DMCA Rules For Compilation CDs

[Mondoman2k]

I'm new to Internet Radio and I understand the DMCA rules about how many times you can play a specific artist or how many songs from a "recording". My question is the term "recording". If I have a Time Life AM Gold set of 70's Hits, is each disc (i.e. 1971, 1972, 1973, etc.) considered an individual recording or is the entire Time Life series treated as a complete recording? These CDs could be purchased individually, in sub-set, and as an entire set. The same thing applies compilations like Billboard Hit series CDs or Soul Hits Of The 70's.

 

Thanks in advance for "enlightening me" in the ways of legal internet radio broadcasting!

[andhow]

Most licensing institutions do not charge per song, unless you are a commercial station and bringing in a significant income from your broadcasts. If you play any music from a record company, you are required to pay a licensing fee. For smaller non-commercial stations, you usually pay a flat fee, up to a minimum income threshold.

 

If you are in the US, it is usually BMI & ASCAP. In the UK is it OFCOM and in AUS/NZ it is APRA/AMCOS. There are also 3rd-party companies that sort out your licensing for you, but they have a minimum fee that they have to charge for their licensing services.

 

Here is a link with a short explanation - http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/music-licensing3.htm

[Brutish Sailor]

Ok, this sounds like a JLA question, and let me keep it simple. Your not required to report the album name as a JLA user. Your only required to report the Title-Artist.

 

So, with that being said, YES, your right, it is the same recording. The rest of what Im going to say, I leave to your imagination.

[Mondoman2k]

Thanks for the response British Sailor. I'm putting together my music library and I have many compilation series such a Soul Hits, Pop Memories, Super Hits of The 70's. I'm fine with not using more than 3 songs from one disc in a 3 hour period but I would find it more troublesome if I could only use 3 songs in a 3 hour period from something like the 25 individual disc that were ultimately released in the Soul Hits of The 70's series. If that's the rule then that's the rule and that's why I asked for clarification.

 

Again, thanks for the response. And thanks for serving!

 

Mondoman2k (USN EWC 1974 - 1984)

[dotme]

The "spirit" of the rule is to discourage theft. Generally, a recording under that language would be considered the original work/album (All tracks by same artist).

 

If we all had to keep track of every time a "Best of the 80s" CD was released with various artists, it would be nearly impossible. While I don't think it's good to play a compilation disk from start to finish, I wouldn't worry too much about playing more than three in an hour from that collection, especially if the songs are played in random order.

[Mondoman2k]

Thanks for the reply dotme. I agree that it would not be in the spirit to play more than 3 songs from a single compilation disc even if it was packaged as a 2 or 3 disc set (much like a 2 CD release by a single artist). An example of a compilation I would consider as a set would be "Rock 'n Roll 50s & 60s Hits" In this case, the discs are in one plastic case and the cover art says "3 CDs". That to me is "from the same recording". However, the compilation CDs from the series "A Year In Your Life 1970, 1971, 1972, etc" I don't consider from the same recording since they were sold at retail as single discs that were priced and offered to the public as individual items.

 

That's my thinking on this issue.

 

Thanks forum members for your inputs. Great source of information.

 

Mondoman2k