Legal Paperwork

Actor Contract

Music Copyright Research

What is music copyright?

Music copyright is where the music and lyrics of a particular song are owned by the songwriter and/or the publisher of the song. Copyright can protect the originality of the song, in terms of artistry and drama. A song is copyrighted as soon as a piece of music is created and documented or recorded. If you have copyrights to a song, you can possess a whole lot of actions which others can’t. These include:

·         Take the music from the song to use on another song.

·         Sell copies of said song to the public in any matter.

·         Perform the song at any type of gig.

·         Broadcast the song on any type of media.

If you were to copyright a song in the UK, then the copyright lasts a period of 70 years from the end of the year where the author of the song dies. If you were to copyright a song outside of Europe, then “the copyright can last for as long as the music is protected by copyright in its country of origin, provided that the length of time does not exceed 70 years.” [information found from http://www.prsformusic.com/aboutus/ourorganisation/aboutcopyright/pages/default.aspx]

In order to get permission to use 2 music tracks in our film, Chloe attempted to contact the two artists who hold the copyright to the respective songs to grant us permission to use the songs.