Song royalties?

[dorkrockrecords]

It's not complicated. Are you making copies or aren't you? If you are, it's a mechanical issue. If you aren't, it's a performance issue. Simple.

[olrocknroller]

Thanks Sarah.

I think the key lies in the word "commercial" which, to me, means "for profit". I tend to agree that if I make it clear that this is just a hobby activity to be shared with a few friends, and no money will be exchanged, that any fees due will be minimal. I will send some e-mails, and keep this thread posted on the results.

olrocknroller

[olrocknroller]

Okay, I went to the horse's mouth, so to speak and asked whether a hobby musician could post covers of songs on the internet, not for sale or duplication, just for fun...

Here's the response:

Regardless of if your music is sold or downloaded, if you are covering a
song that you do not own the rights to and then distributing it, you
need to obtain a license. The statutory rates for on-demand or
interactive streams and limited downloads require that you be able to
report information such as number of subscribers, service revenue, and
content costs on the compositions you have licensed on a monthly basis.
Unfortunately, you will probably not have access to this information
from a third-party website. To obtain licenses for this use, you will
need to negotiate a non-statutory licensing arrangement with the
publisher directly, or request that the website obtain the statutory
licenses on your behalf.

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact Publisher
Services at 212-834-0100.

Best Regards,
Publisher Services
The Harry Fox Agency
601 W. 26th Street, 5th Fl
New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212) 834-0100 | Fax: (646) 487-6779

In other words, they insist that it doesn't matter how you intend to use the song, they want royalties. Kind of Draconian in my estimation; it certainly takes some of the fun out of learning a new song, and positively squelches any enjoyment in sharing it...think I'll take up knitting...anybody got some un-copyrighted patterns?

olrocknroller