This article was fi rst printed in July 1997 and was part of Scooter Lee’s great “The Truth Is…” series (1997-2001) in which the lady herself settled a few scores and pulled no punches. Here she talks about something that is today, STILL a problem. And though you would have to substitute the word “download” for CD, the topic remains still as current as it was 16 years ago!
The truth is... by Scooter Lee (Issue 14 - July 1997)
It seems everywhere I travel now, someone has an instructional dance video to sell. I also notice that along with that dance they have the music as well. Where did they get it? But most important, who gave them the right to use it??? I hear instructors say, “I bought the CD so I own the music, don’t I??”
Line dancing is considered one of the biggest phenomenons since disco. And when something this big happens, people jump on the bandwagon. A lot of the ‘hoopla’ is around money as anytime you have a phenomenon of this magnitude, a lot of people make a lot of money. I’d like to discuss videos, not CMT music videos but ‘Linedance Instructural Videos’.
Well the Truth is... It is absolutely, positively illegal to use anyone’s song on your video if you don’t have written permission from the record label or publishing company. It clearly states on the back of your CD ‘All Rights Reserved’. That means it belongs to someone else and you have to pay for the right to use it. Labels spend 100’s of 1000’s of pounds/dollars to produce a CD for you to hear. When you use the music without permission it is considered, ‘Copyright infringement’ and is punishable by law with fines and sometimes prison. Now I know you think you are doing nothing wrong by producing a few 100 here and there but you are wrong! Know your legal rights if you are going to make money at someone else’s expense.
What can you do?
Many times a company will do an ‘audio release’ for you if you agree to promote the CD on the video and video cover as to where it can be purchased. Sometimes you can do a buy out but that is usually very costly. And sometimes a label will just say no, you can’t use the music. Please respect this. (Usually in the case of major labels). Most of the time though, there is a charge plus percentage of every video sold.
A good rule to remember if you are putting music on an instructional video. No matter how much of the song you plan to use, 30 seconds or 3 minutes...
“If you plan to play to..., you have to pay it!”
Scooter
www.linedancermagazine.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84