2007 Printable Manual - Texas State Library and Archives ...

2007 Texas Reading Club Manual
Even if the children sing a song, it is technically considered a public performance and a license is
required unless the song is in the public domain.
Recently a judge found that even karaoke played in a public place violated copyright. When a
karaoke machine was set up by a disc jockey in a public place, an investigator for Broadcast
Music, Inc., was in the audience. The business and the disc jockey were sued for violation of
copyright because the business did not have the appropriate licenses.
It is not always easy to determine if a specific song is in the public domain. For example, “Happy
Birthday to You” is a popular song that is not in the public domain, while “Old MacDonald Had
a Farm” is a traditional song that is in the public domain. Check out Public Domain Music,
www.pdinfo.com, a reference site for songs that may be in the public domain. Keep in mind that
just because a song is in the public domain, does not mean that the specific recording of the song
is. The artist may have rearranged the public domain song and copyrighted that version; in that
case, you can only use the original lyrics and arrangement, not the copyrighted performance of
the music.
Before you start rolling your eyes and thinking to yourself, “The copyright police won’t catch us,
and anyway, we’ve been doing this forever,” stop and think. First, libraries should be in the
forefront of protecting copyright and setting a good example for patrons. We tell kids they
should not illegally download MP3 files. If we publicly perform music without appropriate
permission, our actions are comparably illegal. Second, it’s easy to get a public performance
license and in fact, your city or county may already have one that covers the library.
The public performance of music is licensed by three organizations. When a songwriter or
composer signs a deal for the music to be recorded, that person joins only one of them. As a
member of one of these organizations, the musician authorizes that organization to license the
public performance of his or her music and collect fees for that use. Libraries may need a license
from more than one of these organizations.
Most U.S. songwriters and composers join either the American Society of Composers, Authors,
and Performers (ASCAP) at www.ascap.com, or Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) at www.bmi.com.
They are the two major licensing organizations in the United States. Both provide low-cost
licenses for governmental organizations. A third organization, SESAC, Inc., at www.sesac.com is
relatively new in the United States. It licenses music that the other two organizations do not. All
three organizations provide online databases of performers and titles covered so that you can
ensure that what you want to use is covered by the license you have purchased. If you use varied
sources of music, you may need licenses from all three organizations, or you will need to be very
selective in your music use!
Chances are good that your city or county already has a license if it offers dance classes at the
recreation center, provides musical sing-alongs at the senior activity building, or holds regular
outdoor parades or concerts. Check with your public information office, parks and recreation
department, purchasing department, or the city or county legal department to see if a license
exists and for which licensing organization. If none of these offices are aware of a license, then
you can educate them about the need for one. If your city or county does not already have a
license, fees are based on population. For a local government with a population of up to 50,000
people, a license would cost less than $275 a year based on a 2005 fee schedule for BMI.
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