|
Like a rock in the
storm
stands the principle
: You have copyright at your works, whether a copyright is announced or not. Even, if you deliver
marketing rights on third, you remain the author. The crack point:
To proof that the song is yours..
But what can
happen
actually
?
- an unknown group
plays your songs and has thereby exactly the same little success like
you.
- a well-known group
comes into the charts with your song. Perhaps not the worst way for you
becoming well known.
- an unknown group becomes successful with your song. Remember, you
are still unknown. If others make the work to admit
your works to the public, this always is a chance to. Argue about a copyright
is small
work compared with the expenditure to induce larger crowds to
listen in a world of medial supersaturation.
Thus, let it flow,
do not lock up your songs because of concerns regarding
copyright.
Otherwise you remain the only one, who knows it. The same applies to
you as band. Not in agreement? That is understandable. But consider,
the floods of new music rise and rise.
241395 bands and monthly
8000 new bands, 1,655.246 songs
on „Soundclick.com
“(conditions 4/06), only one music site! Where are you there? How do I
experience from you?
One thing is very clear also: Theft on this terrain takes place very subtly: not a
complete song will be rubbed, but some phrases and cutouts. So the
demarcation between inspiration and theft is difficult
to decide. George Harrison
cribed the intro of „ticket to ride“ from the Byrds, as he sayd,
without noticing it. Goethe and Schiller availed themselves excessively
with Shakespeare and with the ancient Greeks. And how do you work
actualy? The completely new melody from the nothing? There are exactly 11 tones,
more it not become. Considering the fact that from these 11 tones already 10 million
songs or so were made, overlpping is not a wonder. And sometimes no one
is disturbed. That „Bittersweet symphony “
was stolen
from „Last time" of the Rolling Stones, one must hear first times. The
fact that „What' s up “ by the 4 Nonblondes has
tone for tone
the melody of „Dont'
t worry, be happy" in the verse, dit not attract anybody.
The possibilities for proving copyright:
Notary,
the safest
variant.
Priormart.com offers for 4.99€/Mon that
you can deposit and thus prove your working progress weekly. Thus you
can advance toward also plagiarism reproaches, if someone publishes
rather at the same time as you a very similar work.
Copyright services.
E.G. the
ISA (International
Songwriters Association)
makes
available a free copyright service for as many as desired
songs
for members.
Writing
registered letter
adressed to yourself. Better than nothing, but surely somehow manipulatable.
Witnesses,
who down-loaded themselves e.g. at a certain time your
songs, heard
it or have got a CD by you.
Apart from the safe possibility of the notary, it is meaningful to use
at least 2 variants.
For Germans: A GEMA registration by the way is not a copyright registration,
however the date
can be important in case of a conflict .
Reorient one's
opinion:
Creative Commons
License
Not “all rights
reserved”, but “some rights reserved”.
The call is clear:
“Deal more relaxed with your rights, otherwise controlling and
protecting spoils each fun at the thing for us". Sampling and remixing,
long established techniques amoung young artist for the creation of
new cultural properties, are criminalized by the stubborn
application of old copyright formulas. Since 2004
also in Germany
there is the
possibility for you
of assigning a
Creative Commons license.
NOTE: at this
time it is only possible for GEMA-free music !, because you
with the registration you let have the GEMA rights, which you need for the
assignment of a Commons license. But: It remains
a decission of the authors, reserving this rights themselves or announce
it with the GEMA. As a member of the GEMA you are contractually
obligated to announce all works with the GEMA which you would like to
use.
Creative Commons License see here:
creativecommons.org
You can decide
whether e.g.
is permissible also a change of your works or only the spreading, whether they may be used commercially or not. Above
summary, a lawyer-safe contract and a machine-readable part
together form the
license. The latter makes it
possible to search the Web
for such licenses, so you can mutually promote each other.
On musician portals
like soundclick.com you can assign the Commons Licens to the extent
you wish to each song.
Related topics:
filesharing
This page in german:
copyright |
