Copyright and VCE Media
Music is a very important part of film; it can help propel the narrative and give meaning to your work. Not surprisingly, students often come to creating a film with very definite ideas of songs that they think will work for them. This is where the confusion over copyright clearance really kicks in.
First, if the work is only for assessment and will only be shown within the school, then the use of the music is covered by the APRA/AMCOS Music for Schools License. However, this does not include any exhibition of the work outside of the school (including VCAA Top Screens, Festivals, You-Tube, Myspace etc), nor does it cover any sale of the DVD.
If the work is to be shown outside of the classroom then licenses need to be obtained. It is important to remember that the artist who created the music may not be the copyright holder. This means that it isn’t as simple as asking the band whether you can use their song. There are two kinds of copyright owners for recorded music. The first is the publisher. The publisher may be the songwriter themself or a company that owns the publishing rights on behalf of the songwriter. They own the actual song, music and lyrics. Clearance from the publisher is necessary for the use of most music, even if you are re-recording a song yourself. Recording your own “cover” of that Panic At The Disco song does not get you around the problems of clearance. The songwriter or publisher still need to be paid for the use of their work.
The second type of copyright covers the actual recording. Whilst the publisher owns the song, the recording is usually owned by the record company which released the song. So for every song you want to use in your film, there are usually two clearances that are necessary. Obtaining copyright clearance (a license) is imperative as there are laws that protect copyright owners and the use of music or images without clearance is illegal. Whilst obtaining a license can be an expensive business, many organizations will grant a gratis (free of charge) license for student work if it is purely not-for-profit. When applying for a license it is essential that you provide information of all public exhibition of your work as it is on the basis of this information that copyright holders will decide the fee (if any) for the work.
Many students think they need to apply for a license to the Publisher or Record Company in the country of origin of the artists. This is a costly way to go about getting clearance as many companies charge people just to apply for a license. In most cases you can apply to the local representative of the copyright holder.
So where do you start?
Most people start by emailing the band through their website. This is more often than not, a fruitless task. You will send your email, wait for weeks to hear back and then realize that the webmaster at that bands website really has nothing to do with the band at all (sorry to burst your bubble). Even if they did, the band may not be the copyright holder.
Information regarding the Publisher and the record company is almost always available on the CD artwork. Google the name and you should be able to find out who administers that particular publisher or record company here in Australia. If you have no luck with a web search, APRA will be able to point you in the right direction. A quick phone call to the appropriate companies should yield a personal email address that you can send your request for a gratis license to. Make sure that you ask for the name and address of the person who specifically deals with these requests – an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. is no more useful than writing to the webmaster – and make sure you ask for a gratis license so they don’t think you have big bucks to spend.
In your email be very specific about your request. Make sure you have included the following information:
- Name of Artist
- Name of Song
- Name of Album
- Duration of song
- Your Production Name
- Your Production Purpose (eg VCE Media Production)
- Your Production Duration
- Exhibition details (this is where you list exactly where you intend on showing your work)
Period of License (many companies will approve your use of a track for a certain amount of time so if you are planning on entering your piece in a festival 12 months from now, make sure you are covered for that time).
With any luck, you’ll receive you clearance from the appropriate copyright holder. Print the email and include it in your production plan and go forth with the certain knowledge that you can legally use your favourite song.