NAWTBOY
I just uploaded some more mixes if you wanna check them out!!!
www.nawtboy.com
www.nawtboy.com
geposted Tue 25 Jan 05 @ 5:28 am
tunic
Mate - some pretty cool mixes. However, I have to ask - you've obviously included quite a lot of big tunes in there and you are charging for downloads of the mixes. Do you have to pay royalties / have permission from the original artists to make money from them? I thought it was dodgey enough people posting mixes as demos as quite a few people I know have already got into trouble for it (albeit possibly more with jumpy ISPs than actual record labels). However, without permission isn't it tantamount to piracy?
It would be interesting to have some people in the know post information about royalties etc. I know most clubs (in the UK) have to pay a blanket public performance license fee. I know these days if you want to release a re-mix of a song you have to get the rights holder permission first (hence why so many big Ibiza tunes only come out in the winter or later).
What about putting on parties etc? Is that still down to the premises for example?
Any useful info would be great.
It would be interesting to have some people in the know post information about royalties etc. I know most clubs (in the UK) have to pay a blanket public performance license fee. I know these days if you want to release a re-mix of a song you have to get the rights holder permission first (hence why so many big Ibiza tunes only come out in the winter or later).
What about putting on parties etc? Is that still down to the premises for example?
Any useful info would be great.
geposted Tue 25 Jan 05 @ 5:24 pm
cyberia
I was extremely interested in the subject matter myself, so I took about an hour to research this issue on the Internet. Below are my findings and opinions on what those findings really mean in the United States. Note, however, that I am not an attorney and the following cannot and should not be interpreted as a legal advice. I welcome any and all comments, though.
Club DJs:
According to http://www.promoonly.com/faq, "if you play music to the general public and are making money from it, you are liable for public performance fees.
Any Bar, Retail Store, Theme Park, Commercial Radio, Roller Rink, Internet broadcaster, or anyone that plays music for the public, are examples of who needs to pay public performance fees. ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC are the organizations that represent the songwriter and collect the fees for them." After reviewing the BMI's web site, the responsibility for obtaining these licenses falls on the owner of the business, not the DJ. Which does make sense, since so many different DJs perform at night clubs.
Mobile DJs:
From http://www.promoonly.com/faq again, there are exemptions for private events such as weddings, birthdays, and the like, as long as it is "private", you are not charging an admission, and it is not open to the general public. To me, all of the events a mobile jock would be booked for can be considered "private," so, I believe, a DJ is covered there.
Ripping CDs and mixing digitally (with VDJ):
Mixmeister's web site has a good general information about this (http://www.mixmeister.com/company_isthislegal.html). They have also quoted
an RIAA's representative from the MobileBeat magazine (http://www.mobilebeat.com/archives.asp?art=177) as saying that "as long as there is no serial duplication,* you should have no problems" ripping CDs to MP3s. Serial duplication to me meant making multiple copies of the tune.
Best quote from that same RIAA representative, to use in the quest for staying legal while DJing:
"Don’t steal. Don’t use piratical materials. Have original source materials.
As long as you have original source materials you should not have a problem. We are not here to make your job difficult, or to restrain you from using the technologies that we know you will use anyway. Our job is to work with you, to encourage DJs to always obtain their music from legal sources."
An opinion:
From Mixmeister's site, "if you want to sell your mix on CD to other people, this is absolutely illegal unless you can prove that you have paid for specific rights (called "mechanical rights") from a record label to do so. To buy a license to do this, you can contact the Harry Fox Agency, or another agency that represents the artist you wish to use." According to this statement, Nawtboy would have to have these "mechanical rights" to sell his mixes online. Just my opinion, of course, I welcome any discussion.
And I had to laugh at this funny statistic that caught my eye on the BMI's site:
"According to a survey by the NTN Network of more than 6,000 patrons of bars, nightclubs and taverns across the Unites States, 45% said they prefer live music over DJs when choosing a bar or nightclub for dancing, as opposed to the 41% that preferred DJs and 14% that didn't have a preference."
While this statement was supposed to validate the benefits of having live music, what that meant to me that only 4% would rather have live music, and given the margin of error in these surveys, I would be pretty confident to say that there is no evidence that live music is more preferred over the DJ.
Ok, enough of this already, I am starting to sound like a lawyer myself.
Z
Club DJs:
According to http://www.promoonly.com/faq, "if you play music to the general public and are making money from it, you are liable for public performance fees.
Any Bar, Retail Store, Theme Park, Commercial Radio, Roller Rink, Internet broadcaster, or anyone that plays music for the public, are examples of who needs to pay public performance fees. ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC are the organizations that represent the songwriter and collect the fees for them." After reviewing the BMI's web site, the responsibility for obtaining these licenses falls on the owner of the business, not the DJ. Which does make sense, since so many different DJs perform at night clubs.
Mobile DJs:
From http://www.promoonly.com/faq again, there are exemptions for private events such as weddings, birthdays, and the like, as long as it is "private", you are not charging an admission, and it is not open to the general public. To me, all of the events a mobile jock would be booked for can be considered "private," so, I believe, a DJ is covered there.
Ripping CDs and mixing digitally (with VDJ):
Mixmeister's web site has a good general information about this (http://www.mixmeister.com/company_isthislegal.html). They have also quoted
an RIAA's representative from the MobileBeat magazine (http://www.mobilebeat.com/archives.asp?art=177) as saying that "as long as there is no serial duplication,* you should have no problems" ripping CDs to MP3s. Serial duplication to me meant making multiple copies of the tune.
Best quote from that same RIAA representative, to use in the quest for staying legal while DJing:
"Don’t steal. Don’t use piratical materials. Have original source materials.
As long as you have original source materials you should not have a problem. We are not here to make your job difficult, or to restrain you from using the technologies that we know you will use anyway. Our job is to work with you, to encourage DJs to always obtain their music from legal sources."
An opinion:
From Mixmeister's site, "if you want to sell your mix on CD to other people, this is absolutely illegal unless you can prove that you have paid for specific rights (called "mechanical rights") from a record label to do so. To buy a license to do this, you can contact the Harry Fox Agency, or another agency that represents the artist you wish to use." According to this statement, Nawtboy would have to have these "mechanical rights" to sell his mixes online. Just my opinion, of course, I welcome any discussion.
And I had to laugh at this funny statistic that caught my eye on the BMI's site:
"According to a survey by the NTN Network of more than 6,000 patrons of bars, nightclubs and taverns across the Unites States, 45% said they prefer live music over DJs when choosing a bar or nightclub for dancing, as opposed to the 41% that preferred DJs and 14% that didn't have a preference."
While this statement was supposed to validate the benefits of having live music, what that meant to me that only 4% would rather have live music, and given the margin of error in these surveys, I would be pretty confident to say that there is no evidence that live music is more preferred over the DJ.
Ok, enough of this already, I am starting to sound like a lawyer myself.
Z
geposted Wed 26 Jan 05 @ 6:26 pm
Bargler
Not sure what country Nawtboy is in, but no way I'd try to sell mixes like that in the States. I think you'd be sued or go to jail (or both) not long after you got any sort of popularity.
Taking small samples to incorporate into another song is one thing. It might not be strictly legal, but I doubt you are going to get attacked for it as you could argue you are creating a completely new piece of work.
Taking songs to make a mix and giving it away as a demo is another. Again, probably not exactly legal but most record companies tend to look the other way as you advertise their songs for them.
But taking complete songs, mixing them, and then reselling? Man...you've got bigger balls than me to try to get away with that.
Taking small samples to incorporate into another song is one thing. It might not be strictly legal, but I doubt you are going to get attacked for it as you could argue you are creating a completely new piece of work.
Taking songs to make a mix and giving it away as a demo is another. Again, probably not exactly legal but most record companies tend to look the other way as you advertise their songs for them.
But taking complete songs, mixing them, and then reselling? Man...you've got bigger balls than me to try to get away with that.
geposted Wed 26 Jan 05 @ 7:00 pm
anewsome
My take is this: nawtboy is just daring the RIAA to come after him. If those songs are not licensed and he is not paying royalties, then he is asking for trouble. What he is doing is illegal using even the most lenient interpretation of the copyright law. You would have a better chance of playing music at a club or live performance and not paying royalties and getting away with it. But throwing together a mix and selling it online (or even giving it away) is the same as piracy.
geposted Thu 27 Jan 05 @ 7:39 pm