Legal Question in Entertainment Law in New York

Re: Music License

You need a license agreement signed by the copyright owner(s). Sometimes the artists own the copyright along with the record co. Make sure you have permission from all owners. If you need an atty feel free to contact me.

Also, I have a similar site and would be very interested in seeing yours. Could you e-mail me the link?

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Re: Music License

Essentially anything will do so long as the document states that you obtain a royalty-free license for all uses that your website allows (downloading, streaming, etc.). This is likely to involve performance as well as reproduction rights. It would also be nice to have indemnification language from the label that they possess all the rights in the material they supply to you and will hold you harmless against claims of infringement by third parties. As the other commentator noticed, the trick is often to make sure the document is executed by the right party/ies (those who hold the copyright to the audio recording of the songs and other music compositions). It is often but not always the recording labels. New, unsigned bands and small labels that do not obtain any or all rights in the recordings present special risks. Hence, the need for indemnity. There's also liability insurance, I hear, specifically for e-commerce businesses that provide [free] multi-media, audio or video content.

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