Copyright and Karaoke
77After all my ranting about Fair Use and the Public Domain, I flubbed and posted a video on youtube that I really shouldn't have posted. Not only did I break my own rule about copyright (when in doubt, don't do it), I also neglected some privacy issues. The video included a large group of people at a private party dancing like crazy while a couple of people performed a Karaoke song. I technically should have had every subject's permission to broadcast the video, and I suspected it was a copyright violation.
I know it's not okay to broadcast music without paying royalties or obtaining permission from the copyright holder. I know this not only from my experience as a writer and studying copyright law as a journalism student, but also from my career in the telecom industry.
You know when you call some companies and hear the radio when they put you on hold? That's a big no-no. The radio stations pay royalties to broadcast popular songs, but the companies have not paid the royalties to re-broadcast.
It's typically very easy to connect a music source to your telephone system. I learned a long time ago to explain the copyright implications and encourage system administrators to purchase "On Hold" music which includes royalty fees.
Karaoke works in a similar manner, I thought. When karaoke jockeys purchase the music that works with their systems, I assumed the royalty fees were built in. But that's as much as I knew, and after my guilty conscience kicked in about posting that video on youtube, I decided to do some research.
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First, the confirmation...In "Karaoke Brings Customers and Copyright Concerns to Business Owners Seeking to Boost Profits", Tom Annastas, BMI Vice President, General Licensing explains, "Virtually all popular songs are copyrighted and can't be legally played in public without permission of the songwriter."
But the surprise? It's actually the venue hosting karaoke that is responsible for paying royalties - not the K.J. "Establishments that use music, like restaurants and bars pay a flat rate that is distributed based on trends in local radio stations (based on the type of music). There is no similar license for karaoke operators," explains T. Earl LeVere in "As if karaoke weren’t bad enough NOW IT’S COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT."
How does this translate to publishing videos of folks singing karaoke on the internet? In the FAQ section of the Karoke Anti -Privacy Agency's website, I discovered it's not a simple answer.
The question: "I host shows and contests and want to broadcast recordings from these on my web site? Can I do this?"
The answer: "This is a very complicated process. First of all, you cannot do any of this without proper licensing. You can contact the Karaoke music manufacturer for permission to display their music. You must also acquire other licensing before you proceed. For example, you must contact your web site carrier to get broadcast licensing rights. Additional licensing may be required in different countries."
Now I wasn't putting the video on youtube to promote a karaoke business (in fact, the k.j. joked that I might be hurting his reputation more than helping!), but the laws are bound to apply just the same.
Accoring to the U.S. Copyright Office (See Chapter 11), an unauthorized act includes anyone who, without the consent of the performer or performers involved "transmits or otherwise communicates to the public the sounds or sounds and images of a live musical performance." There's no doubt that's what I did when I posted this particular video.
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What I found most intersting in the research for this hub was information relevant to song lyrics. It turns out that copyright law as it applies to karaoke is very complicated and still evolving in case law. While the venue is actually responsible for buying the rights to play copyrighted music, the court concluded in Leadsinger, Inc. v. BMG Music Publishing, 512 F3d 522 (9th Cir. 2008), that in addition to the "mechanical fee" required to secure a "compulsory license", karaoke companies must also pay a "lyric reprint" fee and a "synchronization fee."
It's almost more than my poor brain can handle, but basically, just because you purchase the right to reproduce, perform, or broadcast the song, does not mean you have the right to put the lyrics on the screen.
But that's fodder for another hub...back to the point, I don't have the right (and neither do you) to post youtube videos of friends singing karaoke. I'm happy to say it didn't take me long to come to my senses. The video was removed voluntarily after just three days...I didn't mention the song title, so maybe I Will Survive any potential lawsuits.
Twelve of Thirty
Thanks for commenting - it is interesting, isn't it? I believe in protecting copyrights, but I'm a huge karaoke fan, too :-) I wish it wasn't do complicated!
What if I own the CDG and I make an audio recording of myself singing with the background music? Can I post an audio clip on my website (where I'm selling an ebook)? The clip would go in the "About the author" section...
well, Captain, my interpretation is probably not. Just like the example in the hub of the KJ who wanted to use recordings on his website, you should probably start with the CDG publisher's permission, at minimum.
This is BS,
I am sorry, when you create a song, you cannot get paid for it everywhere its played. Its BS, how many times does someone have to BUY a song before its paid for. If everyone in your establishments owns the CD that is being played, is that not a handful of licenses to listen? Exactly, its a huge grey area, and BMI the Ascap, etc, do everything they can to double, triple and quadruple charge people. If you want people to BUY your music, at some point you have to let them listen to it.
I feel the music was purchased the fee's were already put into the final price. Whats next fee's to lend a book out to a friend. What people will do to make a dollar.
I am totally in-line with 'M'. How the hell does anyone get to buy a song unless they hear it? According to what's here, the *only* 'legal' way to listen to any song is to buy it. If I drive the streets with my windows down playing a Rolling Stones record and someone hears it, then according to the very heart of this Post I am breaking the Law of "Distribution without a license."
Don't you have better things to spend your time doing? How about listening to some of those guys singing Karaoke on Youtube; strike that, surely you wouldn't break the law yourself. OH ... strike that too: " The video was removed voluntarily after just three days...I didn't mention the song title, so maybe I Will Survive any potential lawsuits." It appears you have brains that can't quite get around what you are typing here; as you also don't have either courage nor balls.
F
dineane, thank you for your informative post! After purchasing a karaoke tune and I recorded myself singing to it. I am going to make a homemade rock video (o-boy!) to go along with it soon and would love to eventually post it to youtube or another similar site. I am not selling anything, just hoping to share it with people and maybe get some positive feedback or not, who knows? Can I do this without permission from the artist? I have recently viewed quite a few other similar youtube postings.
It is really not legal to use someone else's song this way - and it would not necessarily be the artist's permission you need, but the copyright holder. I am sure you have seen tons of similar posts on youtube, but it is still technically not ok.
When you purchase the Karake CD you are purchasing the right to listen to and utilize the contents as intended, in this case to perform and sing that song.
I believe that this would protect you against any lawsuit as is evidenced by the lack of action on the part of the copyright holders against any individuals for singing a song and posting it on youtube for friends to see. As long as they are not selling videos of themselves performing the song no additional royalty payment should be required.
An appropriate analogy would be if I purchsed a baseball bat with a brand name prominatly displayed on the bat and video taped myself using it to hit a ball and then posted it on youtube. The Bat company could not ask for compensation because the logo was seen in my video. The logo is a part of the bat and the right to diplay the logo was also part of the transaction.That is in part the principle of anticipated use.
Related article in the news today - http://www.wral.com/news/local/wral_investigates/s
"If a restaurant or bar has a live band, the restaurant can be fined if the musician plays unlicensed material."
According to this article:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/02/le
Google/Youtube has a blanket agreement in place with most of the major publishers where they receive a portion of the ad profits. So while posting derivative works is illegal in general, it is normally Okay at youtube specifically. So no, you can't post it on your own website, but you can make a youtube account and post it there.
that's why i'm here,some say ity's wrong to be up on stage every friday night singing their god damn songs,ain't about the money,ain't about free beer,it seems to me when your head gets big,your heart just doesn't care,that's why i'm here.
In order to do karaoke a bar/restaurant must have a right to perform license issued in the United States for the USA by ASCAP, BMI,SESAC. This is a world wide procedure. My thought is if the venue doesn't want to pay they need to get out of karaoke and cut down on the competition between the venues, karaoke is too watered down and the more people at a show the more fun it is and the owners make far better money.
Hey, you guys need to be careful with the advertising. That supercore you have for sale is not licensed, as a matter of fact the producer of the series has been in jail several times over the Supercore. There are very few licensed discs in the United States and many kjs own discs that were never licensed like backstage, legends, Hot Hits, etc. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
So what is the benefit of purchasing a karaoke cd, so you can sit and look at the disc outside of paying all this licensing fee crap? It's just another form of USA Communism.
I came across this because of youtube posting ads in one of my daughters talent show. The publisher that was linked to the ads had nothing to do with my daughters performance. So I decided to do some research. I know this is a couple of years old but I was surprised what I saw here. To quote the OP
"Accoring to the U.S. Copyright Office (See Chapter 11), an unauthorized act includes anyone who, without the consent of the performer or performers involved "transmits or otherwise communicates to the public the sounds or sounds and images of a live musical performance.""
This does not apply. This is specifically talking about a concert or band being recorded by a camera, phone, or some other device. This has no bearing on karaoke. Then we have "fair use" which dilutes things even further. I am still looking for a solid answer to my daughters talent show issue. I won the debate and her video is still up. But I do not know exactly why. As far as the Karaoke goes. There might be something to this, but chaapter 11 is not it.
Hmrjmr1 Level 3 Commenter 2 years ago
Very interesting post for those of us KJ'ing and looking to "enhance" our sites w video, Really pops up the caution sign while it all gets sorted out.. Thanks