Look out! You may be violating heavenly and earthly laws without realizing it. That's the message of Al McCree of Musical Concepts, Inc, a speaker, songwriter, and owner of Altissimo! Records...
What you need to know about copyrighting for your meeting Frist written for Western Association News
Look out! You may be violating heavenly and earthly laws without realizing it. That's the message of Al McCree of Musical Concepts, Inc, a speaker, songwriter, and owner of Altissimo! Records. "Some speakers are using the intellectual property of others without credit or compensation," warns McCree "This is a very poor role model for everyone who comes to hear them." McCree says that many items commonly used by speakers may actually belong to someone else. These include:
"You need to make sure that you have permission to use anything that is the intellectual property of a company or individual," McCree warns. "This includes in handouts or publicity materials as well as any visual or audio used during your presentation."
(All major newspapers, magazines, and book publishers have a Permissions Department, but you rarely get a quick response. Allow several months to complete the process.) USING MUSIC IN YOUR PRESENTATION Music can add punch to your presentations, but be careful. "It is unlawful to use someone's music at a public performance without permission or license," McCree cautions. While there are many types of music licenses, speakers are usually concerned with four. 1. A performance license allows you to perform or play music during a live presentation. Individual licenses may be obtained directly from the publisher. Blanket licenses for a broad range of songs can be obtained from ASCAP (800-952-7227) or BMI (800-925-8451). ASCAP even has a license especially designed for speakers. Many meeting planners will already have performance licenses that will cover your presentation, so check with them first. 2. A synchronization license is required if you use music in conjunction with another media such as slides or a video. This license is obtained from the music publisher. For some songs, this license may be very expensive or not available. 3. A mechanical license is necessary to reproduce or copy music to tape. Under the law, the music publisher is required to give you this license. The current royalty is 7.55� per song per unit distributed, paid to the publisher. This license allows you to reproduce your own production of a song, but it does not give you the right to reproduce a CD or tape that you have purchased commercially. 4. A master license. To duplicate a commercially purchased recording, in addition to the mechanical license, you must obtain a so called "master license" from the record label. Again, depending on the song, this may be very expensive. While a lot of older music - like Bach and Beethoven - is in "public domain" and can be used freely without getting permission from the composer, the issue is not always clear cut. For example, some marches by John Philip Sousa are in public domain and some are not. "I would recommend a copyright search through a competent firm," says McCree. "Often a new arrangement of an old song can put it put it outside the public domain exception. Many people think songs like 'Happy Birthday' or 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' are in public domain, but they aren't." Music licensing can be complex and confusing, McCree says, "but with a little persistence you can at least determine if you are using music legally." "APPEARANCE OF PROPRIETY" "I also encourage speakers to tell the audience that they have gotten permission to use copyrighted material," says McCree. "Patricia Fripp does this routinely in her speeches and it adds tremendously to her creditability. "At a recent National Speakers Association Western Workshop, a general session speaker used clips from 'The Tonight Show' with Jay Leno. She had gotten permission from NBC, but, regrettably, she didn't inform the audience of this. Many assumed she was using the material illegally, which didn't help her reputation. "A few people in the audience may have decided that using a tape of a celebrity was such a good idea that they would do the same thing. But how many of them will get appropriate permission? Attendees, especially, first timers might conclude, 'I saw someone else do it, so it must be okay.' "If you commission materials for your presentations, be sure to state this in your hand-outs, or say something like, 'I had these cartoons created especially for me,' or 'I commissioned these photographs just for this meeting.' "All intellectual property laws are complicated, but problems can easily be solved by seeking permission. In most cases, if one honestly seeks permission, then even if the use is wrong, there are rarely any legal implications. "All a speaker has is his or her own intellectual property and reputation," says Al McCree. "If you 'borrow' intellectual property that doesn't belong to you, you give others permission to steal from you. It's that age old thing called the Golden Rule." If you would like a copy of Al McCree's handout on using music in your speech, e-mail him at almccree@bellsouth.net. You can also contact him through the Altissimo! Records web site: www.militarymusic.com or call him at 800-628-0610 in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Patricia Fripp CSP, CPAE is a San Francisco-based executive speech coach and professional speaker on Change, Customer Service, Promoting Business, and Communication Skills. She is the author of Get What You Want! and Past-President of the National Speakers Association. We offer this article on a nonexclusive basis. You may reprint or repost this material as long as Patricia Fripp's name and contact information is included. PFripp@Fripp.com, 1-800 634 3035, http://www.fripp.com |