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Legalization of Music / Copyright Information


Subject: Legalizing music

Dear All
As I have been struggling with this for some years I have gleaned some knowledge which I would like to share with all of you.

In the Harmony E Note - the March issue of this year - there is the third in a series of articles by Nancy Foris who is HI's recording coordinator. Please read this! (And the first two in her series as well - see links below.)

Also, on the HI website under Education there is a section called Copyright. This contains two pieces of important information; one is the copyright test and the other is the document full of information about the latest copyright data. PLEASE READ THIS. It refers to several other websites for information including the BHS website from which most of this information was taken. Go there and check it out. I would also suggest that you delegate one member from each chorus to attend the copyright class being given this year at ACC by Sara Stone.

Each chorus should have at least one resource person (preferably the music librarian but whomever is willing is good) who is able to deal with these issues.

As a subset of this, I know that some of you also order learning tapes from other sources. You may not realize it but in order to distribute these tapes/CDs/MP3s to your chorus you also need something called a mechanical license. The information on the above websites refers to the American way to do this. I contacted Nancy Forris last year for the Canadian route.

Here is that information.

http://www.cdmanufacturing.ca/newheader/documents/mechanicals.pdf
The rules are a little different for Canada, and I think they're to your benefit.

The CMRRA is the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Limited (!). You can access forms from their site and all the information you need to get a licence. This allows you to make up to 500 copies (!) of your audio file for about $40 a time. (price has just changed).

If you have any questions let me know and I will pass you on to whomever has the correct information if I don't know it already myself.

Good luck and thank you for pursuing this - it is very important for us to legalize all of our music!

Cheers

Jane Risley
Former Area 1 ACJC (1999 - 2009)

IMPORTANT LINKS REGARDING THE LEGALIZING OF MUSIC

ASCAP/SOCAN
Gail Smith, Music Services Administrator
From: eNote, August 2009

O.K. – your chapter has decided to put on its annual show. Now you must decide on a date, location and theme. Are you going to have a guest quartet or a school choir or both? There are a lot of decisions to be made. Your director and music team has to decide on the music to sing (extra practices?).

Who’s responsible for contacting ASCAP (USA) or SOCAN (Cdn.)? But it’s not in the guidelines for putting on a show, you say. Well – put it in right now!! Everyone please make sure it is there.

Without the two organizations – ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada), you would have to get permission from every composer, songwriter, lyricist and music publisher for each piece of music that your chapter and guests sing on your show. Think how time consuming and expensive that would be. They provide music licenses, collect license fees and distribute those fees to the music creators and their publishers. Their music licenses only apply to public performance and communication of copyright musical works.

So when your chapter puts on a show, whether tickets are sold or not, you are responsible for filing a form, listing all the songs along with their composer/arranger that everyone has sung. Sounds complicated but it’s not. You already have the info of the songs that your chapter is singing, so make a list and advise your guest singers that you need their information before your show date and add that to your list. The hard part is now done.

In Canada, SOCAN’s number is 1-866-944-6223 and the application form #4A /4.b.1 for concert: popular/classical music will be sent to you. This year, 2009 you will pay 3% of your ticket sales or a minimum of $35.00 per concert. In USA, ASCAP can be found on the internet www.ascap with a list of offices that you can contact.

It is a little bit of paperwork but it is our responsibility to do it. We are a singing organization and the people who write and arrange the songs we sing deserve to be reimbursed for their efforts. We enjoy their songs enough to sing them so let’s show our appreciation by doing the right thing.

 
    

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