View Full Version : a new asshole at OTWA
www.otwa.com/community/sh...hp?t=30444 (http://www.otwa.com/community/showthread.php?t=30444)
Toy Ranch
06-07-2005, 03:08 PM
Ross, maybe you know the answer to this...
If I pull out a crappy little keyboard and play someone else's hit song on it... say "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"...
And then upload my version of it to my blog and let people download it for free... do I actually owe any royalty?
zeldas
06-07-2005, 04:39 PM
Toy
See if this helps you.
Did you know that most of the MIDI files you can download for free on the internet are actually cover versions of commercially published songs by famous recording artists? By using those MIDI files on your web site or in your own productions, you are infringing the copyright in those recordings and run the risk of having action taken against you by the copyright owner / publisher.
And also remember that when you blog you are responsible for your media.
Toy Ranch
06-07-2005, 05:57 PM
Well Zelda, I'm not sure that is entirely correct. If you have a COMMERCIAL website, then certainly that is true... but if you have a personal website, that doesn't have ads or anything on it... then I believe it falls under "fair use".
If I go to the park to play cover songs on guitar, and people come to listen, it's "fair use" until I put my hat on the ground.
blue kazooey
06-07-2005, 07:38 PM
If I pull out a crappy little keyboard and play someone else's hit song on it... say "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"...
Oh I wish you had used a different example ... now I've got that damned song going through my head ...
:wall2
"now I've got that damned song going through my head ... "
Yep.
And then upload my version of it to my blog and let people download it for free... do I actually owe any royalty?
Hmmmm.
Recording royalties (also called mechanical royalties) are based on the number of copys "pressed" not how much you charge. I think that's the deal.
Now, if you played that song, then you'd owe a performance royalty to the composer, and that's the area of royalties I deal in.
Toy Ranch
06-07-2005, 09:06 PM
If I was sitting around a campfire with friends, and played some songs written by others... without receiving any compensation... I don't owe a performance royalty though. Only if it's commercial...
foptiludrop
06-07-2005, 09:07 PM
Sidestep:
Shakespeare would've been screwed if there'd been any Greek tragedists around to sue him, and Hollywood would've been screwed if Shakespeare had been around to demand royalties.
(Sparing you all a lengthy diatribe on Who Owns What because I know you don't want to hear it and it doesn't matter anyway.)
Intellectual Property Theft is a growing branch of the law, due to unforseen applications/transmogrifications of those thefts and what constitutes them. In a Perfect World, people would not attempt to claim payment for themselves from what they did not themselves create, but this is not a Perfect World, and so crafty uninspired people lie and cheat and steal from those who create what they cannot. It's a truth far older than eBay's VERO Program and one which will continue to rob rightful owners of their mind's inventions/dreams/melodies no matter how many laws are enacted.
JMHO...
Toy Ranch
06-07-2005, 09:15 PM
True Fop, but you know... Thomas Jefferson mostly repeated the ideas of others... he was just very talented at identifying good ones and presenting them in a compelling way. If not for that, we might still have pictures of the Queen on our money.
zeldas
06-07-2005, 09:15 PM
Bobby what is your interpretation of fair use ?
I get your point about the campfire, I dont think you would have to pay royaltys or a license fee for singing at a campfire or even in your shower :lol
But you asked about a blog or a personal website. I am not so sure about that. I think the way it would go, you could use the midi w/o permission, as long as the royalty holder does not ask you to remove it......
I am not a copyright lawyer however, and you would have to read up on this....
If I was sitting around a campfire with friends, and played some songs written by others... without receiving any compensation... I don't owe a performance royalty though. Only if it's commercial...
Exactly. Friends and family. No fee due.
But, if you played it on your website: then you'd owe.
Toy Ranch
06-08-2005, 12:00 AM
If I taped myself at the campfire, and put it on a personal website, Ross? One that's totally non-commercial?
OK. That made me smile. First smile on ezboard in a long time.
puzzlegoddess
06-08-2005, 03:15 AM
LMAO @ Zeldo and her copyright advice all of a sudden. O, and adding that little "I am not a lawyer" disclaimer, too. Priceless. :rofl
zeldas
06-08-2005, 04:26 AM
lmao
the goddess of lunacy returns :insane
PG this is where the big boys play. What's the matter Fax threw you out of the sandbox?
PG so you know so much about copyright? That is why the legal dept removed your link at ezboard, and Ross had to get his artwork removed from your server?
So how does your crow pie taste this morning? :bonk
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this post and for opening our eyes to the world of forums. It has been an interesting experience to read the wide and varied responses. We are closing this thread and will not be responding to further posts. Cheers
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