Copyright & Licencing
To stay within the law it is important to ensure
that all the music included in your final product (CD) is properly
licensed. I will not undertake any duplication until we have agreed
how the licence will be handled.
Copyright law applies as soon as an original piece of music is written.
The writer of the music has the right to decide who can make a recording
of their music and under what terms. UK Copyright for original musical
generally lasts for a period ending 70 years from the end of the calendar
year in which the composer dies.
Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 the following require
prior licence from the copyright owner:
- To copy the work e.g. to record the music
- To issue copies of the work to the public
e.g. to issue a recording of the music on a physical product, such as a
CD
- To rent or lend the work to the public
- To perform, show or play the work in public e.g. in this case, to
allow the public to hear a broadcast of a recording
- To communicate the work to the public
- To make an adaptation of the work or do any of the above in relation
to an adaptation
MCPS
If you are using copyright music on your recording it is almost certain
that you'll require a licence for the use of that music. In the UK this licencing is handled by the
Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS)
to ensure that the use of the music is
authorised and that the relevant copyright owners receive royalties for
the use of their copyrights.
To obtain a licence MCPS must receive a completed form and a royalty
fee. The fee level is determined by the particular use and purpose
of the product. A range of different licences are available.
Details of these schemes, their full terms, conditions and exceptions
are available from the MCPS web site: -
Possible Licencing Options
From the information available from MCPS, the most likely licences to
apply to your recordings are identified briefly below for general
guidance purposes only. Licencing requirements change
and Definitive information is only
available from the MCPS web site identified above: -
Limited Manufacture Licence (LM) (Up to 1000
Units)
The Limited Manufacture (LM) Licence offers an
affordable, easy to obtain and simple licensing solution for customers
wishing to produce small scale audio and audio-visual physical products.
It is aimed at customers such as schools, churches, amateur groups and
private users who wish to use music in their own productions. Customers
can sign up for a My MCPS-PRS online account, provide product details, pay
and obtain their licence certificate, all in a matter of minutes.
The following types of individuals and
organisations are eligible for a Limited Manufacture Licence: -
-
1. Educational Users
(school productions, teaching aids/learning guides)
-
2. Educational Authority
(Higher/Further Education, private tuition)
-
3. Church/Religious (choir
recordings, service recordings)
-
4. Private Users (weddings,
christenings, bar mitzvahs, holiday films, funerals, video or CD to DVD
transfers)
-
5. Amateur Productions
(amateur film making, amateur dramatics, horse dressage, synchronised
swimming, musical gymnastics)
-
6. Professional Users
(wedding videographers, funeral service providers, Voluntarily run
charities)
-
7. Musicians (amateur/ semi
professional orchestras, unsigned bands/artists, music tuition)
Example of LM table, including VAT
|
Single Events |
25 Minutes of music or less |
Over 25 minutes of music |
|
No. of units |
PRICE |
PRICE |
|
1 to 5 |
£4.99 |
£8 |
|
6 to 20 |
£15 |
£23.99 |
|
21 to 100 |
£25 |
£40 |
|
101 - 500 |
£75 |
£120 |
|
501-1000 |
£150 |
£250 |
AP2 Agreement
This is the basic Licensing Agreement which
covers the issuing of CD audio products for sale. Under the AP2 a fee is
paid (a ‘royalty’) based on the quantity of products to be
manufactured in advance of actual manufacture. The licence allows you
to manufacture and distribute CDs 'for retail sale to the public for
private use'. 'Retail Sale' includes all types of retail
including sale direct to a member of the public by whatever means, e.g. at
shows, concerts, gigs, over a market stall or for charity as well as
through shops. 'Private Use' means that, for example, the sale
should not be for the purpose of rental or for copying in any way. You can
sell CDs to public libraries, provided you do not make any additional
rental charge.
- An Application for Licence form (AFL) must go to MCPS for every CD and for any quantity however small.
- The AFL must be completed in full and be
accurate to the best of your knowledge. Information required includes
the the details of your CD: title, performer and full Track Listing
(including composer, publisher and playing time).
- MCPS will issue a licence only when they have
received payment of
any royalties due.
- For direct sales (i.e. no dealer involved) the
royalty fee is 6.5% of Retail price (ex VAT).
- However, royalties are only charged for musical works controlled in the UK by MCPS and are calculated pro
rata on timings of each work against the total duration of the
product. If track timings are not submitted, then the tracks will be treated as
being of
equal duration.
Example (For
illustration only)
Possible Options
- Option 1: You handle everything to do with
application and payment for MCPS copyright licencing.
- Option 2: I handle all the application paperwork for
MCPS licences and include my administration fee in the
quotation.
- In all cases where I am to make production copies in
addition to the master CD you will need to pay the licence
fees in advance.
- The only exception to this will be for Schools packages
where I will obtain the licence and build all related fees into the
final CD prices.
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