What You Need to Know About Recordings and Copyright

By Ken Anderson, Senior Vice President,
Flesher-Hinton Music, Denver, Colorado 

As music educators, it is extremely important to obey the current copyright laws in all aspects of your teaching. It is also extremely important to convey to your students the reasons for the copyright law and that they should observe it also. 

The Superscope PSD300 CD Recording System is an incredible tool for music educators. Remember the copyright law when making any recording. It is legal to make one (1) archive copy of a performance for your library. ANY additional recordings must be done legally and royalties paid to the copyright owners, regardless whether they are sold or given for no charge. This is called "mechanical right". Mechanical rates are set by the United States Congress and currently are 8.5 cents per copy for the first five (5) minutes or less and 1.65 cents per copy for each additional minute. This rate is good until January 1, 2006. 

Example: If you create a CD that has five different songs, and each song is less than five minutes long, your total copy write expense for each CD you duplicate would be $0.43. (0.85 X 5 = $0.43) One hundred CD's would be $43.00.

The Harry Fox Agency in New York City is the main contact for mechanical rights. They can be reached via 212-370-5330 or www.harryfox.com. However, they usually do not work on less than five hundred units. Most schools do not need that many copies. An easier method is to locate the copyright owner for the titles you want to record and send them a letter stating what your purpose is, how many copies you are going to make and how you are going to distribute them. Example: you want to make 150 copies, which will be sold at cost plus $XX.XX (fundraising) to students, relatives and supporters of the group. State that the recordings will not be used for broadcast or sold through outlets other than the school or the group and that all pertinent copyright information (i.e. composer, arranger, etc.) will be included. 

In most cases the copyright owner will allow you use their title for the fees as stated above. Realize that this process requires a great deal of lead-time and the permission must be obtained prior to making the copies. It is critical that you obtain permission prior to making the copies, because if permission is not granted prior, the copyright owner can charge you any amount because you are in violation of the copyright law. Also realize that the publisher of the music may not be the copyright owner, but in most cases can assist you in obtaining the permission or at least provide the contact information for the copyright owner. It is also extremely, important to insure that the mechanical rights are paid correctly and promptly. Your local music store where you purchase your print music can assist you in obtaining the contact information for the music publishers.

Good luck with your recording projects and please be mindful of the copyright laws and follow them closely. Any questions can be sent to me.