The Copyright Conundrum: Explanations and Solutions For Your Music

Ask a musician to explain copyright and you will usually get a blank stare, or at the very least, a run on sentence filled with umms and aahs. Those that do delve, still find it incredibly frustrating without the help of a lawyer or thesaurus to guide them through the terms and legalese.

So let’s get some things straight.

Copyright (All Rights Reserved)

Basically, this is a right protecting any tangible works you create, i.e., a song, lyric, or book etc.

What does it do?

Copyright gives you (the creator) rights that allow control over who copies your work and how.

How do you get it? (This is where it starts getting confusing for some)

The mere act of coming up with a lyric idea or melody does not grant you copyright. It is only when you turn this idea into a tangible work (something you can touch) that you are automatically granted copyright protection. Examples of tangible works include writing down your lyrics or recording a demo of your melody.

Congratulations your song is now copyrighted. But, where is the proof? If you take someone to court for infringement, your lyrics on scraps of paper will most likely not be enough to prove your ownership of the work. This is where copyright registration comes in.

Why Register?

In order for your copyright to stand up in court you must register with the copyright office in your country. This provides you with official proof of copyright ownership and ensures that nobody can modify, sync (use in a video) or copy your work without getting proper permission by you (the creator).

Still with me?

Good.

Now, you might be saying what’s wrong with any of this? If copyright protects me, from people making money off my hard work, why would I want to change anything?

Well for a few hundred years, nothing was wrong with this. The creator got paid and all was good (although historically musicians didn’t fair so well). But then the Internet came along and changed everything.

Having a digital copy of something meant the price to duplicate it was driven down, all the way to zero. An mp3 isn’t the same as a CD or record because it costs nothing to replicate. Additionally, the floodgates have been opened and we are now bombarded with music from across the world. With recording costs so cheap, anybody can create a professional sounding record at home, the number of albums being released yearly has skyrocketed. The problem now is how can you promote yourself in a market of unlimited music and limited attention?

Wait! This is an easy fix, right? Your fans can just help spread your music. They can copy and share digital files, burn tracks for a friend and upload a video of themselves dancing to your music.

But, with the old copyright system all this sharing is illegal. Period.

Do you see where this is going?

If they are unwilling to share the music because of fear of reprisal from you (the creator), then how is your music going to get shared and passed around through the endless slog of music on the Internet?

The solution?

Creative Commons. (Some Rights Reserved)

Simply put, Creative Commons does not take away your copyrights. Instead, it allows you to build on them. CC is flexible and lets you determine how your works can be used, on your own terms. It is not one all-encompassing law (All rights reserved). Furthermore, it is free to register and all licenses are non-exclusive (allowing you to enter into separate agreements with different people or organizations).

According to the Creative Commons website there are 6 different licenses to choose from:

• Attribution (cc by) – This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered, in terms of what others can do with your works licensed under Attribution.

In English: This is the least restrictive license. It allows anyone to do anything with your work–even profit from it. The only restriction is that they must give you credit for the original work.

• Attribution Share Alike (cc by-sa) – This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial reasons, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. This license is often compared to open source software licenses. All new works based on yours will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use.

In English: Exact same as above except they also must license their work under this same license (This ensures that they can’t lock up the new work with an all rights reserved copyright).

• Attribution No Derivative Works (cc by-nd) – This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you.

In English: Anyone can share and profit from this (with credit to you) but they can’t recreate anything based on your original work.

• Attribution Non-commercial (cc by-nc) – This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

In English: Anyone can copy or modify your work (as long as they don’t profit from it) and you must be credited.

• Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (cc by-nc-sa) – This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. Others can download and redistribute your work just like the by-nc-nd license, but they can also translate, make remixes, and produce new stories based on your work. All new work based on yours will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also be non-commercial in nature.

In English: Same as above except their work must also have this same license

• Attribution Non-commercial No Derivative Works (cc by-nc-nd) – This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, allowing redistribution. This license is often called the “free advertising” license because it allows others to download your works and share them with others as long as they mention you and link back to you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.

In English: This is the most restrictive license. It allows anyone to download or share your work if they credit and link back to you.

Take some time to read over the licenses and understand them. Make sure you fully grasp the differences between each one before registering your works.

Ignore all the myths out there that Creative Commons licenses take away your copyrights. The truth is they enhance it. If you truly want to compete with other music on the Internet, license your works accordingly. If you’re hesitant, I would suggest starting with a by-nc or by-nc-sa license and go from there. If you are feeling adventurous go for the least restrictive license and examine the results. It may open your eyes to new markets and possibilities.

I’ll leave you with a song lyric that I think perfectly expresses the concept of what Creative Commons can do for your music.

“I’d like to help you in your struggle to be free” ~Paul Simon

__________

P.S. Share below if you are currently using a creative commons license. If so what license did you choose and why?

Images by: PugnoM, karindalziel