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| From | Ryan Williams <ryan@headphonetreats.com> |
| Subject | Re: podcasting q |
| Date | Thu, 07 Jul 2005 13:34:28 -0400 |
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Stacy Lynn wrote:
> So lets say I wanted to create a podcast (maybe I'm missing my college
> radio days or something!).
>
> I'm concerned about the legalities of it. Does anyone know how that
> works? I'm not making money off the podcast and I'm linking to the
> artist/album in the playlist. Will I get in trouble? Also, just by
> virtue of my own taste, I would imagine if I just put on whatever
> songs I wanted, it would mostly be indie or unsigned artists, not as
> many artists on the big labels.
>
> I've just read some nightmare stories about how ASCAP and BMI go after
> people, so I'm leary.
>
> Does anyone know anything about this?
Stacy,
You should be concerned, because unless you are paying BMI, ASCAP, etc.
fees, you are essentially breaking the law by "performing" these songs
and are liable if they decide to lean on you. It gets a little more
complex than with radio actually, because you are not only broadcasting,
but digitally "distributing" the podCast which involves the owner of the
sound recording and the material's copyright. The only way around it is
to have the bands and/or labels give you express permission to use the
song(s) in your podCast. Most podCasters try to do a "PodFriendly" show,
which means they have documentation from the artist and/or label saying
specifically that they can use the material in their podCast. Most
people just send email clearance, and that can be sufficient enough.
Most indie labels are pretty open to podCasting though, so it's not hard
to get clearance on most of the stuff I think you would be playing. Just
keep a paper trail on anything you play and you should be okay.
Ryan
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