Can anyone help re musical copyright?

[MusicLady]

I'm developing a sideline to my 'core' business of pre-school music classes, which will be to provide other organisations with backing tracks for them to use in their own classes, or for them to record their own vocals over the top.

Hw do I go about copyrighting and protecting my interests in the backing tracks? If they record their vocals over the top and produce a CD then I assume they hold the copyright in that particular production, however I still want to retain the rights to the underlying backing track. Can anyone tell me the best way of going about doing this?

Bumping for you.

custy wants 10%

10%? Don't get too excited as 10% of 0 is 0! Thanks will take a look and probably come back with another 100 questions.

Hi there,

With the backing track music are you composing/ performing and recording it yourself? My understanding is this if that is the case: your music belongs to you - publishing and recording rights etc. If another party wanted to use this music they would have to LICENCE it from you - you agree a fee and the terms. Until both parties have agreed they can't use the tracks. If they then want to put vocals on top once deal agreed then its down to them to secure the performance/recording rights for that vocal performance

Hope this makes sense and isn't clear as mud!

Thank Nicnacmouse - I've put together a little licence agreement which states terms, fees etc and will have this looked at by legal people.

I think that the MRS/PRS thing is prob more at aimed royalty collection and I don't think I'm there yet!

Although I HAVE just sold my first 10 backing tracks! Woo hoo! V excited!!

What music are you recording?
Unless you have composed it yourself (not just your own arrangement) you may not have the right to record it yourself, let alone sell these recordings.

(Unless it's very old non-copyright material: eg some nursery rhymes).

The music is all traditional nursery rhymes/action songs in the public domain e.g. Humpty Dumpty or Hickory Dickory - or my own compositions. All the backing tracks are my own arrangements of noncopyright material.

As I understand it, copyright on music expires after 70 years so I could (should I choose to branch out from the under 5s market) make my own version of a Mozart concerto and then copyright the recording, rather than the original composition. Is that the case?

Oh that's fine then if it's all noncopyright material.

Music copyright in the EU expires 70 years after the death of the composer.

When you make a recording (of copyright or non-copyright material) there is also a copyright in the recording itself. I don't know the details of this though - not my field!

If you make an arrangement of a piece of music you automatically own the rights to that arrangement. (Though if it's an arrangement of a piece of music in copyright, then you have to have permission to make the arrangement in the first place!)

Great - I thought I had it right(ish)!

Are you in the Musicians Union? They would advise you.
btw - I'm interested in the CD? Where can I buy it???????

Hi 1805 - no I'm not in the musicians union. Will look into that.

I do CDs which are individually made up for anyone who needs backing tracks - aimed in particular at the under 5s market. Eg you tell me what songs you need backing tracks for, I put together a CD package for you which is yours to use under licence. My previous client was a baby signing tutor who wanted a series of songs which were trad nursery rhymes, but had her own words set to them. There's lots of flexibility as you can set the key, the style, the speed etc so I design the tracks specially for the client.

Let me know if you want more info!

You sound like you have a really good understanding of it all Musiclady.

A few thoughts:

1. To draft your licence terms, always write down all the things that you want them to be able to do and not to be able to do in plain English FIRST without using any legal language. The legal bits can be inferred from the common sense explanation but not vice versa
2. Stick prominent copyright notices and notices asserting your moral rights everywhere you can.
3. Draw their attention to and get them to accept the licence terms (by ticking a box on an order form or something) before you send them the materials.
4. Copiers are lazy so always set a trap for them. When you make your recordings, always include some unnecessary detail/word change/unusual prononciation/sudden appearance of another vocal just for one bar - whatever really. As you'll have figured out, you have to prove active copying when enforcing copyright so you need to have some kind of element to your work that no-one recording in a similar style independently of you would think of including (the analogy is to computer software where you have to include a few lines of dud code so you can ask infringers why they have reproduced it - if they don't know the answer, you're pretty much there). Of course, if they are so lazy when infringing that they don't even change the order of the songs, then you're halfway there!

Hi - yes I am interested. I run a toddlers music/singing group and would love to have some accomp. tracks.
Do you have a web site?

lingle - thank you - in particular for suggesting setting a 'trap'. I will use this in future.

1805 - I don't have a website specifically for the backing tracks at the mo (newish venture which has grown out of developing the music for my own classes). However you can look at my music class website - on the News page it has a couple of examples of my music (2 have my vocals over the top, but Lullaby is just instrumental so will give you some idea of what a backing track might be like) - www.rhythmexpress.org/news/news_page.html - and you can also email me through the contacts page on the website if you want to know anymore...

Go to UKIPO website(was called the Patent Office) and read their basic guide on copyright.

IPO also launching an interactive questionnaire that gives you a personalised report about what your IP means and what you should do to make money out out of/protect it. I've seen it, its's FAB (and miles cheaper than 3 hrs with a lawyer - in fact, free.) Should be online if not now, soon - worth waiting for.

You can also get free advice from an expert at the British Library IP centre (if you can make it to Kings X), but I think you need to book first.