ejaime23

Howdy all, I didn't really know where to put this so here goes. I'm in the process of beginning a few recording projects with my brass quintet in collaboration with a church to record a Christmas CD, and a few church classics for a different collection. Since a lot of the music we want to record are arrangements I've purchased, could anyone inform me on the copyright laws to this, do we need to pay royalties for these kind of projects? Do we need to pay something whenever we play this music for a gig? I couldn't really find much on the government site, all I could find was stuff on duplicating recordings, not this subject. In any case, I would appreciate any information or suggestions from you veteran members that have dealt with this, thanks!

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"Music is not a career, it's a way of life"
Raven Brass

stchasking

I have been through this.

Go to the Harry Fox web site. It will start you down the road to paying royalties on the CD tracks. The buzz words are "copyright clearance."

Basically you find the composer and arranger of what you are playing and pay them by following the directions on the Harry Fox site. They charge your credit card and you wait for the hard copy paper work by snail mail or it might be emailed. Save the paper work as proof you paid.

If you are going to make money on live performances you need to pay annual fees to ASCAP, BMI and one other I can't think of. It won't bankrupt you. Sometimes the venue has paid the live performance fees so you don't. Contact a local bar that has live music and they can tell you what they do to stay out of trouble.

Contact an intellectual property lawyer or entertainment industry lawyer in your town if you are really serious and worried about jail time.

Contact CDbaby and ask them questions.
If you want a reference for a CD printer and liner notes artist PM me and I'll drag out all my stuff. You can do a lot yourself.

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"I was performing professionally at age 17 and have never had a real job." Allen Vizzutti

http://cdbaby.com/cd/mcking

ozboy

That's why I only record originals. It saves a lot off stress.