Copyright laws poking at my scrupulosity

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roseproject

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I like to make my own covers of songs on the ocarina (an Italian folk instrument) just for fun. No uploading on youtube just for friends on Facebook. Not a public fb page either, just on my personal wall so no chance of it spreading or going viral or what not.

I start getting scrupulous when I start to question the legal stuff. I try looking on the web for info on such things but most of what I read has to do with sharing to a wider audience. Even a for a somewhat smaller audience on a public page, lots of people say you need all these licenses (mechanical, synchronization licenses) and I don’t have the money for that kind of thing, but like I said, I’m not releasing covers to the unrestricted public. Just for family and friends that like what I do. Also, there seems to be rules with using other people’s tracks (like karaoke/instrumental versions) as backtracks to your recordings/videos. Again, I wouldn’t be throwing this out on youtube to make a big audience for myself. Just for fun.

I feel like it’d be like making a big deal over whistling the Beatles for fun or needing kids to have a big vendor’s license to sell lemonade on a street corner.

Am I worrying too much?
 
No need to worry, just get the facts. That’s how to solve most problems. If you are in the US, just contact the US Copyright Office:

copyright.gov/help/

You can call them or use the form. They’re very nice. With all due respect to others, avoid opinions, or “I heard” this or that. And the people at the Copyright Office are just people who want to help.

Best,
Ed
 
Covers of songs are totally legal. You are worrying too much.
 
roseproject said:
I like to make my own covers of songs on the ocarina (an Italian folk instrument) just for fun. No uploading on youtube just for friends on Facebook. Not a public fb page either, just on my personal wall so no chance of it spreading or going viral or what not.

I start getting scrupulous when I start to question the legal stuff. I try looking on the web for info on such things but most of what I read has to do with sharing to a wider audience. Even a for a somewhat smaller audience on a public page, lots of people say you need all these licenses (mechanical, synchronization licenses) and I don’t have the money for that kind of thing, but like I said, I’m not releasing covers to the unrestricted public. Just for family and friends that like what I do. Also, there seems to be rules with using other people’s tracks (like karaoke/instrumental versions) as backtracks to your recordings/videos. Again, I wouldn’t be throwing this out on youtube to make a big audience for myself. Just for fun.

I feel like it’d be like making a big deal over whistling the Beatles for fun or needing kids to have a big vendor’s license to sell lemonade on a street corner.

Am I worrying too much?
Click to expand...
What does your confessor say?
 
roseproject said:
I like to make my own covers of songs on the ocarina (an Italian folk instrument) just for fun. No uploading on youtube just for friends on Facebook. Not a public fb page either, just on my personal wall so no chance of it spreading or going viral or what not.

I start getting scrupulous when I start to question the legal stuff. I try looking on the web for info on such things but most of what I read has to do with sharing to a wider audience. Even a for a somewhat smaller audience on a public page, lots of people say you need all these licenses (mechanical, synchronization licenses) and I don’t have the money for that kind of thing, but like I said, I’m not releasing covers to the unrestricted public. Just for family and friends that like what I do. Also, there seems to be rules with using other people’s tracks (like karaoke/instrumental versions) as backtracks to your recordings/videos. Again, I wouldn’t be throwing this out on youtube to make a big audience for myself. Just for fun.

I feel like it’d be like making a big deal over whistling the Beatles for fun or needing kids to have a big vendor’s license to sell lemonade on a street corner.

Am I worrying too much?
Click to expand...
Yes.
 
There is something called “fair use.” Your making parodies or covering copyrighted songs for private personal non-commercial use is likely to be considered “fair use.”

I would NOT worry about this if you are just posting to your own Facebook page.

If you post videos to YouTube, YouTube has automatic screening that will refuse to post if you are using certain music owned by people who are aggressive in protecting their copyrights/mechanical rights. We had to buy licenses to use the music that we had as background soundtracks for some family videos that we posted to YouTube; otherwise, the videos would not post. It was not expensive, but it was a lot of work and effort! But you are not posting to YouTube, so that is not something you would have to deal with.
 
So, I emailed the copyright office about it and this is what they had to say. I basically emailed them the same thing I wrote in the OP…

“Generally, permission from copyright owner is needed before using their music. This permission can either be obtained by directly contacting the copyright owner or by obtaining a license from a licensing organization. The Copyright Office does not grant permissions. Contact ASCAP (www.ascap.com), BMI (www.bmi.com) or the Harry Fox Agency (www.harryfox.com) for more information.”

Still seems kind of silly to me. On top of that, the song I’m covering is rather obscure and from another country. It’d be quite a hassle to go through all that imo.
 
roseproject said:
So, I emailed the copyright office about it and this is what they had to say. I basically emailed them the same thing I wrote in the OP…

“Generally, permission from copyright owner is needed before using their music. This permission can either be obtained by directly contacting the copyright owner or by obtaining a license from a licensing organization. The Copyright Office does not grant permissions. Contact ASCAP (www.ascap.com), BMI (www.bmi.com) or the Harry Fox Agency (www.harryfox.com) for more information.”

Still seems kind of silly to me. On top of that, the song I’m covering is rather obscure and from another country. It’d be quite a hassle to go through all that imo.
Click to expand...
Emailing the copyright office about this is like emailing the IRS to ask about paying income tax when you win a game of Monopoly that you play with your family. How do you expect them to respond?
 
roseproject said:
So, I emailed the copyright office about it and this is what they had to say. I basically emailed them the same thing I wrote in the OP…

“Generally, permission from copyright owner is needed before using their music. This permission can either be obtained by directly contacting the copyright owner or by obtaining a license from a licensing organization. The Copyright Office does not grant permissions. Contact ASCAP (www.ascap.com), BMI (www.bmi.com) or the Harry Fox Agency (www.harryfox.com) for more information.”

Still seems kind of silly to me. On top of that, the song I’m covering is rather obscure and from another country. It’d be quite a hassle to go through all that imo.
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So you e-mail the copyright office instead of asking your confessor.

How, then, are you supposed to get better with your scrupulosity?
 
porthos11 said:
So you e-mail the copyright office instead of asking your confessor.

How, then, are you supposed to get better with your scrupulosity?
Click to expand...
I mean, is a priest qualified to give legal advise in this case? I mean, I’d understand if I still felt guilty even after the fact that it was ok but getting the legal facts does help, right?
 
roseproject said:
I mean, is a priest qualified to give legal advise in this case? I mean, I’d understand if I still felt guilty even after the fact that it was ok but getting the legal facts does help, right?
Click to expand...
You are not looking for legal advice. You are looking for moral advice, which is the issue with scrupulosity.
 
1neophyte said:
Emailing the copyright office about this is like emailing the IRS to ask about paying income tax when you win a game of Monopoly that you play with your family. How do you expect them to respond?
Click to expand...
:D:D:thumbsup:👍:rotfl:
 
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