Recording copyrighted music in the studio

[tbstudios]

Question for those of you running "for-profit" studios and actively taking in clients. (no offense to the rest)

I have a genlteman that has contacted me who is interested in coming to record. His style is rap and apparently some of his "beats" have been downloaded from Kazaa. He also mentioned that he's not looking to sell the CD as to avoid copyright issues but rather use it as a demo.

Now, I really don't know what he means by "beats" that he has downloaded from Kazaa but I'm assuming they are copyrighted (based on his other response) and that makes me unneasy. I considered having him sign off on a form that states that he takes full responsibility for obtaining a copyright license for any material used that is currently under copyright.

I would appreciate some feedback in regards to this situation. Should this be avoided altogether? Can I proceed with recording the demo for him without being held responsible for reproducing a copyrighted work? How are you guys handling this type of situation?

Thanks for your help!

[Lostboy]

this is an interesting question to me, too. i'd like to know what the copyright laws are for sampling stuff. i've heard that anything you sample for over eight seconds requires additional legal legwork, but i don't know if that's correct.

regarding the question above, i do not run a for-profit studio, but i don't really see how the engineer could be held responsible for copyrights. that wouldn't make sense to me. but then again, some of these laws don't make a lot of sense ....

[No Wave Casio Kitsch]

I've never heard of an engineer being sued for this, but with the RIAA lurking about I would suggest "covering your own ass" is always the best policy.

Here is an interesting website on sample law: http://www.superswell.com/samplelaw/samplelawmain.html

-Giahni

[JGriffin]

The eight-second rule is b.s. An urban legend. Eight seconds might be what somebody determined was a good amount of time to be sure it's the sample they say it is, but if you grab a 1-second snare sample you're just as liable.

As to whether you as the engineer would be liable for your client's breaking of the law, keep in mind that in America, anyone can sue anyone else for pretty much anything--and then it's up to the lawyers and judges whether the suit is taken seriously. And by the law you may not actually be liable (I really don't know) but you may end up spending lots of money defending yourself.

[signorMars]

you're not liable as the engineer. it's the same as a band recording a cover tune. the only time engineers can really get in trouble for copyright is if you leak sessions or something. you are making money providing the service of recording, and the sound you are recording is inconsequential from a legal standpoint. if he sells it, then he or the label will be liable because they are selling recordings of someone else's copyrighted work.

--ross ingram
[shh! studios]
[star dot star records]

[tgm2a]

Not to be snobby but I have taken college courses in Copyright Law and in Music Publishing and there are many misconceptions about the law in general. Let me also say that Copyright Law is relatively complex and extremely ambigous. I've spent a few hundred hours of my life learning about the law and studying cases but I am still unsure about many aspects of the law. The majority of Copyright related laws are basically just guidelines because most them deal with the subjects of "uniqueness" and "creativity" and other terms that cannot be clearly measured but must be in order to make judgements. Anyway, I will try to give you some advice relevant to your situation. First of all, ANY music that is in a "fixed or tangible" medium is protected by copyright law whether it has been registered with the copyright office or not. "Fixed or tangible" means any music that has been recorded, or notated. Also, a recorded piece of music contains at least two copyrights: the copyright for the musical composition and the copyright for the audio recording. The "beats" the guy got off the internet are potentially infringing two separate copyrights. When the guy said that the beats weren't copyrighted maybe he meant that they were originally from a "license free" sample CD or something. But everything that has been recorded/notated is copyright protected. No-royalty or no-license samples just mean that the people who created the samples agree not to enforce the protection which they have been granted. As far as the "eight second rule," that doesn't exist. Copyright protection is granted based on uniqueness and creativity. A sample of the James Brown's yell is copyrightable and it is probably less than a second long. What I have told you so far has been "the law" but here is some practical knowledge. Melodies and arrangements are the main copyrightable parts of songs. The composition of a rock/hip hop drum beat would be very difficult to copyright because it is very difficult to create a drum beat that is completely unique (but it is possible.) In your case, the infrigement would most likely involve the recording copyright. I would recommend making him sign a statement that states he alone is responsible for attaining all licenses etc. ... for the making of his recording. However, if you are just recording the guy and you are not getting any rights to the songs (publishing, mechanical, any royalties) then I don't THINK you would be liable for any damages because when you sue for copyright infringement you sue the owner of the infringing copyright which is usually the artist, label or publisher. HOWEVER, the law regarding the copyright of sound recordings is still unsettled in many ways and it is slightly possible that a judge could one day revert all sound recording copyrights back to the recording engineers and studios and in that case you could be liable because you would own your artist's sound recording copyrights. As far as it only being a demo well, I'd say the chances of the copyright owners hearing the demo and then caring enought to sue him are slim but they could even if your guy didn't "make a profit." I remember something called "dillusion" which basically says you can sue someone for dilluting an original work and causing it to lose it's "impact" Well that is enought for now. So long.

[wendy f]

you're not liable as the engineer. it's the same as a band recording a cover tune.

it is definitely not the same thing as recording a cover song. rhyming over someone else's beat is using their master recording. it is illegal without permission. recording a cover is legal, but you've got to pay the owner the publishing $. that said, i wouldn't sweat it if this guy is using the beats for a demo. it would be really unlikely for him to get in trouble, and super bizarre if you got in trouble for it as the engineer of the session.

[wendy f]

wow, i guess i did the quote thing backwards.

[SirDonut]

The eight-second rule is b.s. An urban legend. Eight seconds might be what somebody determined was a good amount of....

I just want to reiterate this. Yes, it is BS. Working at a radio station for 4 years, it seemed like every other day someone would mention the "eight second rule," the "Two second rule, "the thirty second rule," or the "five second rule."

PS: ha, i just realized someone already said it much better than me. oops.

[saag paneer]

here's my legal advice: don't get legal advice from messageboards, even from people running professional studios. if you're worried, which you evidently are, get advice from a lawyer with some experience in copyright law.

[TapeOpLarry]

If someone hires you to do the recordings, it's their gig what they choose to do with these recordings once they leave the studio as far as clearances, copyrights or anything. If a client came to my studio and recorded themselves singing over the top of a Debby Boone record that's fine. Most likely they'll take it home and the world will never know and this was basically done for private use, like taping TV shows on a VCR or making a CDR burn to play in your car. If the person decides to start selling it they are liable for whatever laws they are breaking. Recording studios don't need to be policing what their clients record! The idea of me getting taken to court for a client stealing beats or samples is fucking nuts. How would we even know if the beast are from a liscensed work in most cases???

[Bear]

And what's even funnier, most hip-hop beats these days are jacked from old songs anyways. Im my eyes, it'd a little odd calling someone on stealing a beat when you yourself stole the beat in the first place.

But this post has no point. I hope you weren't expecting one.

[tbstudios]

Thank you all for your opinions and real life applications. It certainly has merit and a point. While yes I do need to seek legal council, and I will, I wanted to get a general feel for how others are dealing with this kind of situation. Thank you for that!

I believe that what the client is asking of me is no more than a service and he will be held responsible for what he does with any copyrighted reproduced music. I will likely draw out a quick and dirty form for the client to sign just to add an extra layer of protection. Ideally the document should be drawn up by a lawyer.

Thanks again for all of your insight and time in assisting me. Much appreciated!

[Sir John Wackness]

interesting. i'm working on a split with the beatles and led zeppelin right now. does anyone have legal advice for me?