I have a problem that I am hoping that you can please assist me with.
My music is being used by a number of sellers on-line without my prior consent. As much as I am trying to separate myself from the music scene for medical reasons it’s things such as this that leave me no rest.
There are a number of people on-line that have taken it upon themselves to sell my music w/out my prior consent. By the way, I do have sole rights to all my recordings. In other words, I have “exclusive” rights. My cd is poping up in a number of places (ebay stores & elsewhere). I am really sort of a one man show regarding any business dealings. I am trying to solve this w/out using any legal means. It’s takes time & money to pay lawyers as you can imagine.
I have tried to contact these various on-line establishments and they never e-mail me back with a response. They (various sellers) have no access to the cd’s themselves but are selling the music through downloads.
If there is anything that I can do about this as an artist (that is w/out using any lawyers) can you pls offer assistance at your leisure.
Again, it’s a strange time for me to be dealing with all this but it hurts when others are selling your hard work right in your face. Hopefully, those of you out there w/ recorded mediums can shed a little light and I am sure that you have felt the same way about something that you have worked tirelessly on. Any help is appreciated!
Usually, a polite but firm letter will scare these people off but it seems they’re not listening. I don’t have any useful advice for you but I can imagine how you must feel. I hope you are able to resolve this problem.
If they’re selling CD’s they bought legally, there’s really nothing you can do…if I buy a CD, I have the legal right to resell it. It’s mine to do with as I please. If they’re selling pirated CD’s, contact the FBI. It’s their job to investigate these complaints, as the big notice in front of every movie I watch states.
If they’re selling downloads, contact their ISP, and make a DMCA claim that they’re violating your copyright…ISP’s are usually VERY quick to respond to these, as it can mean big big trouble for them if they don’t.
If you don’t belong to a performing right society, you should. ASCAP and BMI are the two most prominent. They have the legal muscle and the time to deal with this type of thing. More often than not, if it is a legitimate site, they (the site that is)have been holding money for you but don’t know how to pay you. Here is where a PRS will help you out. If they have simply kyped a copy of your tunes, then get a lawer and sue the bejesus out of them. US copyright laws allow damages up to $25,000 per incident. Judges are keen to award the maximum on this type of crime usually. Every download, every sale counts as an incedent. It will only take one suit to stop their abuse of any other artists as well.
Yours is a curious situation.
Being sick sucks but if you can’t be bothered to collect what is rightfully yours, then why are you bothered by it at all? Don’t mean to sound harsh, but this just strikes me as unusual.
I’d think about getting an attorney. Also, for background, I’ve found one book particularly useful: “Music Law” by Nolo Press. Very good and current information on publishing rights, copyright, etc.
You might be able to find an attorney who would work for a percentage of any payment he or she is able to help you get if the money amount would be worth their time—they couldn’t really be expected to work to set things right for no compensation. Your interest and that of the attorney would be aligned. It seems to me that it would be worth looking into in order to stop your work and that of other people from being stolen.
Wanderer’s idea sounds like it would be worth trying first if you prefer not to work with an attorney.
Or a performing rights society—they will have dues, but that money funds the help they give people.
Sometimes it can help if you use a legal word or 2 in the correspondence. Sending another message which includes something like “I may have to contact my lawyer/solicitor about this matter if I do not hear from you shortly” might speed things up. Some places have to send any correspondence like that to their legal department. Not that you’re necessarily up against a “company” but it might help.
Another idea - one time I had a query about performing rights and I phoned ASCAP to ask them about it. I’d been told by some venue owner that I would be liable if I were to perform something not ‘public domain’. So I called ASCAP to find out about this, and the first thing they asked me was could I tell them the name of the venue and owner. At the time, I didn’t, as all the material I was using was public domain, but you might get free help from them yourself if you call and ask for advice.
If you didn’t get a response from eBay then make sure you followed precisely the process outlined in Wanderer’s link. They’re usually pretty quick to deal with this sort of thing.
I have e-mailed you about your music a few weeks ago and received no response so I wanted to drop a message here on this thread. I purchased the cd on-line.
Tears Of The forest is an absolutely passionate recording with loads of emotions behind those low whistles.
My goodness where did you learn to play like that? E-mail me ok?
Hello & thank you for your replies. I do Apologize for the long delay in responding.
I have tried to log-in for at least a week but without success. However, our very own Dale Wisely has gotten me back on-line.
I ran into a problem & Dale solved the problem for me! Thanks again Dale.
Thanks to all for the great information.
Crevan, Wanderer (the FBI sounds like a great idea), Scott (I bother because when others try to steal your work it really is painful. It can really hit home), Tim (the book I will order soon. Thanks!), Cynth (thanks for your input), Lesl (thanks), Craig (thanks as well).
Celtic Woman ( I am mostly self taught 90%. But, Davy Spillane in all honesty spent some time with me years ago on Low Whistle’s. Mostly, my own shear determination & loads of practice. Glad that you liked the music and keep whistleing!
By the way, I am just one out of many whistlers here on the board. So, pls forget about me & buy a copy of other cd’s that are being sold through the board. There are a number of players out there so ask around . If I can assist in any way technically feel free to e-mail me sometime. I can talk you through certain aspects of playing but I cannot at the moment take on more than that. Sorry!
Judges are keen to award the maximum on this type of crime usually. Every download, every sale counts as an incedent. It will only take one suit to stop their abuse of any other artists as well.