Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

I represent the Laguna Beach Community Concert Band, a non-profit group \nsponsored by the City of Laguna Beach, and a class in the Emeritas program of\nIrvine Valley community college. We wish to record about 200 copies of a performance and give them away or sell them for about $10. Receipts would go to support the Band. Would our status give us\"Fair Use\" of the music, or are we required to obtain mechanic licenses from the music publishers for copyrighted works we perform and record? \n


Asked on 7/28/09, 5:44 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Gordon Firemark Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark

This would most certainly NOT be a fair use. You'll need to license the rights for the songs your group is performing from the appropriate music publishers.

The good news is that the cost for such rights is relatively small. 9.1 cents per copy, per song (sometimes more if it's a very long composition).

So, assume 10 songs, that's 91 cents per copy, or $182.00 for 200 units. That leaves you a nice profit at $10 per copy.

The Harry Fox Agency collects these kinds of royalty (called "mechanical royalties) Look for their "songfile" service for small issues of recordings.

http://harryfox.com should get you there.

If you need further advice about this, or any matter relating to live or recorded performances, please don't hesitate to contact me... the Theatre Lawyer.

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Answered on 7/28/09, 6:35 pm


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