Orchestral Cover Rights

[kpc]

Hey Gang -

Coming over from another thread. If anyone has any experience with performing rights for copyrighted music.

If you create an orchestral or concert band arrangement of, say a famous movie theme, do you have to secure rights to use that music? Can anyone use John Williams’ music as long as it is an original arrangement?

Does this also include arrangements you might make for sale - the printed sheet music? Perhaps for education and public schools?.

I understand folks here may not be an attorney and so on - but if you have any experience or thoughts where to do the research, I am interested in exploring this idea.

Thanks
Kayle

[Daryl]

This is not only complicated, but also country specific. However my understanding of the basics is:

1. You normally need permission to do an arrangement
2. You certainly can't sell any arrangements without permission from the Publisher of the original
3. Education can come under fair use/fair dealing, but there are strict rules about this, including how much music you can use
4. You can't sell arrangements for education without permission from the Copyright owner.

However, please remember that the owner of the Copyright of the printed score and the actual music may be different.

[Linos]

Worked in a field where this was daily business. You always need permission to perform, or arrange any music that is under copyright in your country. Rules vary depending on the country. 75 years after the death of the author/composer is quite common. But as said, it varies. Within that timeframe, you are not allowed to perform, arrange/change, or sell the work in any form without consent. Usually the publisher handles all these things for the composer. So the publisher would be the first adress to ask if you want to arrange copyrighted music.

I've seen enough cases where a stage director wanted to change the order of some arias in a copyrighted opera. Or wanted to make changes to the libretto, or add in some own text passages. Only then to be surprised that you need permission for that - permission that not all right holders were willing to grant.

[kpc]

Thanks Daryl (nice to see you again) and Linos.

I figured it wasn't as easy as I stated. I know in the US there is a compulsory license provision in the CopyRight act that allows for me to record a cover version of a song - just have to pay the statutory royalty rate to the © holder. I didn't know if this was the same for orchestral arrangements. I don't know how film scores work - I am guessing there is a buy out from the composer up front - so the production company owns the score? And I supposed that can get real tricky to find out which production company owns the score. i.e. Star Wars stated with Fox, and ended up at Disney. Who knows how many hands in between.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[kpc]

Doing a bit more research, as I wondered if you could apply the US Compulsory License provision in such a case, and found this:

Requirements: (1) the song you’re covering was previously released as an audio-only recording; (2) your own record will be an audio-only record and won’t contain anything other than music; and (3) the primary purpose of your record is to sell it to the general public for their private use. (If the recording is created only for another use —for example, if you’re making the recording solely for broadcast usage or a Muzak-type system—you’re NOT entitled to a compulsory license. In that situation, it is completely up to the music publisher to decide whether to allow you to cover the song and the publisher can demand whatever terms they want.)

Italics are mine. So, as said, it's complicated. Seems there is no Compulsory provision for film music, as it doesn't satisfy #1, and public performance is out because of #2