Music. How to safely use music in your works?

How to safely use music in your works? December 11, 2023. The use of music in a film, video, or presentation builds momentum, sparks the viewer's imagination, and makes the work more engaging to watch.

Rarely, however, do we have the opportunity to use our own musical works for such purposes.

A much more common situation is one in which we want to use another creator's music, and that is when uncertainty arises as to whether we are doing it safely and whether we might expose ourselves to negative consequences.

How do you do it safely?

First and foremost, it is necessary to consider whether the music will be used in the work for commercial purposes or not.

Using a song while creating, for example, a film for your own needs or those of your loved ones is one thing, while using music in a company's promotional video or in a presentation that is part of a training package being sold is quite another.

This distinction plays a key role in determining whether the use falls within the scope of permitted personal use.

To put it briefly: using music in a film for your own needs and those of your loved ones falls within the scope of permitted personal use, but commercial use does not fall within this scope and requires certain additional steps.

The work being used. In a case where a musical work is to be used for commercial purposes, it is necessary to ask yourself: which work is to be used in the production?

If we care about using a specific work, we should consider whether that work is in the so-called public domain.

A musical work enters the public domain 70 years after the death of its author.

In that case, all that is required is to credit the author and the title of the work.

In a case where this period has not yet elapsed or the author of the musical work is still alive, it is necessary to obtain their consent to use their work.

Sometimes, however, the creator of a work expressly indicates that they make the work available free of charge and allow others to use it.

Another situation is when the work being used is covered by a license.

License. On many occasions in earlier posts, we have pointed out the important role of carefully reading the licenses of works.

This also applies to musical works.

Therefore, before deciding to approach the author of a work, it is worth checking whether there is a possibility of using their work on the basis of a license.

In that case, it is necessary to reconsider the purposes the music is meant to serve and whether the scope of the license meets those expectations.

The use of a specific work was mentioned above, so what about a case where we do not care about using a specific work, but simply a sound or melody that will serve as a background for, say, our presentation?

In that case, it is worth considering using a work from a stock library.

Just as with photographs (more on which here), in the case of musical works there are also stock libraries containing sounds, melodies, jingles, and songs.

Once again, it is then necessary to carefully read the license for using the work.

Summary. Depending on whether the work is to be used for commercial purposes or not, the obligations associated with its use take different forms.

When choosing a work, consider what purposes it is meant to serve.

Check whether the work is in the public domain.

Read the license carefully and analyze it in terms of your needs and goals.

Check out our other articles on copyright protection: Photographs, or how to safely use stock photos?

Quotation.

How to quote safely?

Trademarks, or how to safely use logos?

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