[BC] ASCAP and BMI and Rights

[Cowboy]

On Friday 27 January 2006 03:58 pm, Robert Orban wrote:

>>------ At 04:40 PM 1/26/2006, Harold Hallikainen wrote: -------
>>
>> >Would it be possible for a broadcast station to play only music where the
>> >composer is not represented by BMI, ASCAP, or SESAC?
>>
>>All the music would have to be Public Domain or unlicensed. Not a
>>very compelling format.
>
>There is a lot of compelling 20th and 21st century "classical" music that 
>is still in copyright. (Stravinsky, Copeland, Lutislovsky, 
>Hindemith,  Berg. John Adams,...those are just a few names. that came to 
>mind; the list goes on.) A classical station that only played works written 
>before 1920 could certainly find programming to fill its day, but it would 
>be ignoring a lot of fine music written more recently.

 This is really a sticky wicket !
 Recently, while searching for true "public domain" music, I found that
 there isn't any !!

 Copyright law extends to some rediculous years after the death of the
 original copyright holder, something like 75 years.
 Today, that means that it would have to pre-date about 1930 or so, OR to
 have been specificly released into the public domain by the copyright holder.

 PROBLEM

 If you can get it on paper printed after 1930, or on any medium recorded
 or dubbed after 1930, then a new copyright on the recording, or on the
 print medium is held by whoever transcribed the work to post 1930 media.

 I found "public domain" pieces, but a copyright is still current on the 
 recording of it.
 Anything in digital format is certainly copyrighted by whomever did the
 digitizing, even if it was a public domain pre-1930 wire recording and truly
 "public domain" at the time.

 That doesn't mean that ASCAP and BMI can get their hooks into it, but
 ASCAP/BMI is a whole different issue from copyright.

-- 
Cowboy

http://cowboys.homeip.net

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