Music sharing websites and online song competitions – make sure you read the fine print!
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Uploading your songs to a music sharing website or entering an online song competition can be a great way of getting your music heard - APRA is involved in the Vanda & Young song writing competition, see http://www.vandayoungsongcomp.com. However, the terms and conditions of some websites may result in you giving away more than you bargained on.
Recently a number of members have approached APRA expressing concern about the terms and conditions of various music sharing websites and online song competitions. For example, if you upload a song to the website www.MP3.com.au, under the website’s terms and conditions you automatically grant MP3.com.au a royalty-free, world-wide, non-exclusive licence to use your song not just on the their website but also on any other website operated by MP3.com or its affiliates, as well as in any related marketing materials. Not only that, but the uses permitted include the right to modify, adapt, edit, translate and create derivative versions of your song, all without your permission! And remember, generally such sites are not making your music available for altruistic reasons; they are selling advertising off the back of your music and then not sharing that revenue with you.
APRA has also been made aware of some recent online song competitions where the terms and conditions ask you to waive all your rights in the song as a condition of entry or state that to be eligible to enter you must not be a member of a performing right organisation (such as APRA). Typically this is because the competition organisers are more interested in promoting themselves rather than you! Other competitions may require you to submit your song under a Creative Commons licence which in effect also requires you to waive certain rights in your song. Creative Commons licences are perpetual, meaning it is not possible for you to revoke your decision to waive your rights if you change your mind later.
If you do wish to upload your works to a music sharing website or enter an online song competition, APRA already provides members with a number of mechanisms that allow you to administer your own repertoire in certain situations - in essence giving you the best of both worlds – flexibility and security. For more information on the options available to you in administering your own repertoire, see
http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/downloads/file/Music%20Creators/OOLB_Opt-Out-And-Licence-Back.pdf
However, before you upload or enter, always be careful and read the fine print in the website terms and conditions (which are sometimes on a different page from the upload page or entry form) and seek advice if you're unsure. There are numerous competitions and it may well be worth ‘shopping around. Many competitions do not ask you to waive rights and the terms are subject to your APRA membership agreement. If the fine print requires you to resign from APRA or waive all of your rights in the song, be sure to give the matter some serious thought – you could be jeopardising your ability to earn future income from this song – do the benefits outweigh what you’re giving up? For many artists, some of their best and most enduring songs have been those written in the early part of their careers – giving up the potential to earn continuing revenue from those creative endeavours is a decision that needs careful consideration.
The Australian Copyright Council also publishes a useful information sheet about copyright issues to consider when entering competitions and Creative Commons, both available at,
http://www.copyright.org.au/publications/infosheets.htm
Further reading:
http://www.mediainstitute.org/IntellectualProperty/IPI_ViewPoints_061109.html
http://creativecommons.org.au/licences
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