Wondering somthing because of an upcoming project.
Obviously when recording and selling albums, if it’s a traditional tune, no permission is required to be obtained when recording/selling and album but what happens in the Ir-Trad world of tunes and recording when you record a tune that has been penned recently, such as a tune by Junior Crehan or Jossie McDermott? I ask because many people who has tunes, never have/had record labels and the like, and so what do you do in the trad world when it comes to credits and the like.
What I like about the trad world is that most of the time people know where tunes come from (if you’ve been around very long), and people share the same tunes freely because it’s Tradition, unlike in other genres where everything is so carefully monitored because of fear of people ripping you off. In Ir-trad, everyone plays the same tunes, just arranged differently, for the most part.
First, you’ll have to verify that the tunes are traditional. A surprising # aren’t. Some players don’t mind you using their compositions, and may only require their permission and credit, so you should make the attempt to contact them, their families, or their publisher. The Fiddler’s Companion and TUNEINFO sites can be a helpful resource in tracking some down compositions.
Many tunes are registered with the appropriate mechanical license clearing agencies for you to pay licensing fees. For instance, Paddy O’Brien and Junior Crehan tunes are registered with MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) in the UK. Rate for “covers” of tunes under 5 minutes is currently $0.08 per appearance (per copy) in the U.S., and a percentage of the CD’s retail price for publication in the UK. Some of the Josie McDermott compositions might be held by Kinmor Music.
There’s some links to useful info on Intellectual Property on my WORLDTRAD site at http://www.worldtrad.org , under the category RESOURCES->BUSINESS. If you have any specifics, you’re welcome to contact me by email.
Thanks Kevin, that’s good insight and I will have to look into that. It’s not that I have too many tunes that I may want to record that may be copyrighted, but I just want to have a better idea and understanding to stay on the good side of things.
BTW, the flute players on “Wooden Flute Obsession” CDs are given the freedom to record whatever they want, and I arrange for the mechanical licenses to be paid to the 3rd-party composers, or whoever holds the publishing rights. If the tune is composed by the player him/her self, they generally provide a gratis license. Note also that a recorded track of ITM might include 3 or 4 tunes, each of which might need a separate license (so that might be $0.24 or more per track). Fun, fun, fun, no T-bird.
The collection agencies have reciprocal agreements, so (since I’m in the U.S.) I can’t clear with MCPS directly, but submit a request through the Harry Fox Agency in New York. This can result in some delays (it took 6 months to clear John Skelton’s use of Freeland Barbour’s “Fire in the Hearth”, which affected the release date of WFO1). I’ve done what I can to hopefully have no such problems this time around. Minimum license is for distribution (not necessarily Sale) of 500 copies. This might be as an advance at time of pressing, or depending on your account, at regular accounting periods. Thus, it’s important to cost out your project.
If you have a copy of the Wooden Flute Obsession liner notes (or view the web notes), you’ll see that credit is given to composers, including tunes seemingly placed into the public domain, but with a known origin, even if beyond copyright terms.