IAC DISCUSSION FORUMS

Hi Folks,

I am a member of Bangor and North Down Camera Club and we hold a licence, with the IAC, in order to show AV's and slideshows that include copyright music at the camera club.

I have been approached by an iPad Digital Magazine editor to write an article about how folk can create digital slide shows. I would like to use some of my slide shows as examples, but they contain copyright music. The magazine is free and I am not being paid for the article. I am retired and do not do any commercial work. The iPad magazine is Internet enabled and users would access it, from all over the world, to view the slide shows.

My question is simply this. How do I obtain permission to use a certain track of copyright music?

Any help or pointers would be most welcome.

Mark

Hi Mark, glad to have you with us.

There is a lot of confusion about the IAC Copyright Agreement - and about copyright in general

First: the licences do not cover you - as a club or venue renter - for showings of material with copyright music in them. They work only through the AV author or film maker who created what you show. If those people hold the licences, they are allowed to use copyright music in their sequences or movies for certain screenings. So if the club shows a sequence or film by someone who does not have the licences and has included copyright music ... that is not allowed.

The main licence specifies:
a) For exhibition to friends and relations in private
b) On amateur movie, photographic or video club premises where admission is free or where a charge is made for club funds
c) For public exhibition when such is promoted for the raising of club funds or for bone fide charitable causes
d) For not more than TWO public exhibitions held annually in addition to those in (a) and (b) above
e) For exhibition at annual amateur movie, photographic or video festivals attended by competitors and friends
f) Exhibition to judges in amateur film, photographic or video competitions
g) For inclusion, as clips and short videos, in YouTube - provided there is no financial gain and no commercial advertising is attached. Such clips may be "embedded" in IAC and club websites so long as they are hosted by YouTube. *

* The catch here is that it is part of a general agreement between YouTube UK and the major UK music agencies ... but does not cover other video hosting websites and does not cover internet viewing in other countries. YouTube UK can restrict viewing to people in the UK only.

Second: A club licence only covers sequences or movies made by the club and credited as such. So if you all made a promo seuqence for some public event and the credits said "Produced by Bangor and North Down Camera Club" that would be covered by a club licence. It does not cover the work of an individual who happens to be a member of the club.

Third: I suspect that even through the magazine is free, it may be classified as a commercial usage ... for example if the publisher earns money by advertising in its pages.

I will ask the IAC's copyright chap your question and will report back here as soon as I get a reply.

I love the idea of encouraging our hobby through an article of this kind ... but would not want you to get bogged down in this issue ... or even start to negotiate paying for the music rights. My suspicion is that it might be better to remake the soundtrack for your examples using music that is cleared - such as that created by Kevin McLeod (http://www.incompetech.com) or bought from the various music libraries. See the Links section of the IAC website.

Dave,

Thank you for your speedy reply. I do not have time, just now, to give it the careful consideration it requires - so I will read it later and get back to you.

Mark