinmagic.com/
and click "Make It Music" CD.
I know Duane and Mary Laflin and they are fine people. I love their CD.Also you can do an online search for "royalty free music cd" and you will come up with a number of sources. This music is designed for performers, videos, etc where a background music is needed without the cost of regular commercial. The CDs cost more than regular music CDs but that is the last cost. On the Laflin CDs, the music sounds like different theme and moods.
In my shows, when I use music, I usually use it at the beginning, during magic, and after the show. I have burned CDs with 3 pieces on them; before, magic, and after. I have several of these with different moods. I pick one for each show. Burning them in advance makes it easy to use on stage as there are only three pieces on the CD.
Bob S. 4/14/05
f) Marilyn wanted to know if I could find an online source for the Beastie Boys information I gave earlier. Well...Why no, I shouldn't be going to bed after a 7-hour road trip. But why should I do that when I've got to investigate the Beastie Boys? This was a lead I had to follow. Their case wasn't exactly a parody, but it was "sampling" of another work in their song. It was protected. See for details:
http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/packets001734.shtml
No, it seems the people you *really* have to thank is 2 Live Crew (you wouldn't want to learn more if you don't know much already - they're the ones who performed that timeless classic, Get the F--- out my House B----) for their parody of Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman. That one went all the way to the Supreme Court, where Justice Souter writes the opinion. Parody is "fair use." Check it out at:
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/92-1292.ZO.html
By the way, if you scroll to the end, you'll see the lyrics for both Orbison and 2 Live Crew's songs. Not for the faint of heart.
Lainie L. 4/14/05
g) Lainie (and all) Wow! I looked up "Parodies - coyprights" in Google and never found this. I did find ruling for others however. Do you remember the parody that was online this last election of "This is Your Land". It was hysterical. Well, I guess the author of the song (which escapes me at this moment) was not amused and sued for copyright. He lost because it was a parody. Good work, Sherlock. You have gained the "right" to say, "Elementary, my good friend, Elementary!"
Marilyn K. 4/15/05
2) The "this land is your land" parody in question was the hugely popular online "Jib-Jab" flash animation that ran during the last election, featuring George Bush and John Kerry. Not, I think, as good as their first one, but then I am sentimental about Guthrie, did not find that the parody really hit home on anything useful on either candidate (Kerry and Edwards are gay and kiss, Bush is merely dumb). Jay Leno picked it up off the web, and ran it on his show, with the creators as guests. It's about right for Jay-- equally offensive/inoffensive to the general run of dems and repubs.
TLIYL is a political song, politics of the kind that people are passionate about, and the parody was made to make a different (and to me fairly shallow) kind of political commentary.
The copyright holder is, I guess, the Guthrie Children's Trust Fund, a foundation which was set up during Guthrie's lifetime to take care of his heirs. He had no money, and was incapacitated, and he had all these kids. I doubt that Arlo has had much to do with it, but who knows? I could understand it if he did, feelings were running very high during that campaign-- still are, I guess, though in a more dull, habituated kind of way-- and the fact and content of the parody would touch a number of sore spots. It's his father, it's his heritage, it's the lefty national anthem, *and* the parody generated a lot of money and a huge amount of attention. Neither Arlo nor Woody have come close to that kind of attention-blitz in a long time.
Parodies, while protected by the courts, do tend to trivialize the things they are derived from-- they can be both insult and injury that way. I now avoid "fractured" fairy tales, much as I enjoyed them on Rocky and His Friends, because the fun they provoke is literally at the expense of better stuff than themselves. Pete Seeger once complained about the Smothers Brothers in a similar vein. He knew Huddy Ledbetter, he knew Woody, he knew lots of the sources of the material the brothers were parodying (they of course were parodying modern revival folksingers pretending to be "the folk"), he was their champion, and he hated to see their (and his) life's work denigrated and insulted, as he saw it.
The EEF is representing JibJab. Commentary here:
http://www.boingboing.net/2004/07/29/eff_defending_creato.html
Jib Jab just put up a new one, "Second Term", but too many people are looking at it, my connection times out.
http://www.jibjab.com/lowband/default.htm
Tim J. 5/12/05
3) Query:
I was browsing in a bookstore the other day, and discovered a big fat "fake" book, which included music and words to most of the public domain songs in our culture. It included traditional tunes of Mother Goose rhymes as well as old traditional folk songs. I was EXTREMELY disturbed to see under EACH and EVERY entry in this book: "Copyright by (and I've forgotten the name of the publisher). What this publisher did was make EVERY traditional --"public domain": tune and song owned by THEM! In the front of the book was the statement that anyone performing, recording, or copying these copyrighted songs would have to get permission from them and pay a royalty.
I have a couple of these traditional Mother Goose songs on my CD. I had NO idea that some publisher had taken them out of public domain!!!! If they ever try to sue me, I'll take them on. It is absolutely unconscionable for someone to do this.
I was going to buy the fake book because it would be a wonderful resource, but when I saw that they had copyrighted all those traditional songs, I refused to send them any money by buying their book.
I'm not sure if there is any recourse we storytellers and folk musicians have in this case. It would be an interesting court case.
Judith W. 1/8/06
Responses:
a) I am not a lawyer, nor am I extremely well versed in copyright law, but based on some things I have read, I think that the songs still remain in the PD, unless the author has changed them in some way. The book itself is copyrightedm but according to some of the info in the links below, once something enters the PD, it remains there, unless and artist/musician has given it a new twist, thereby altering the original. Here are some links for you to look at:
The United States Copyright Law: A Guide for Music Educators. Includes rights and limitations of copyright owners, duration, etc.
http://www.menc.org/resources/view/united-states-copyright-law-a-guide-for-music-educatorsFrequently Asked Questions
http://www.pdinfo.com/faq.htmThe quote below is from the book The Public Domain: How to Find Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More
http://www.nolo.com/product.cfm/ObjectID/CF0946AF-06EA-46EF-A2FC0F9F99DB505D/sampleChapter/2/310/
There is a sample chapter on the site and you can order or download the e-book. It looks like a great reference.
"Public domain" means what it says -- public domain works belong to the public as a whole. Anyone is free to use them any way they wish. No one can ever obtain copyright protection for public domain material. Once a work enters the public domain it usually stays there forever. (See Chapter 2 for a more detailed discussion of copyright law.) "
I also found info on another book:
Mini-Encyclopedia of Public Domain Songs. Annual. New York: BZ /Rights Stuff, 1993– .
http://www.bzrights.com/pdomain.htm
"A "very selective" list of familiar musical works that have fallen into the public domain under U.S. copyright laws. Use it to identify songs in the public domain to perform or record. But note: Arrangements can be copyrighted as well as the original work. The introduction to the Mini-Encyclopedia uses the example of the children's song "A-Tisket, A-Tasket"; while the rhyme is in the public domain, Ella Fitzgerald's version is still under copyright.
For works not listed in the Mini-Encyclopedia, apply the guidelines from sources like the Copyright Primer for Librarians and Educators, 2nd ed., by Janis Bruwelheide (American Library Association, 1995). The Copyright Handbook, 2nd ed., by Donald F. Johnston (R. R. Bowker, 1982) explains a lot of the exceptions and special cases. I also like The Copyright Handbook: How to Protect and Use Written Works, 4th ed., by Stephen Fishman (Nolo Press, 1997).
If you are concerned with your about your CD you might want to schedule and appt. with a copyright attorney just to make sure all is well.
Karen C. 1/8/06
b) Relevant books:
Public Domain, The: How to Find and Use Copyright Free Writings, Music, Art & More
The Mini-Encyclopedia of Public Domain Songs, 1998
The Copyright Primer for Librarians and Educators
The Copyright Handbook: How To Protect & Use Written Works
The Copyright Handbook: What Every Writer Needs to Know
All You Need to Know About the Music Business 6th Edition
The Plain & Simple Guide to Music Publishing: Foreword by Tom Petty (Book)
This Business of Music, 10th Edition
Musician's Business & Legal Guide (4th Edition)
Legal Aspects of the Music Industry
This Business of Music: The Definitive Guide to the Music Industry, Ninth Edition (Book only)
c) I wouldn't be overly concerned. They have the right to copyright this particular representation of the songs, just not the songs themselves. In other words, they've gone to a lot of work and expense to create this resource. They don't want a few people to buy the book and copy the pages for everyone in sight. You can make your own versions and copy them to your heart's content. But you can't copy the book, other than what falls under "fair use".My ex and I had a small publishing house for ten years. (He still has it.) Occasionally we heard from happy customers who blithely told us how much they liked our work and how pleased they were to tell us they were making copies for all their students, all their friends, and Aunt Millie. Were we pleased they found the work useful? Absolutely. Were we OK with their making copies? Absolutely not.
Most people aren't that forthcoming with their piracy, and we never sued anyone. But it's discouraging when you put up all the money and can only recoup that if people buy the product, and then your fans tell you they're making copies for everyone.
In this case, please don't be angry with the publishers. They have every right to copyright a particular representation of a particular song. They're probably not saying they own the words or the tune. More likely, they are saying they own what you're holding in your hands. If there are musical arrangements, they're saying those arrangements can't just be copied and circulated.
If the book is a compilation of sheet music or lyric resources that are in the public domain and simply photographed/scanned/duplicated (pick the right one) and re-issued here, that's a different story. They can't claim copyright for a work already in the public domain. But if they've re-set the words and music, they CAN claim copyright for their work.
No need to be angry with these folks. Sounds as if they've done a service for the folk music community.
Cathryn W. 1/7/06
Response to c) above: Thank you for your response. I'll have to go back and look at the Fake book again to see exactly what it says, but I do remember reading in the beginning of the book that they own the rights to the written copy AND to performance of any of those works. I'll go to the bookstore and look it up again to be sure.Also, the songs weren't given with any particular "arrangement"--it simply provided the melody and words. Maybe the chords were included--that would be a particular "arrangement" I guess. I looked at several of the traditional melodies, and they were provided simply as I knew them--no changes.
I guess to be sure, I should get the name of the publisher and contact them and ask what they intended by copyrighting all those traditional songs. (Except then they might do a little research and find my use of them on the CD!)
Judith W. 1/8/06
d) "I just remembered having heard that someone copyrighted "Happy Birthday to
You" and that was why so many restaurants sing other (more original, more
interesting?) versions. True? or urban myth?"Yes, it is true.
Urban Legends Reference Pages: Music (Happy Birthday, We'll Sue)
http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/birthday.asp
Karen C. 1/8/07
Response to d) above: Re: [storytell] Music in Public Domain, was Music with storiesThe "Happy Birthday" song was indeed written by someone. Whenever it is used in a movie, you will see the credit given, and I'm sure a royalty was paid. Thanks for all those links--I should be able to find useful information there. I'm going to go back to the bookstore where I saw the Fake book and check again the exact wording they put in the book about copyright.
Judith W. 1/8/06
e) Minding the storytellers' booth at a big librarians' conference, I had one woman turn to her buddy: "Don't bother to buy her tape, I already have it. I'll dub a copy for you." And then she smiled, to indicate that she just KNEW I'd be flattered.
Fran S. 1/8/06
4) I found a good article on music copyrights earlier today; thought it might be of interest.
http://www.consumerinjurylawyers.com/resources/music-copyright-laws.html
Lisa D. 5/4/09
Created 2005; last update 8/12/09
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