A Few Necessary Words about Music

It is a violation for anyone to upload or download full-length sound recordings or DVDs without permission of the copyright owners. While it may seem similar to making a cassette from a friend's CD for your own use (which the law does allow), it is not. The law does not allow copying of recordings onto a computer hard drive or server.

Copyright infringement of musical compositions and performances (piracy, counterfeiting, or bootlegging) violates:

• Texas Tech University policies (30.22.4 and 30.22.5, which relate to guidelines for audiovisual materials and music use)
• federal laws (Title 17--Section 101 and Title 18--Section 2319, which protect copyright owners from the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of sound recordings, as well as certain digital performances to the public, and Title 18--Section 2319A, which criminalizes the unauthorized recording, manufacture, distribution or trafficking in sound recordings and music videos of "live" musical performances--the anti-bootleg statute)

On-line piracy is increasing as people use the Internet to distribute digital audio files illegally (e.g., using MP3 or WAV format). The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) monitors the Internet daily and scans for sites that contain music. They have been successful in getting the sound recordings removed from sites infringing on copyright law. You can report violations to the RIAA directly (through the Web, by e-mailing--badbeat@riaa.com; or by calling 1-800-BAD-BEAT).

Note: The RIAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation whose member companies produce, manufacture, and distribute approximately 90% of all legitimately recorded music in the U.S.

The federal copyright law grants the copyright owner of a sound recording (usually, the record company) the exclusive right to reproduce, adapt, distribute and, in some cases, digitally transmit their sound recordings. There are at the least two copyrighted works involved.

1. The copyright for the musical composition (i.e., the lyrics and musical notes as they are put down on paper)
2. The copyright for the sound recording, which is the performer singing or playing the particular song. This copyright is usually owned by the record company.

The only legal way to reproduce and transmit a piece of recorded music by uploading or downloading is to get permission from the owners of these different copyrights, which is termed obtaining a "license" for the recording.

For the copyright in the musical composition (the performance), you need to contact one of three music licensing organizations created to represent composers and songwriters:

However, remember, that only covers the performance of a musical composition. The Harry Fox Agency coordinates licenses to reproduce and distribute a musical composition.

For the copyright covering the sound recording, you must have permission from the record company, which owns the recording itself and issued the CD, cassette, or LP. In order to perform, reproduce, or distribute a sound recording on your Web site, you must get a license from the record company directly.