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I'm looking to make my podcast (here or here) a more regular feature of my blog, but really want to make it Podsafe. That is, I want to make it legitimate because podcasts are more usually permanent fixtures, unlike posted mp3s which tend to be taken down after a while.
My question is: how legitimate is legitimate? If I get the artist's written permission is that sufficient, or could a label still have a problem with that? Are tracks available for free, or streamable from Myspace (for instance) ok to use? It's a legal minefield and I'm nervous.
It's cold, and there are wolves after me...
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Personally I'd be more worried about mp3 blogging than podcasting in terms of being chased by labels. Mix your songs together, talk over the intros and outros a bit, release them at a low bitrate, don't try to make money from them and you are well on the podsafe side of the grey area in my opinion.
What does everyone else think? -
i faced the same dilemna after my first 2 podcasts as well, and decided to temporarily give it up altogether until i could figure out the legal and licensing issues involved. i've found out a whole lot since then, and am gonna attempt to do a 'podsafe' podcast as well sometime soon (there are sites/groups like Creative Commons that feature podsafe music you can freely and legally use)...the rules are blurry and complicated - as many things are in the digital/internet arena - but this link should help you a whole bunch:
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Podcasting_Legal_Guide#Using_Music
"If your podcast includes all or part of someone else's recording of a copyrighted song, you may infringe the reproduction rights in both the music al work and the sound recording. So if you create an audio file that contains the music (whether ripped from a CD or taken from a downloaded music file) you make a reproduction of two copyrighted works and, unless any of the exceptions described in Section 1.2.2 - “The Goods News: 5 Instances Where Permission Is Not Required” apply, you need to have express permission from the rightsholder(s) (this means permission in writing, such as an email giving you permission from a source you can confirm is indeed the person with authority to give the right, followed by a confirming letter from you noting the specific rights granted in the email, and the right-holder's signature on the letter)...
...Therefore, the only truly safe course under current law is to secure express permission to use, in your podcasts, any copyrighted music and sound recordings that are created by others unless you are sufficiently certain that it falls under the so-called “fair use” exception (discussed in Section 1.2.9 - “Fair Use Under Copyright Law And Its Application to Podcasts”) or otherwise falls within an exception (see Section 1.2.2 - “The Goods News: 5 Instances Where Permission Is Not Required”)."
And here's a link to the Creative Commons site:
http://creativecommons.org/audio/
hope that helps! :)
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We don't have podcast licensing in place yet, but it's pretty safe to say you can use any of the promo tracks we have on our mediapges here: http://www.toolshed.biz/projects
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I've also been speaking to the UK Podcasting Association who are looking to produce a licence to Podcast like a radio broadcasting licence. An exciting move if it happens.
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AIM has a license for UK-based labels. you can got to http://www.musicindie.org
the issue for labels is that there is no defined right for a podcast (meaning we can't really clear the master use and the publishing). it's pretty much a download but not quite. from a label perspective, we can typically only clear the master use and not the publishing. the publishers are the ones who have more of the issues. (similar to how they have issues with ringtone publishing and DRM-based subscriptions like Napster because the rights are not defined....blame congress and the 9th Circuit.)
basically - i'd say adhere to the same guidelines you would for posting an mp3 with the additional caveats:
- make it a true podcast, not just a mix-tape.
- voiceover the beginning and the end of the tracks to virtually "watermark it", discouraging folks from clipping out the song
- if it's an enhanced podcast, then try to link to purchase and band sites
give the label a heads up and let 'em know how many subscribers you have - since iTunes is one of the top podcast aggregators we kind of don't mind so much [edit: i mean you should always get our permission] ....as hopefully those subscribers use iTunes to buy music, too.
we should have a license from A2IM on this very soon. (Dick, if you're around - can you comment further?) -
That's dead helpful, thanks guys. Definitely thanks to Wendy for authorising all those tracks for me, that's a great help! I'll yayblog when the podcasts are up (with watermarks!)(and even better, YCCMB jingles coming your way soon!).
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That's great advice Adam. I'd be interested to know what you think of the way that the Contrast Podcast is run. We definately tick the first two of your points and link to band sites on the blog ... I'll have to look into the advanced podcast stuff at some point.
Simon ... you know where to come for podcast jingles :) -
I don't have any money, Tim...
My other question: can I presume, if a band offers a song as a free download on their website, that it's ok to use?
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... who said you might not get one for free if you ask nicely :)
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oh_simone: "My other question: can I presume, if a band offers a song as a free download on their website, that it's ok to use?"
probably a safe assumption but i think it's always nice to ask.
tim: i like the contrast podcast, although i haven't had the balls to make any contributions. hearing the stream is always more label / publisher friendly. but...folks wanna take the podcast on their pods, right? but, how you put it together is the way it should be done (not just a long mix). i'll save my comments on the crazy panning thing you do in the current one, save for the fact that you give Chan a run for her money on an Irish accent. ;)
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Thanks Adam :) .. so who else thinks Adam should contribute something? (Also remember that we have the 'musicians introduce' episodes .. perhaps you'd like to send some artists along to be on one of those?)
The podcast is also at a low bitrate and audio level compressed which all helps too. -
(chanting) Adam, Adam, Adam...
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I don't think you can chant like that without stepping up too at some point Wendy :)
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I'd be happy to try, but I have no idea of how to do it. ;-)
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I think promonet has been mentioned before, but it is also a good resource for podcasts as well as blogs.
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Wendy ... just read my FAQ page and email me if you still aren't sure what to do! :)
http://www.timyoung.net/contrast/?page_id=89
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