A Thought About Licensing

July 18, 2007 - Leave a comment...

This is not me being a smart ass here… but given that I’m obviously concerned with [tag]artists[/tag] getting their [tag]paychecks[/tag] and the changing face of media, does anyone have any thoughts as to where the [tag]licensing[/tag] burden (if any) should fall for posting videos of my [tag]cover gigs[/tag] on my website?

Should I be paying [tag]BMI[/tag]/[tag]ASCAP[/tag] fees for this? Or is this [tag]UStream[/tag]‘s responsibility? Or is the fee covered, then, by the club where we performed in the first place?

Also, despite what the current laws/rules are, what SHOULD be the case?

Productive discussion, if you please, would be most appreciated.

[tags]Matthew Ebel, Piano Rock[/tags]

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  • http://LookingOutTheWindow.com Ed Roberts

    Wow… read my mind there Matt. I was thinking the same thing. You certainly know more than I would, but I’d imagine that because you are rebroadcasting it, that either you or UStream would need to cover it. For that matter, how about the licensing for the 30+ people that listened to the LIVE stream to begin with?

    My brain hurts…

  • http://www.christopherspenn.com Christopher S. Penn

    The question always comes down to who gets sued – who has the liability.

    The venue itself is required to be covered for the live performances in person, but not the stream unless they’ve authorized the stream and included it in your performance contract.

    If a lawyer sends a C&D, it will go to UStream with a takedown notice, not you. That tells me that they’re at least partially responsible for the rebroadcasting.

    Because the content is duplicated on MatthewEbel.com, it too is a “venue” and has a licensing obligation.

  • http://www.ustream.tv Chris Yeh

    Matthew,

    Good question. I’m not entirely certain about how the licensing would work in this case. I do know that from Ustream’s perspective, we act as a “common carrier” for our users. In other words, we don’t act as a judge of what is or isn’t legal. Rather, we comply with proper takedown notices under the terms of the DMCA.