Stacey, ASCAP, BMI, and other music publishing firms control the rights and licensing for songs and music compositions. So it is not just the CD, Video, or live performance that is the issue - it is the use of the song - the performance or setting of it is not applicable to the copyright issue. Take the CD's for example. Those are sold and are intended for private use. When you play it in a place that is considered "public" and where people are charged an entrace fee, then there may be an issue there. Fair use doctrine so far is soldily established for Libraries and Universities but museums may or may not qualify - it may take court cases to truly definte that. If the videos that you use in your galleries have music, whether sung or composed, then someone owns the copyrights for that music, and even if you have permission to use the video that may not give you clearance for the music. Many of the music venues here in Los Angeles get the letters and calls and faxes from ASCAP and BMI too - and they have established a policy that ONLY original music be played by performers - no cover songs allowed. And that should also true of any performer in a museum setting as well unless the song is in the public domain or is traditonal. My advice is to make sure that you have fully looked into the rights for anything that you use that has music and I really encourage you to look to support local songwriters and composers by using their work under contract, even for a nominal fee, so that the issue of the rights is on your side. remeber you only want the rights to the use of the song, not to own it in its entirety. I have learned about all this because I have spent the past several years during the evening hours produing and directing live music webcasts and then putting on a monthly music showcase for Songsalive - the largest non-profit that supports songwriters and composers around the world. I am also a music director for a weekly internet interview radio show and come up with four songs by four diffrerent indepednant artists every week - and all are original and are solely controlled by the artists. The creative people who earn their living writing and composing music deserve to earn from their work and to control its use, as should any artist, writer, of sculptor. The firms that buy the rights for lisencing and distribution are often aggressive becuase the carry such a large financial interest in making sure that no one uses anything for free. So, take control, work directly with the artists, and then you can ignore those letters and calls. Cheers! Dave David Harvey Conservator Los Angeles On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 11:29 AM, Stacey <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi, all > > I did look at the Museum-L archives and found a few postings about some > upcoming webinars or workshops about music licensing that I think occurred > over the summer and I'm wondering if the results or summaries of them exist > anywhere or if anyone that might have attended can share? > > Since about 3 or so months ago we've been hounded by ASCAP who is becoming > increasingly insistent that we sign up for their museum music licensing > agreement, which will cost us over $700 annually. I'm getting mailings, > emails and phone messages. I'm not aware that we are violating any > music/copyright laws, nor have they complained about any particular > violation. The music we play in the store is strictly limited to CD's that > we sell, which I understand is perfectly legit. We have permission to play > whatever videos we have in our galleries or, if we have the occasional live > performance, we then pay the appropriate fees to the performer. > > I also understand that BMI has done this to some museums...so what's to > prevent another agency from insisting that we sign up with them? We can't > afford these annual fees...and I'm loathe to sign up once, because I feel at > that point I've obligated us to annual fees forever... > > Thoughts? Materials to share? > > Stacey Otte > Executive Director > Catalina Island Museum > History's never been this much fun! > > http://www.CatalinaMuseum.org <http://www.catalinamuseum.org/> > ** > This communication and any accompanying document(s) is intended only for > the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain > information that is privileged, *confidential* and exempt from disclosure > under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended > recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message > to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, > distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you > have received this communication in error, please notify Stacey Otte at > [log in to unmask] or by telephone at 310-510-4650. Thank You > > ========================================================= Important > Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed > information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message > to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to > [log in to unmask] . 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