Legal Question in Entertainment Law in New York

Re: Copyright License - Permission to use Music in Theatre

The permission you need woudl be different for the songs that would actually be performed and those that would you will just play during scene changes, etc. The main entity you need to get authorization from is generally whoever owns the publishing and licensing rights to those songs. This area of law is our specialty, however, we would need some more information before making a complete and proper determination. You are welcome to contact us for a free consultation.

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Re: Copyright License - Permission to use Music in Theatre

Feel free to contact me on this; you would be safest having an attorney take care of this.

Re: Copyright License - Permission to use Music in Theatre

Sounds like you would probably need a blanket public performance license from ASCAP, SESAC and/or BMI if all you want to do is to play recordings (mechanical music) during intermission rather than to perform the songs live or to include them as part of the theatrical play. Fees vary from industry to industry and are set by each performing rights society on the basis of various factors.

Having your actors sign the songs would likely require a separate "grand rights" license which can obly be obtained directly from the copyright owner (composer, publisher or recording label). This is a more difficult undertaking and is likely to be more expensive though there is usually some room for negotiation if the licensor realizes your company is a small or community theater. Some copyright owners, on the other hand, may refuse to license their songs to you completely. This is different from the public performance license where if you are willing to pay a standard fee and comply with standard conditions you will generally get the right to play the songs. Get a music attorney to assist you to negotiate the terms of the license agreement.

The above reply is in the nature of general information, is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such.