Promotional Music Video – Using Copyright Material

[Anonymous]

We are producing a promotional use video for a local band. They will be paying us for the work & then it is their property. They will not be selling this video only distributing it to local club owners, agents, record companies, etc. Can they perform cover material on the video if they do not sell it without worrying about paying any music royalties to the writers, publishers, or original artists of the song they perform? I know its done with CDs & tapes all the time. Just want to see if anyone has run into this… Thanks 😕

[SteveMannParticipant]

I know this is late in responding, but you touched on something that needs to be addressed. Profit or the lack of it has absolutely NOTHING to do with copyright.

Whether they plan to sell the works or not is totally irrelevant to the question.

Technically, they are probably in violation of copyright when they perform cover music on DVD. It’s possible, but you need an attorney for this, that because it’s their resume for promotional purposes, that they may be covered under the “comulsory licensing” provision of the copyright laws.

[Author]

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