thanks grewell,

is that a US law?

I suspect it's different over here...


guess i've got a trip to the library coming up!

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www.doublehigh.com

The number for the APV (Association of Professional Videomakers) above is about a year out of date. Our number is now 01908 522145.

Music licencing in the UK depends on the means of distribution and the final audience, and also whether the music is recorded or added in post production.

EVENTS & OCCASIONS

If you are producing something for an event or occasion (like a birthday party or wedding for example) that will only be watched by interested friends/reletives etc. You may need a 'Private Function Video/DVD Licence' from the PPL. This can be got direct from the PPL (be prepared for a long wait) or from us at the APV for a faster turn around. (BTW the IOV cannot suopply these we are the only trade association that is an agent for PPL).

The licence does not limit the number of sound recordings to be dubbed and covers both music edited post production (eg: bride & grooms favourite song) or picked up incidentally (eg: from a disco). However it must also be stressed that the PPL licence covers recorded audio, NOT live performances (for that you also need an MCPS licence; see below)

No distinction is made between a video tape/DVD master and a copy.

The cost of a Private Function Video/DVD dubbing licence from PPL is based on the quantity of video tapes/DVDs produced. This figure is multiplied by the cost per tape/DVD. There is a minimum licence fee based on a quantity of 5 units (currently £41.95)

Qty of Tapes or DVDs Cost Per Licence Sticker
5 to 9 £ 8.39
10 to 24 £ 7.41
25 to 49 £ 6.91
50 to 99 £ 6.79
100 to 199 £ 6.48
200 plus £ 6.18

The licence provided with the stickers is dated and valid for one year from the date of issue. The holographic security stickers are not dated so can be purchased in quantity to reduce costs.

Full details and an application form are here http://www.apv.org.uk/apv_ppl_licences.asp?menu=m2

If you are recording live music (still for an event/occasion) then you ALSO need an MCPS licence, this comes direct from the MCPS themselves at www.mcps.co.uk tel:0207 306 4500

OTHER COMMERCIAL WORK

If however you do any other commercial work (even if unpaid), you need to subscribe to a different scheme. There are a number of ways to do this, details are here...

http://www.apv.org.uk/apv_faqs_uk_mu...ng.asp?menu=m5

I hope this helps

Full details about the APV and membership can be found on our website www.apv.org.uk We are the only trade association working in this sector that is exclusively for professionals in the video industry. Music licences are just a small part of what the APV provide.

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Regards,

Chrome
Professional VBroadcast & Video Production www.megalith.tv
Association of Professional Videomakers www.apv.org.uk

i actually think that the digital millenium copyright act is an international standard, because it carries all digital form copyrights, and it was implemented into the world intellectual property act, which was signed by the geneva convention, therefore any country that is part of the geneva convention, would be apart of the dmca!

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Mac G5 workstation with 4 gigs of ram, 4x250 gig drives in raid 5. High availability cluster server running centos for a server. 2xCanon GL2 cameras.

TuscSports.com

Hey, I was going to ask the same things but, right now, I just go out, film me and my friends riding our bikes, then edit and add a song and put it on my website for others to watch for free.
Do I need a lisence(sp?) for this?

To stay within the law? Yep, 'fraid so.

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www.playpauseclick.com

Technically you do, but I wouldn't worry. I doubt your videos are seen by that many people, and if anyone did come across your video and took issue with your breach of copyright, the most that would happen is they would politely ask you to remove it from your site. Don't worry about your PC being confiscated etc. - that never happens for such a minor offence. There are literally millions of small homemade movie clips on the net that use music without copyright clearance. This doesn't make it right, but it's not an area in which you need to worry about serious legal repercussions.

Where do I get a liscence from?

Your best bet is the Institute of Videographers

www.iov.co.uk

Can you tell me where? Do I need to be a member? Because I've been looking and can't find where. Thanks

I think that you will find that Sonicfire will be the answer. I was faced with exactly the same issues when i started making promo video's. Apart from the copyright issue's I found that the piece of music that was chosen was so well known that it dominated the feature and forced the visuals into second place.

The other issue was that, unless you are exremenly skillful with Soundforge, the soundtrack dictates the video footage lengths and I can think of no worse situation than constantly having to fade music and then start another scene and then have to fade music again!

Go to the American Smartsound site http://www.smartsound.com/ and listen to the demo tracks. I will be surprised if you cannot find the ideal set of tracks for your vid. Yes - it's expensive but if you want to make decent films the soundracks are critical. Try taking a a minute of your video and putting different types of music to it. It's astonishing how different the feel of your movie becomes.

Sonicfire Pro - You won't regret it!