How to license a song?

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bjornpdx
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2015/08/05 21:08:36 (permalink)

How to license a song?

I'm completely clueless with this kind of stuff so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

I have a couple of CDs on CDBaby and a photographer is interested in using my music for his slide shows/presentations.
He asked about licensing my music.
After a blank stare on my part, I told him I'd get back to him.
I asked CDBaby how to go about granting a license. They said it isn't something they do. They said a license is more of a signed agreement between the photographer and me.

I did some Googling and found generic licensing forms that would seem to be what I want, but I'm not sure.
I don't think I need (or want) a lawyer for something like this. There isn't much money (if any) involved and I'm mainly interested in more exposure to my music.

I'm guessing a lot of you have gone through this so that's why I'm asking here.
Thanks!





Bjorn
soundcloud.com/orygun
www.bjornfredrickson.com
https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/BjornFredrickson
 
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    TheMaartian
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    Re: How to license a song? 2015/08/05 21:22:19 (permalink)
    I've created a couple of LLCs myself, without an attorney. The online systems are getting pretty good.
     
    Did you find the following in your Google searches? This one isn't free (I suspect when they say "Free", it will have the "Draft" watermark on it), but looks quite good.
     
    https://www.rocketlawyer....c-license-agreement.rl
     
    Good luck! And don't forget to copyright your work!

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    Mosvalve
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    Re: How to license a song? 2015/08/05 22:50:08 (permalink)
    I would recommend joining ASCAP. Check it out.
     
    http://www.ascap.com/
     

    BobV 
     
     
     
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    bjornpdx
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    Re: How to license a song? 2015/08/06 13:38:25 (permalink)
    Thanks for the responses.
    Yeah, I found the rocket lawyer site and a bunch of others. 
    By "copyright" I assume you mean going to the Library of Congress site.  I see there's a $35 fee to process a copyright request.  Not sure if that would cover the whole album of songs or do you have to do each one?  Expensive!
     
    I'm an Ascap member.  I didn't think of checking them out.  Thanks.

    Bjorn
    soundcloud.com/orygun
    www.bjornfredrickson.com
    https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/BjornFredrickson
     
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    slartabartfast
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    Re: How to license a song? 2015/08/06 17:43:52 (permalink)
    Copyright means you are the creator of the work. Registration of copyright does not confer ownership of copyright which occurs as soon as the work is rendered in physical form--written music, recorded music or video or art, notated dance choreography etc. You can license anything you own whether or not you have registered it. You cannot sue someone for infringement of your copyright until it is registered. If you register it within three months of publication you can possibly collect legal fees if you win an infringement suit and statutory damages. Publication date is when it could first be accessed by someone without specific permission from you--includes posting it to a publically accessible internet site like SoundCloud or YouTube, but would not include sending a copy to a publisher for consideration, or simple performance in a live venue so long as the performance is not recorded with your permission and those recordings distributed pubically. 
     
    You need to be careful with music because there are two separate copyrights for a recorded song, the sound recording (the actual recording itself that can be deposited as a phonorecord) and the underlying musical composition as opposed to the recording. So if performer A records a cover of a song written by songwriter B, the song has two separately registrable rights, the sound recording which prevents anyone from making copies of performer A's actual record via tape, download etc. and owned by A, and the composition which is owned by Composer B and prevents anyone from doing a cover without B's license. A recorded and released song, can be covered without the composer's permission, by obtaining a compulsory license, but it is still the composer's license that he is compelled to provide for a statutory fee. If you are composer and performer/recorder you can register both rights from a single recording BUT YOU MUST REGISTER BOTH RIGHTS specifically when filing your application or you will only have registered one or the other but not both. You can register a 'collection' of songs at the same time for the single fee.
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    bjornpdx
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    Re: How to license a song? 2015/08/07 18:43:26 (permalink)
    Yikes!  Thanks for the detailed info on copyrights.

    Bjorn
    soundcloud.com/orygun
    www.bjornfredrickson.com
    https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/BjornFredrickson
     
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