Questions tagged [music]
For questions about laws applying to musical works, recording and performance.
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Are song titles subject to trademark?
Does this mean that several different songs from different artists can share the same name?
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On Copyrighting Hook-Augmented Melodies from the Public Domain
If one takes an old song in the United States public domain (e.g., "Wreck of the Old 97" comes to mind)---which has no refrain (i.e., a "hook")---and then adapts a completely ...
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A non-copyrightable song is misrepresented as having copyright, and then distributed on subscription based services. What happens as a remedy?
A song is substantially generated using AI, but declared to be copyright by some entity, and then posted on music services such as Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
The copyright is then successfully ...
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Is it possible to force a corporation to specify if artistic material was created using AI
There is a recent popular pop song, which I believe was created using AI.
Specifically, I believe the song was generated with a backing and a vocal, and then the vocal was rerecorded with a live ...
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A website is trying to sell my intellectual property. I'm not involved [closed]
I'm a user of the online platform Musescore, which enables users to upload music that they have created in the Musescore app to the website (musescore.com). Some users of the platform also sell their ...
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When is due diligence enough when attempting to contact a copyright holder?
Here's a hypothetical situation:
Musician came across a trumpet concerto that Musician wants to use for a competition to win the chance to perform it with a local orchestra. There is a well-known and ...
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Can song titles infringe on a trademark in certain cases?
If a song title uses or references a trademarked name, it is subject to trademark infringement?
user56510
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Can songs from BMI-affiliated authors be used in the EU under a direct license?
What follows is my own (partial and possibly mistaken) understanding of this issue. Please point out any errors on my part.
In the United States authors do not grant BMI or ASCAP exclusive rights, ...
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Would it be legal to credit an original song to “traditional”?
Suppose I write a song which, as far as I know, is original and not derived from any other work. I record it and credit the composition to “traditional” rather than myself.
Assume I never claim ...
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Is looking up the lyrics for a song illegal?
I was dumbstruck when I found out today that apparently posting the lyrics to a song is copyright infringement. I literally asked ChatGPT for the lyrics to "Around the World" by Daft Punk, ...
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I forgot to BCC people in music promotion email [closed]
I am a small musician promoting a new song but forgot to put the recipients of a promotional email as BCC (I got the emails off of my presave list). One person has emailed me concerned about their ...
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Are entertainment venues in the US required to make sound level logs publicly available?
I read about France:
Another part of the regulations concerns information that must be provided to the public. Night clubs and venues that can host more than 300 people are now required to ...
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Legality of AI vocals from royalty-free music
I'm a fairly new music producer, and one of the inherent problems with it is that it means you have to do all the work yourself: sound design, any vocals, mixing, and mastering. There's quite a few ...
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student music arrangements
Can a student create an arrangement or medley of music compositions for an assignment(not shared publicly) without needing permission from the composer? If the student gives credit to the original ...
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Is it copyright infringement to use the same exact notes of another song if they are played at a different rhythm and sound completely different?
Basically wondering if it would be copyright infringement for a song to share the same 6 notes in the same order as an existing composition, provided the rhythm of the notes were different
For ...
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Dual Question: Are music transcription services legal? How to legally share/sell music transcriptions?
Is it legal to charge for the service of transcribing music for a customer? For example, if someone requests that I transcribe a copyrighted song for them, is it legal for me to do this and charge a ...
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How do people get away with old TV clips in music?
For example, old news coverage from decades ago (landing on the moon, things like that). Presumably there are copyright laws but such clips may be in songs, including clips of well known anchors ...
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Can I put "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" on my album cover (which is not a soundtrack)?
If I wrote an album with a soundtrack-"feel" to it, which (crucially) is not a real motion picture soundtrack, would I be allowed to put "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" on the ...
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Is it illegal to perform a song from sheet music that I transcribed?
So I have been transcribing a copyrighted song (as a HOBBY) that I love and was thinking about using it as a graduation song for my music school, but I’ve had to make some tweaks because there are ...
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Is it legal to arrange music I don't have rights to if it is never performed?
I had the idea to transcribe and arrange the music from the musical Ride the Cyclone for a wind ensemble for my school. I got in contact with the company that owns the license (Broadway Licensing) to ...
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Copyrighted Music, Personal Use, and not-for-profit Video Games?
I am creating a video game that is open-source and will be distributed for free (i.e. not-for-profit) on itch.io.
I would like to use a copyrighted song as part of the background music.
My question is,...
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Can a song be used in a presentation for work?
Does it fall under that Fair Use Act of 1976 to include a song as the intro to a presentation for work if the presentation is being given for educational/teaching purposes?
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Who owns the copyright in this case?
As a layman interested in the law, I'm facing a bit of a conundrum posed by my cousin.
Here are the facts:
A records company, M Ltd, has created (e.g. written code for, trained etc.) an AI that can ...
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Musical video production [closed]
I paid a video man to film a lady dancer and myself in a hotel dancing to my new music to be released. I wrote the lyrics, composed, recorded and sang it myself. He signed a contract with the hotel ...
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Is an "anti-copyright" notice legally significant?
I found a picture of a record sleeve for an album independently released in New Zealand, and on the back it says "Anti-copyright (band name) 1986".
There is a wikipedia page for "anti-...
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What is the legal distinction between watching a YouTube video in a browser and downloading it for personal use? [duplicate]
If the act of watching a YouTube video creates a temporary download in my internet cache, why is it illegal to use an app that intercepts the YouTube API to download music videos to listen to later ...
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Is it illegal to play copyrighted music on the piano on the street and receive passers-by's donation? [duplicate]
In America, if I play a piano arrangement, that is, not the original work, of copyrighted music on a street on the piano and receive the donation from passers-by, is this illegal?
And if I do not ...
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legality behind the copyright of adagio in g minor
sources claim it is still under copyright yet Artists continue to simply borrow from it or copy the piece.
Does this mean that the fragment stolen by giazotto is copyright free?
is it safe to cover ...
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Liability when using content from third party content distributor
There are sites that offer images and music that is supposedly usable without paying any royalities (for youtube videos, placeholder images, and so on). The content is uploaded by third party (from my ...
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Is monetizing a piano video playing others' sheets illegal?
Say, I bought a piano sheet from a youtuber in websites like mymusicsheet. I made some rearrangement to it or not, (does this make any change?) then I uploaded a video playing it in youtube and ...
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If I use a CC-BY background music track in my video on YouTube, is it enough to give credits in the video description or must credits be in the video?
If I use a CC-BY background music track in my video on YouTube, is it enough to give credits to the musicians in the video description or must credits be shown in the video?
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Is sharing sites where copyrighted songs can be downloaded freely illegal?
If Alan knows of some sites where copyrighted songs can be downloaded freely, and he sends the links to Betty, is this criminal?
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Is sharing anime songs downloaded from youtube with my family across countries illegal?
Say, I live in America, my family are in Turkey. If I download anime songs like this from youtube, then I send them to my family, is this illegal? If it is, and someone sue me, what would be the ...
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Creative commons license on sheet music of classical pieces and performing in public
Suppose that there is a piece of classical music (let's say written by Bach in 1726) and there is a recent arrangement (sheet music) of that piece which was made available through Creative Commons ...
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Take part of a song slow it down a bit and put it on a loop
Lets say someone hypothetically took the beginning part of a song and slowed it down a bit and put it on a loop for 3 min..
In this scenario the original song was copyrighted.
Would this be copyright ...
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Why is a cover song not fair use? (But parody songs are?)
Considering fair use law, parody, transformative works: Weird Al always asks for permission for his parodies but many law professionals have stated he would not have to.
Considering all this, why does ...
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What's the difference in copyrights between a book and lyrics of a song?
As far as I understand copyrights, both books and lyrics of a song are protected in the same way. Are they really? It's much easier to find whole lyrics of a song than it is to find whole text of a ...
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May I add additional lyrics to a copyright song without claiming any ownership?
A copyright holder has flatly refused my request to add additional lyrics to one of their songs, for use in a private congregational church setting.
Does this mean it is simply illegal?
I have seen ...
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Legality of busking a song with copyrighted melody but using different lyrics to deliver a message
Are there any legal impediments to busking a song with melody and lyrics copyrighted in the United States---with the same melody but with different lyrics---on U.S. streets?
Does it matter if the song ...
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Copyright transcription of public domain music?
Can I copyright my transcription of, say, a public domain Mozart symphony for brass quintet?
I downloaded a public domain PDF of a Mozart symphony. I used the musical content from the PDF and created ...
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Where can I buy a license to use digital copyrighted music for piano lessons
I am a piano teacher and wish to display copyrighted music on a tablet for the kids to play music from.
I will arrange simplified music for them.
What sort of license do I need?
Where can I buy this?
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Does buying a song on Gumroad allow me to use it in my video commercially?
If I purchase music from the link in a_hisa's music video description, can I use the music in my video?
Description:
a_hisa - Happiness Bell
from 8th album「colors 6」
buy on Gumroad
https://gumroad....
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Does Payola apply to Spotify and related services?
If someone paid a Playlist Curator to host music on the curator's playlist, without any disclosure of the payment, would that be illegal?
US Title 47 Section 508 states this kind of behavior is ...
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Obnoxiously loud music from a festival
There's a local annual festival that plays their music really loudly. I can hear it from three and a half miles away, and it's really annoying. There are houses just a few hundred feet away; I'm sure ...
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Is it copyright infringement if I don’t actually make any money from someone else’s audio? [duplicate]
Say I use audio snippets from copyrighted speeches (TED talks, news segments, etc.) on top of some original music. If I use this in a public performance that is completely free and generates no profit/...
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If I use a preset for a synthesizer VST in a song and make a commercial use of the song, do I need some license for this preset?
Assume one uses a preset for some synthesizer VST in a song and make a commercial use of the song: does one need some license for this preset? I live in the United States.
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Is the Scarborough Fair Melody Really in the Public Domain?
According to Wikimedia Commons:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scarborough-Fair-Melody.png
the melody to the tune Scarborough Fair (which had been popularized in the 1960s by Simon and ...
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If I buy a song on Bandcamp, can I then use that song in my audio streaming website project accessible by the public?
I want to replicate this site here (note I am not a non-profit like freeCodeCamp):
https://coderadio.freecodecamp.org/
I'd like to repurpose it to feature a different genre of music. To accomplish ...
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Is it legal to allow users to upload their own music to an app for baseball walkout songs?
Ballpark DJ and Walkout Song DJ both allow users to upload music from their phone storage to play as walkout music or inning break songs for baseball games. BallparkDJ also allows using Amazon and ...
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Is an algorithm producing music copyrighted?
It is my understanding that algorithms (not their concrete implementations) are not copyrighted.
Musical scores or productions usually have a copyright.
Some music is constructed from a small set of ...
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