The Answer

[Gary 0]

There once was an old wives tale which said "In the UK, If you've got an original music track, in one format and you want to record it onto another format, its ok to do that, so long as you only make one copy, and so long as you keep the original.

 

Well, if you know a married lady, who's getting on a bit and tells tales - be sure to tell her that the above tale, is a whopper...

 

The above tale was the hope that I once clung to, whilst implementing a project to record all my vinyl records into my PC, clean their audio up a bit, and record them out onto CD for use at the disco - the idea being, that I'd keep my old vinyl at home instead of carting it around to every gig, and wasting over £150 per year on Stylus and Cartridge costs.

 

Well Chris, you'd better quote me (quick) for a pair of Stantons, I've tracked down and obtained the once thought to be mythical license which allows most of what we want to do, eg: move music from one format to another eg: Vinyl to CD, CD to laptop, Vinyl to laptop etc.

 

The license is called an SG-6, and is provided by MCPS. I'll post the license details in their entirety, below:

 

QUOTE

MCPS Licensing Scheme: SG6 – Specialist Music Products I am writing to provide you with details of the SG6 licensing scheme, regarding the recording of MCPS members’ musical works into customised music products. MCPS is able to offer a licence in this area covering the production and distribution of a variety of music products. 1. What products can be Licensed under the MCPS SG6 Licence? 1.1 The SG6 licence is designed to cover various types of products, including: • MIDI files – the encoding of musical works into MIDI files, making and distributing copies of these files for authorised purposes and copying for display on screen the musical notation of the musical works from the MIDI file. • Karaoke tracks – the inclusion of musical works into audio-visual and audio plus still image tracks that include on-screen lyrics for use in karaoke play-back tracks. • Bespoke compilations - the manufacture and distribution of audio and audio-visual products (such as CDs and DVD-Videos) that are complied to order and include musical works within original sound recordings individually selected by members of the public for their own private use. • Backing tracks – the copying of musical works onto standard audio format backing tracks which are sold as accompaniments to live performances. • Recording booths – the production and sale of audio and audio-visual products to members of the public containing their own performance of musical works (often accompanied by a backing track or karaoke track for which a separate original licence exists). • Mechanical organ music – the recording of musical works into paper rolls, cardboard, micro-chips, cassettes etc for use in mechanical organs. • Music quiz compilations – the manufacture of musical compilations for quizzes to be supplied to sites, which incorporate clips of audio and audio-visual recordings of musical works. 2. Rights Licensed 2.1 The manufacture within the EEA of licensed audio and audio-visual formats and, 2.2 The distribution of audio/audio-visual products and/or copies thereof within the EEA to the public, solely for their private use and/or semi-professional public performance. Where copies of a recording are held on hard disks or servers purely as part of the process for supplying the licensed products, this licence extends to the following acts: • The creation of a recording for the purpose of incorporating it into a server • The incorporation of that recording (or the incorporation of an existing recording) into the server or hard disk 2.3 Where appropriate, the inclusion of lyrics (karaoke and MIDI) and musical notation (MIDI) for on-screen reproduction by the recipient (the reproduction of lyrics and musical notation in any printed form or where not incorporated within the same sound bearing copy or file as the licensed musical work is strictly excluded). 3. Main Restrictions The licence granted under SG6 does not apply to the following, for which separate licences and/or approval would be required: 3.1 Any product which contains visual images of a sexual, violent or political nature 3.2 Any product which contains any advertising or sponsorship messages of whatsoever nature 3.4 Use of any Repertoire Works subject to First Licence Restrictions 3.5 Dramatico-musical works or substantial excerpts therefrom 3.6 Any products where the sound recording copyright owner or performer(s) have not given permission for the relevant copies to be created and/or exploited 3.7 Arrangements and adaptations, including using music with lyrics which were not written for use with that music and vice versa unless these have been authorised by the copyright owner 3.8 Any product which is a Premium Product (i.e. a product supplied for use, or with the express or implied authority to sell it for use, as an incentive to purchase or acquire other goods or services of whatsoever nature) 3.9 No Repertoire Work may be used in such a way as to imply approval or endorsement by the writer of, or a performer associated with, such a Work, unless the relevant copyright owner has specifically consented thereto for the purposes of this Scheme. 3.10 Online distribution of original sound recordings 3.11 The visuals recorded must be music videos, pop promos, or footage of the artist in live performance (this includes a performing member of the public in the case of a recording booth service). 3.12 Any right not specified hereunder 4. Territory: 4.1 The licence covers manufacture and distribution of physical products throughout the EEA. 4.2  On-line delivery is restricted to the UK only (any online distribution of Works recorded within original sound recordings is strictly excluded). 5. Term of Licensing Scheme 5.1 These terms and conditions will apply until 31 March 2004, at which time they will be subject to review by MCPS. 6. Royalty Rates Under any licence granted the following royalties will be payable: 6.1 Advance Payments A non-returnable advance of £500 is payable by all new licensees. This fee is subsequently offset against royalties that accrue under 6.3 below. 6.2 Annual Advance Payments for Music Stored on Servers In the case of licensees who store recordings on servers, a further non-returnable annual advance is payable in accordance with the table below. This fee is subsequently offset against royalties that accrue 6.3 below within the same year. Number of Tracks on Server Annual Advance  5,000                          £1,000 > 5,000                      Negotiable 6.3 Royalty Rates The following royalties are charged for each copy supplied: Music Usage Fee per work per copy Audio only clips, up to 30 seconds in duration  3p Audio-visual clips, up to 30 secs in duration  3.5p Audio only tracks, up to 5 minutes in duration  10p* Audio-visual tracks (without lyrics), up to 5 minutes  11p* Karaoke tracks with still images and lyrics 12p Karaoke tracks with moving images and lyrics 13p MIDI files 15p * 10 pence per musical work per copy supplied for each musical work of up to five minutes in duration (or part thereof; 11 pence for audio visual tracks) and an additional 2 pence per minute (or part thereof) thereafter for any work exceeding five minutes (capped at 25 minutes so there is a maximum fee payable of 50p per work). 6.4 VAT must be added thereto. 7. Clearance and Reporting Provisions 7.1 Licensees are required to provide returns within 30 days of the end of each calendar quarter, using the standard SG6 reporting format, detailing which works have been supplied, the number of times each work has been supplied that quarter and the type of track or product supplied, as per the above table. 7.2 All invoices must be paid within 45 days of the end of the relevant quarter. 7.3 Interest will be levied at 3% above the National Westminster Bank minimum lending rate if supply of the reporting information or payment of the invoice is not made within the period stated. 8. Control Requirements 8.1 Licensees are responsible for ensuring the security of the audio and/or audio-visual content on any server, to prevent their unauthorised removal, fraudulent replacement or corruption in any way, by the application of appropriate watermarking and encryption technologies. 8.2 It is a requirement that all licensees retain sufficient data/documentation to establish an audit trail and to permit MCPS and/or its representatives to conduct and inspection of this. 8.3 MCPS has the right to terminate these licensing arrangements if you are in breach (and in so far as it is capable of remedy) within 30 days notice of the same by MCPS. 9. Additional Licensing Requirements Please note that in order to record commercially released records you will also need a licence from the Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL – Telephone 020 7534 1000).  The use of existing backing tracks or karaoke tracks will usually require a licence directly from the relevant backing track or karaoke label. Please contact the Video Performance Ltd (VPL – Telephone 020 7534 1400) for further licensing advice and information on the use of existing music videos or promos.

 

 

Now, the above details have been cut’n’pasted into a small on-line DJ resource a few weeks ago but in true “Head in the sand” style were not discussed.

 

 

This post will provide the penultimate answers to how to do this - legally.

 

Spending 4 or 5 minutes reading through the whole of the above information is strongly recommended. However, below are the sections of interest from the above MCPS SG6 details which are pertinent to our intended usage: eg: Use the music that we’ve already bought and paid for on one format, in another format eg: Rip our shop-bought CD’s onto hard drive, or our old vinyl onto CD, or our copious numbers of CD singles onto our own CD compilations to cut down how many CD cases we’re lugging around.

 

I’ve now got a contact at MCPS who happily(?) went through all the ins and out with me for exactly what I, and other members want to do: Here are the abbreviated terms and conditions of the SG-6, with notes from me under certain sections.

 

 

QUOTE

MCPS Licensing Scheme: SG6 – Specialist Music Products 1. What products can be Licensed under the MCPS SG6 Licence? 1.1 The SG6 licence is designed to cover various types of products, including: • Karaoke tracks – the inclusion of musical works into audio-visual and audio plus still image tracks that include on-screen lyrics for use in karaoke play-back tracks. • Bespoke compilations - the manufacture and distribution of audio and audio-visual products (such as CDs and DVD-Videos) that are complied to order and include musical works within original sound recordings individually selected by members of the public for their own private use.(In this inst WE the DJ are the members of the public – in MCPS’s eyes) • Music quiz compilations – the manufacture of musical compilations for quizzes to be supplied to sites, which incorporate clips of audio and audio-visual recordings of musical works. 2. Rights Licensed 2.1 The manufacture within the EEA of licensed audio and audio-visual formats and, (For EEA, read “Europe”) 2.2 The distribution of audio/audio-visual products and/or copies thereof within the EEA to the public, solely for their private use and/or semi-professional public performance. Where copies of a recording are held on hard disks or servers purely as part of the process for supplying the licensed products, this licence extends to the following acts: • The incorporation of that recording (or the incorporation of an existing recording) into the server or hard disk 2.4 Where appropriate, the inclusion of lyrics (karaoke and MIDI) and musical notation (MIDI) for on-screen reproduction by the recipient (the reproduction of lyrics and musical notation in any printed form or where not incorporated within the same sound bearing copy or file as the licensed musical work is strictly excluded). (You can have the Karaoke Lyrics displayed on-screen from the data embedded in the Karaoke track, but NOT print the lyrics out eg: You cannot print out “sing-a-long lyric sheets” for the audience/singer to follow.) 3. Main Restrictions The licence granted under SG6 does not apply to the following, for which separate licences and/or approval would be required: 3.6 Any products where the sound recording copyright owner or performer(s) have not given permission for the relevant copies to be created and/or exploited  (This is the seriously bad news in the whole venture – more on this later) 3.7 Arrangements and adaptations, including using music with lyrics which were not written for use with that music and vice versa unless these have been authorised by the copyright owner (This includes Sampling and remixing tracks) 3.8 Any product which is a Premium Product (i.e. a product supplied for use, or with the express or implied authority to sell it for use, as an incentive to purchase or acquire other goods or services of whatsoever nature) 3.12 Any right not specified hereunder 4. Territory: 4.1 The licence covers manufacture and distribution of physical products throughout the EEA. (EEA more or less equals “Europe”) 6. Royalty Rates Under any licence granted the following royalties will be payable: 6.1 Advance Payments A non-returnable advance of £500 is payable by all new licensees. This fee is subsequently offset against royalties that accrue under 6.3 below.  (This is a key point – YES it will cost you £500, BUT its not £500 for a bit of license paper with some writing on it – this £500 is basically a “Float” or “pre-payment” for the tracks that you want to record – see the Royalties payment table below) The following royalties are charged for each copy supplied: Music Usage Fee per work per copy Audio only clips, up to 30 seconds in duration  3p Audio-visual clips, up to 30 secs in duration  3.5p Audio only tracks, up to 5 minutes in duration  10p* Audio-visual tracks (without lyrics), up to 5 minutes  11p* Karaoke tracks with still images and lyrics 12p Karaoke tracks with moving images and lyrics 13p MIDI files 15p * 10 pence per musical work per copy supplied for each musical work of up to five minutes in duration (or part thereof; 11 pence for audio visual tracks) and an additional 2 pence per minute (or part thereof) thereafter for any work exceeding five minutes (capped at 25 minutes so there is a maximum fee payable of 50p per work). 6.4 VAT must be added thereto. (Most of the “Radio versions” of the tracks that we would want to copy would fall into the category of “Audio only tracks, up to 5 minutes in duration” each track “copy” would be charged at 10p (plus the VAT @ 17.5%) = just under 12p per track. So, extended mixes or 12 inch singles of say 7 minutes long would incur the same 10p plus VAT charge above,  PLUS the small print (did you see it?) which says an additional 2 pence per minute (or part thereof) thereafter for any work exceeding 5 minutes – capped at 25 minutes so there is a maximum fee payable of 50p per work)  - So for those of us with the 15 minute version of “Donna Summer: I Feel Love “ that’ll be 10p (for the first 5 minutes) then 10 lots of 2p (20p) for the remaining 10 minutes...so that’s 30p plus VAT = about 35p. Remember, all those 10p’s (or 35p’s ) come out of the £500 that we’ve ALREADY paid for the SG-6.  So buying the license has already covered about 5000 “radio edit” length tracks.) 7. Clearance and Reporting Provisions 7.1 Licensees are required to provide returns within 30 days of the end of each calendar quarter, using the standard SG6 reporting format, detailing which works have been supplied, the number of times each work has been supplied that quarter and the type of track or product supplied, as per the above table.  (You will need to keep a list of which tracks, and their lengths and costs – as per the above table – and submit that list every 3 months to MCPS) 7.2 All invoices must be paid within 45 days of the end of the relevant quarter. (If you record say...5052 (less than 5 mins) tracks , you’ll need to send payment to MCPS for the 52 tracks at 10p each + VAT eg: £5.20 + VAT (£6.11p) 7.3 Interest will be levied at 3% above the National Westminster Bank minimum lending rate if supply of the reporting information or payment of the invoice is not made within the period stated. (urmm, pay your extra royalties on-time eg: put the cheque in the envelope with your quarterly list of tunes) 8. Control Requirements 8.1 Licensees are responsible for ensuring the security of the audio and/or audio-visual content on any server, to prevent their unauthorised removal, fraudulent replacement or corruption in any way, by the application of appropriate watermarking and encryption technologies.  (Don’t offer your roadie a copy of your harddrive – more realistically, think about passwording access to your system – or splash out £30 on a bio-metric/fingerprint scanner) 8.2 It is a requirement that all licensees retain sufficient data/documentation to establish an audit trail and to permit MCPS and/or its representatives to conduct and inspection of this. (Keep a copy of all your quarterly returns of what tracks you copied – so that you can show this list to the nice MCPS Anti-Piracy man, when he turns up as the Best Man at his mates wedding this summer.) 8.3 MCPS has the right to terminate these licensing arrangements if you are in breach (and in so far as it is capable of remedy) within 30 days notice of the same by MCPS. 9. Additional Licensing Requirements Please note that in order to record commercially released records you will also need a licence from the Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL – Telephone 020 7534 1000). (This is a total Red-Herring given the type of usage that we want to put the tracks to, and considering that we already own the tracks and will be using the tracks publically, in a commercial venture eg: Mobile DJ’ing – we do NOT need a “Record commercially released records” license from PPL, however, you may still need a “normal” PPL license depending on the types of functions and venues that you perform at) The use of existing backing tracks or karaoke tracks will usually require a licence directly from the relevant backing track or karaoke label.

 

 

 

 

Still Awake?........well done......

 

OK, all ready to write out a cheque for £500 and be legal? After all its only 2 or 3 gigs worth of dosh isn’t it?...Wweeeeeeeeeelllll cough, unfortunately, theres a catch, and it’s a fairly big one... Remember paragraph 3.6 above? The bit that said:

 

QUOTE

3.6 Any products where the sound recording copyright owner or performer(s) have not given permission for the relevant copies to be created and/or exploited  (This is the seriously bad news in the whole venture – more on this later)

 

I’ve called and emailed several record labels at the tail end of last week asking about how much (if anything) they’d charge a mobile DJ WITH AN SG-6 license, for their permission to copy recordings of their tracks. The outcome? Severe telephonic exhaustion... depending on which company I called, I got transferred around the building, repeating my request for information, transferred again, left messages on voicemails, got hung up on as soon as said “One” in response to the question of “How many copies will you be recording?”.

 

Neither the BPI, PPL, nor MCPS have a “blanket license” which covers you for tracks from all/any record label – you have to seek permission INDIVIDUALLY from each record label that you’ve got copyrighted music from, that you want to convert to another format. Given the lousy hours I spent on the phone trying to get even ONE answer out of the record companies that I tried, this particular requirement is what bogs the whole exercise of doing it legally, down into the “company versus one little person” quicksand.

 

Want some good news? The License lasts a year. However, if you copy your 5000+ tracks onto your preferred format in that year, and make lots of CD’s/Laptop directories etc, you DON’T need to take out additional annual licences to carry on using that copy, each year thereafter.

 

More good news...you don’t need to keep the original track/CD/Vinyl at home once you’ve copied the tracks from it. So, if you’ve got “NOW that’s what I call Music” in pristine condition, or similarly valuable vinyl, you could sell it and effectively pay for most, if not all of your SG-6 license that way.

 

Action Plan:

• Catalogue your music collection, Artist, Track Title, Track duration/Play Length, and especially Record Label

• Split the collection down (on Excel for example) into Record Label

• Send the split lists to each Record Company and ask for their permission to record the tracks from their current format to your chosen format eg: CD, Laptop/hardrive. It is important to state that you will be applying for an SG-6 License from MCPS and that you intend to use these tracks at your mobile disco, where you are currently using the older format originals. Well worthwhile including a phrase like “So that I can continue to promote your artists songs”...(cant hurt)

• Wait for the Record Companies to reply, totting up any quotes that they give you for permission – eg: Watch out for any crazy fees which they are suggesting eg: £1000 per track.

• Buy your SG-6 license and send off “thanks for your permission” to the record companies (with cheques)

• Do your recording – keeping accurate audit trails of which tracks you’ve copied.

• Do NOT scan / re-produce the artwork that was supplied with the original.

• Remember to submit your 3-monthly report to MCPS detailing the tracks you’ve copied.

• Sell your original records/CD’s if desired.

 

 

 

There, thats it. The only remaining uncertainty is how much the record companies will charge for their permissions. Given the brick walls that I've been hitting my head against in trying to get a proper answer out of anyone, in any record company, I can only suggest that someone who lives near a record company goes and stands in a plush record company reception one rainy day, dripping onto the deep carpet and comfy sofas, until someone from the right department deins to speak to you.

 

I'd be extremely interested in any quotes that anyone obtains when trying the above.

 

Even without the record companys inputs, I hope that the above post has helped to clarify some otherwise murky waters, and left all members with a better insight as to what the "proper" steps are with regards to moving tracks from one format to another.

 

I'm off for a coffee...or two.

Edited February 18, 2005 by Gary

[YourBigEvent 0]

Somebody read that and tell me the important bits please.

[Gary 0]

QUOTE (ADS Entertainments @ Feb 18 2005, 11:42 AM)

Somebody read that and tell me the important bits please.

I'll see if Ladybird do a version for you Andy.... http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif

 

Have a look at the bullet-pointed "Action Plan" for the really, really, basic bits.

[Dukesy 0]

Really good read......

 

In basic terms Gazza, please could you answer the following (ok - pretty please!)

 

Q1) I want to rip my original CDs to mp3 format and use in OTS / PCDJ / Winamp, etc.

a) Am I allowed to do this with the Star Gate 6 license,

b) what details do I have to include...

c) and how much will it cost per year and with whome?

 

Q2) Will this 'license' allow me to make legit back-up CDR compilations of my music to play publicly without any further 'worry' of copyright and MCPS infringements?

 

Q3) Can I only 'back-up' specific music tracks with the consent of the original copyright holder? eg- getting permission from the Music Label / Rights holder???

 

Q4) I want to 'make' a 'music mash-up' mega mix of music tracks. I am not going to play it at a public function, but will do at a private function.

It will be on CDR / mp3 / mini disc format.

Do I need an SG6 for this purpose?

 

Q5) Do I have to purchase a SG6 license for the original material I play and mix at functions (public or private)???

 

Q6) How does the SG6 licence take into account 'promo music material', eg, music legally downloaded from sites like DJ in The Mix?

 

I have a lot of questions but these are towards the top of my list!

 

Cheers

[BigBen 0]

So, after liasing with our accountant in order to fill out our tax returns, ensuring our equipment is PAT certified using electricians, making sure our gear, transport and media are all insured along with PLI, organising advertising, taking bookings from clients, sending them contracts, banking the proceeds, keeping up to date with both music and hardware...we re-catalogue our collection this time ensuring we have the record company details included, send letters off to them as well as the MCPS?

 

I also forgot to mention that I have a full-time job, three kids and a life.

 

Why do we bother trying to DJ and entertain people? It would be a damned sight cheaper and easier to jack this all in or become a cowboy - charging half as much and not having any legalities to worry about.

 

Whilst I agree in principle with what is being said with regard to piracy, I whole-heartedly disagree with how it is begin administered. I have enough on my plate to do the above and so I won't. As a result my performance will rely on CD's only so my show will suffer - unable to find tracks quickly, unable to prgram a routine to give me a break/etc.

 

It also infuriates me that we are playing their music and as such are advertising their brand. Do we get recompensed for that?

 

http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/1106.gif

[Gary 0]

QUOTE (discodirect @ Feb 18 2005, 12:04 PM)

Really good read...... In basic terms Gazza, please could you answer the following (ok - pretty please!) Q1) I want to rip my original CDs to mp3 format and use in OTS / PCDJ / Winamp, etc. a) Am I allowed to do this with the Star Gate 6 license, b) what details do I have to include... c) and how much will it cost per year and with whome? Q2) Will this 'license' allow me to make legit back-up CDR compilations of my music to play publicly without any further 'worry' of copyright and MCPS infringements? Q3) Can I only 'back-up' specific music tracks with the consent of the original copyright holder? eg- getting permission from the Music Label / Rights holder??? Q4) I want to 'make' a 'music mash-up' mega mix of music tracks. I am not going to play it at a public function, but will do at a private function. It will be on CDR / mp3 / mini disc format. Do I need an SG6 for this purpose? Q5) Do I have to purchase a SG6 license for the original material I play and mix at functions (public or private)??? Q6) How does the SG6 licence take into account 'promo music material', eg, music legally downloaded from sites like DJ in The Mix? I have a lot of questions but these are towards the top of my list! Cheers

Q1) I want to rip my original CDs to mp3 format and use in OTS / PCDJ / Winamp, etc.

a) Am I allowed to do this with the Star Gate 6 license,

(Yes, BUT only once you've obtained written permission from each of your CD's original record companies eg: SonyBMG, Virgin, EMI records etc)

b) what details do I have to include...

(For the SG6 license - its a simple one side A4 form to fill out to obtain an SG6 - you will not need to supply any track details to obtain the license)

c) and how much will it cost per year and with whome?

(The lowest cost SG6 license is £500 but that cost acts as a £500 "advance" or "float" toward your first £500 worth of track copying eg: 5000 x tracks of less than 5 minutes each)

 

Q2) Will this 'license' allow me to make legit back-up CDR compilations of my music to play publicly without any further 'worry' of copyright and MCPS infringements? YES! but only in conjunction with the written permission from the respective record companies.

 

Q3) Can I only 'back-up' specific music tracks with the consent of the original copyright holder? eg- getting permission from the Music Label / Rights holder???Yes - you need to give the record companies artist/title details of the tracks you wish to "back up". There is no "blanket" permission from record companies.

 

Q4) I want to 'make' a 'music mash-up' mega mix of music tracks. I am not going to play it at a public function, but will do at a private function.

It will be on CDR / mp3 / mini disc format.

Do I need an SG6 for this purpose?Not sure - I can check though, if you'd like me to.

 

Q5) Do I have to purchase a SG6 license for the original material I play and mix at functions (public or private)??? Not usually - you'll need to check normal PPL licencing for that - most venues are licensed for PPL and most "family" functions are excempt from additional PPL licensing requirements. If you were to hold an event at a venue with doesnt have its own PPL license, and you're charging people to come in, then definately check with the PPL about your licence needs.

 

Q6) How does the SG6 licence take into account 'promo music material', eg, music legally downloaded from sites like DJ in The Mix? Not sure - I can check though, if you'd like me to. My GUESS on this, from what I've found out so far is that you wouldnt need an SG-6 for ONLY DJ-in-the-mix promo's but check DJITM's terms and conditions of use - they may have the record companies permission for end users to download, burn and play tracks sourced through DJINTM and similar Promo services.

 

 

[Peteee 0]

Well done Gary

 

At least the plot is starting to unfold

 

I must say MPCS should be the body to collate/liaise with record companies and they should develop an across the board yearly licence for us mobiles with out all the admin crap

 

Hard to imagine any DJ being able to adminster that collection plan

 

 

[Gary 0]

QUOTE (Peteee @ Feb 18 2005, 01:13 PM)

Well done Gary At least the plot is starting to unfold I must say MPCS should be the body to collate/liaise with record companies and they should develop an across the board yearly licence for us mobiles with out all the admin crap Hard to imagine any DJ being able to adminster that collection plan

Absolutely, and the best bit is that once you've done all the above points (in the Action plan) for your current record/CD collection you DO NOT have to buy an on-going license for continued usage of the tracks on the new format...AND you can even sell your originals if you so wish...Bonus!

 

When PPL get paid money by venues and DJ's, PPL themselves divide the license money between the record companies. If only there were such a "Blanket license" available for what we want to do, without us having to request permission from individual companies.

 

Who lives near a record company then? http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/whistling.gif

[Dukesy 0]

Thanks gary - yes, please could you follow up the questions.

 

 

[Gary 0]

QUOTE (discodirect @ Feb 18 2005, 01:24 PM)

Thanks gary - yes, please could you follow up the questions.

Certainly will.

 

I've got "A contact on the in-side" who is busy until next week, so perhaps I could gather questions from other DJU members and get answers to lots of members questions at once.

[Kingy 0]

There is a lot to digest here!

 

One simple answer, use original material to do your job with. http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/533.gif

[Gary 0]

QUOTE (Kingy @ Feb 18 2005, 01:39 PM)

There is a lot to digest here! One simple answer, use original material to do your job with. http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/533.gif

Oh indeed...ah for the easy life.

 

My own project (now on hold) was going to comprise of moving all my 12inch singles (approx 300) onto CD's - even as WAV files, rather than MP3s - I could have stopped carrying around several heavy boxes of vinyl AND a Technics deck, and instead have 15~20 CD's.

 

However, my next step is to list all the tracks into Excel, and make a note of the record label that each record is from and write to the relevant companies asking for their permission (and fees) to move the tracks (under a SG6 license) to a format which is more suited to my needs and current technology.

 

There HAS to be more benefit (however small) to the record companies for me to PLAY their artist/track from ANY source, rather than me leaving the records at home and not playing it at all. OK, I'm not saying that by me playing "Rock DJ" at a Saturday wedding will result in a couple of people in the audience ALWAYS saying "Oh I like this one, Barbara, remind me to go and buy his Greatest Hits CD on Monday, will yer?" but we certainly cant be hurting record companies or their current/past artists by playing their music.

[Peteee 0]

"One simple answer, use original material to do your job with. Kingy"

 

 

 

Yea right.... that sounds like

.... stick to vinly when CD's came out

 

We should move with the times, technology and demand a common sense approach to this problem

 

All that is needed is a blacket licensing system which is fair to all sides and more importantly workable. Counting tracks and identifying Record companies is a joke that is a job for them to sort out and distribute royalties.

 

Do they not understand or realise the numbers of mobile DJ 's that would subscribe to the system and the income that would generate After all we are not looking to pirate Cd's to the public. We are promoting their product to the public and there seems to be little or no recognition of that ..

[Kingy 0]

No Petee, I am exclusively CD, but I only have original CDs. Thats what I am saying.

 

Its my view that if you want to do the job properly and legally, use the same material as I have to. How many times have we all been undercut by Djs with piles and piles of questionably obtained CDs? They will never buy a licence anyhow!!!

[pareshj 0]

Extremely Well done Gary, I went through a similar process before and I kept being transferred around the BPI houses/buildings and gave up. They fobbed me off by simply saying that they are working on it.

 

If anyone has any information about that statement I read on an earlier post about the blanket license for playing mp3 or any other digital material made at the DJU then please do let us know about some more detail.

 

tis funny, I went into a music shop to buy some stands at a place in guildford and I saw a touch screen kareoke machine which seemed to be all in digital so I asked the chappie if there was a license that was available for that regarding all that digital material they we demoing. He didn't but he said that locally a DJ got fined £5000 for having digital files on his laptop. It seems everyone knows someone that has been fined in some way.

 

I think Gary has done really well. http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/toot.gif

 

 

Edited February 18, 2005 by pareshj

[Gary 0]

In addition to the questions of:

 

QUOTE

Q4) I want to 'make' a 'music mash-up' mega mix of music tracks. I am not going to play it at a public function, but will do at a private function. It will be on CDR / mp3 / mini disc format.  Do I need an SG6 for this purpose?

 

and

 

QUOTE

Q6) How does the SG6 licence take into account 'promo music material', eg, music legally downloaded from sites like DJ in The Mix?

 

I'll also be asking about the copying of free cover CD's, like the ones that the Sunday papers are so generously giving away over the last few months. These can often be a good way of filling in gaps that you never knew that you had in your collections.

 

Are there any addiitonal questions that members would like me to check on when I speak to my contact next week?

[Peteee 0]

Only that we need a simplified licence system bearing in mind the few gigs where music is played to the public during the year.

[Paul Smith 0]

When they dream up a fee for this licence I would like them to take into account that although the hard drive or whatever format contains 5,000 tracks, 80% of these will probably never get played, another 10% may get played once or twice a year leaving just 10% which are played regularly.

 

PaulS

[Gary 0]

QUOTE (5star @ Feb 20 2005, 05:08 PM)

When they dream up a fee for this licence I would like them to take into account that although the hard drive or whatever format contains 5,000 tracks, 80% of these will probably never get played, another 10% may get played once or twice a year leaving just 10% which are played regularly. PaulS

The price for an SG-6 for approx 5000 tracks (assuming each track is 5mins duration or less) is already set at £500.

 

For more than 5000 tracks the fee is negotiable.

 

What I think we need is a matching licence which shares a license fee between each of the record companies, rather than us DJs having to write to each of them individually for permissions.

[dangerman 0]

So all those kids/adults who have all just had MP3 players for chrimbo are all breaking the law.

 

How silly is this going to get before something is done about it.

 

I think i'm just going to stick with my CDs then I have no hassel.

 

http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/smile.gif DM

[ChrisPointon 0]

QUOTE

So all those kids/adults who have all just had MP3 players for chrimbo are all breaking the law

 

Yes, the law is the same for everybody. However who is the easiest target?. A few million teenagers listening to music in the privacy of their own homes, or a few thousand DJ's working public venues where the relevant Authorities can just walk in, uninvited, to check the material being played by the Venue Manager / DJ?.

[dangerman 0]

Its a shame someone in the music industry didn't think of this kind of licience as soon as people at home were able to copy CDs. I'm not saying its write to charge money but there is alot of money to be made from this.

 

And they say the music industry is dying.

 

http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/fear.gif DM

[Gary 0]

Okey Dokey! I've asked the above questions, including the whole "everyone who owns an i-pod" stigma to my contact and he is going to EMAIL (Yay! something in WRITING) me with the answers....

 

Watch this space...

[mikeee 0]

Don't tell them we use music to earn money - they'll quadruple the charge....

[Gary 0]

QUOTE (mikeee @ Feb 22 2005, 10:51 PM)

Don't tell them we use music to earn money - they'll quadruple the charge....

Thats OK Mikeee.... half my fee is for setting the gear up, half my fee is for breaking the gear down, the musical bit in the middle is not charged for. http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif