Music Copyright Law & Getting a Record Deal
ILLEGAL MUSIC IN YOUR BUSINESS
If you are a business owner been hassled by the PRS to pay to have background music in your work premises or an aspiring musician/song writer looking for a record or publishing deal, then this book is for you!
Do the PRS For Music tell you that you need to buy a licence from them to play the radio at work? In many cases this can easily be avoided! As a private organization they are interpreting the law to their advantage. THEY ARE NOT PART OF THE GOVERNMENT This publication is packed full of information that businesses need to fight back when the PRS inspector calls. The author, Paul Craddock, owned a music publishing company and recording studios for a number of years and recently obtained a law degree. As a committee member of the Federation of Small Businesses he has discussed the the problems that fellow members have found when dealing with music licensing. It is his sincere belief that it is easy to play music quite legally without the requirement of a license to listen to music in the work place. According to the PRS you need a license from them for singing or whistling at work – but they very kindly usually waive this right. Such an incident is recorded in this book. The copyright laws in England & Wales are a mess and are in urgent need of clarification and change to bring them into the modern digital age. It is illegal to copy your CD on to your MP3 player or computer even if you bought it from a shop or on line unless you were given specific permission. The is no ‘fair use’ exemption in the UK. There is such permission in the copyright laws of the USA and some other countries but the UK is still bound by the 1988 act. You are unlikely to be prosecuted as the PRS has bigger fish to fry. I do not like to think that I am a criminal by breaking a law even if I probably will not be prosecuted. The law needs changing. On a related note, if you cut and past an image from the internet and use it in your web site (or printed leaflets) your are acting illegally and could be prosecuted unless you have permission. Solicitors are employed by the rite’s owners, such as Getty Images, to hunt down such transgressors and send out demands for thousands of pounds or threats of court action. My book details how far they can go (not as far in the UK compared to the USA) and how to respond to such contact. Do you use ‘music on hold’ on your telephone system? The PRS say you need a licence but this can easily be avoided. | |
Several years ago I owned and managed a recording studios in Coventry and helped many musicians with advice regarding contracts with record & publishing contracts. I spoke at length at a meeting organised by the Performing Right Society at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall where I explained how song writers could protect themselves if the publishing company was to go into liquidation. More recently I returned to university and passed a law degree. So combining this new knowledge with past experience I decided to write this book! | |
Do you want to obtain a ‘record deal’? This publication provides many useful tips to help you navigate around the music business with out being ‘ripped off’. Just one tip could save you the cost of the book many times over.
If your publishing company goes into liquidation you could loose any unpaid and even future royalties unless you get them to add a few simple terms to your contract. My book tells you want to say.
This book previously sold for £30 but I am clearing them for just £10.