Music Copyright

[Fireflyphoto]

Hi All

I've been experimenting with slideshows as a means of presenting work, as well as a sales item for embedding in social media sites.
Loving Animoto at present, and still getting the hang of things.

The site has a good collection of licensed music to use with your slideshow, but also gives the option of uploading music of your own.

My question is this: How does one obtain permission to use an artists music, and are there circumstances where permission is not needed? (I remember reading a comment a while back that permission is not needed if the length of music used falls within a certain time-frame)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[FlyingPhotog]

You need to contact the publisher of the piece in question and inquire about licensing fees.

AFAIK, there is no "minimum duration" clause in regards to published, copywritten work.

The only tweak to paying rights fees that I know of is what is called a "needle drop" agreement. This basically covers a one-time only use and is often a part of a music package for broadcsast productions. A show might want to use a cut of music one time when the show airs live but any subsequent re-airings or re-runs require the use of different music.

[Karl Johnston]

The same way photographers have microstock, musicians have their equivalent.

http://www.premiumbeat.com/

Or you can contact the producer/artist directly and my guess and they'll probably guide you through it.

[Fireflyphoto]

Thanks for the help so far guys.
Karl, premium beat is pretty awesome, the instrumental music is really grabbing my attention. This could easily be factored into my current price structure.