I'd like to just announce that we have launched "Adventures In Contemporary Jazz", a syndicated program available for Part 15 and other small or internet radio stations, for absolutely no cost. It's a 2-hour program we produce weekly that plays the best in Contemporary Jazz, from artists like Kenny G, George Benson, Dave Koz, Sade, etc., instantly bringing a high-quality, upscale sound to your Part 15 station. It is sent via MP3 to e-mail or whatever your preference may be. We are already beginning to add affiliates and would love to add more Part 15s to our list. Visit our website for more details: Jazzadventures.com.
I'd like to just announce that we have launched "Adventures In Contemporary Jazz", a syndicated program available for Part 15 and other small or internet radio stations, for absolutely no cost. It's a 2-hour program we produce weekly that plays the best in Contemporary Jazz, from artists like Kenny G, George Benson, Dave Koz, Sade, etc., instantly bringing a high-quality, upscale sound to your Part 15 station. It is sent via MP3 to e-mail or whatever your preference may be. We are already beginning to add affiliates and would love to add more Part 15s to our list. Visit our website for more details: Jazzadventures.com.
Sincerely,
Nick Langan
Host, Adventures In Contemporary Jazz
It has been mentioned in other posts that even though you supply the work to assemble a syndicated program and offer it free, the end user still has to pay (BMI, SESAC, etc.) a fee.
Any thoughts on that?
Music performance licenses for Part 15 radio stations have garnered considerable attention on this forum for some time. However, could anyone point any of us to a resource that definitively requires Part 15 radio stations to pay a "peformance" fee or license fee beyond the royalties paid with the purchase of commercially licensed recorded CD's and tapes? Most Part 15 stations don't get "promotional" copies of new music from music companies. We buy our music from a retailer.
The Part 15 BMI licensing form is NO LONGER present on their web site (it was for a couple years previous). The music licensing organizations MUST publish their licensing requirements if they expect the public to offer any level of compliance.
So, if anyone can supply the web URL for the Part 15 licensing requirments for the aforementioned companies/agencies, that would be very helpful for the rest of us. I have done an extensive search of my own over the last year with the help of legal counsel but have yet to find the definitive requirments.
Marshall Johnson, Sr.
Senior Pastor, President
Rhema Christian Fellowship, Inc.
Rhema Radio - The Word In Worship
AM 1660 - FM 93.5
http://www.rhemaradio.org
This is from the US Copyright Office web site (emphasis mine):
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNER
(section 106 , title 17, U.S. Code)1. To reproduce the work
2. To prepare derivative works
3. To distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale, rental, lease, or lending
4. In the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the work publicly
5. In the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly
6. In the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission
That is the reason you need a licence to broadcast copyrighted material (note also that part 6 above was the part that was added to require one to pay RIAA license fees for streaming as well). If you have been looking for some sort of legal exemption for part 15 stations, there isn't one. It is up to the licensing agencies to establish a rate on behalf of the artists that they represent. It may be difficult to get a license agreement from BMI, SESAC, or ASCAP and they may not even have a contract or rates set up for part 15 broadcasters. However, that doesn't mean that you can broadcast copyrighted material without permission to do so. As others on this board have pointed out, you may choose to look for alternative ways to get permission to play music such as by asking for permission from the artists directly or by using services like magnatune. Also, note that copyright restricts public performance; if you use your part 15 rig to get music from your computer to your walkman while your out in the yard or some other private use, then you don't need to get a license to play the music.
I hope this helps clear things up a bit even if it doesn't directly answer your question. However, based on the reaction of some in the part 15 community when BMI finaly did post a licensing contract for part 15 stations on their web site, I would be loathe to be the one to give them a call and find out what they have to say about it.