Royalties on Portions

[Panamark]

If I recorded the whole rhythm track for a song, no drums, bass etc, just raw guitar. Could I sell this without rights or royalty issues. Its a strange question, I know, but I have reasons for asking it...

Do individual components of songs still attract royalties and rights ?
Or could they be dismissed as an alternative aritist's interpretation ?

My feeling is that all riffs and musical parts of a song would fall under
the rights and royalties scenarios.

Im just wondering how the el cheapo Karaoke CD dudes get way with it ?? (Not that it has anything to do with my reasoning to want this
answer)

ANyone up with this shit ???

[Mr Grimsdale]

Chilled Pish - Welcome To The Astral Lounge

[Mr Grimsdale]

Copyright law works differently in different countries. My understanding of the UK law would be that your rhythm track would constitute the whole song, so anything added to it would require payment to the writer.

The trick would be convincing a publishing company to sign you for just a rhythm track.

Get a good lawyer!

[Panamark]

Yeah I will check with my lawyer, but that bastard charges $300 just to answer the farken phone..

[lms2]

its just plagerism...

http://www.legal-glossary.com/dict.p...2&k=plagiarism

thats just wrong.

At $300.00 bucks an hour, do you at least get to talk to the attorney or do you get the gal durned voice mail runaround?

[lms2]

Arguably, the thing you are copying has already been copied. If you take it note by note. right? What portion of a song can be copied without penalty? Can you name that tune? (what is the least amount of notes a song is recognizable in?) Think about this. Philosophy rules the world.

I would argue that there are only so many notes a person can play, and only so many possible combinations. Take it up a notch or down a notch or screw with the tempo a little bit and call it originality.

Ask Ed for some advice on that shit.

Just say you thought of it first-we'll back you up.

Add a few sound effects and deny everything that has to do with anything. And wear size 5x red yellow and orange tshirts. with sandals.

Say you didn't inhale-and tell the world to wear a cup.

Hey my advice may not be that good, but its cheap!

What are you gonna use this info for.

[Panamark]

Im an entrepreneur.

I had a business idea.

[lms]

Good luck to you on all your ideas.

[Mr Grimsdale]

i'm getting the turkey out of the oven

[flappo]

as long as you don't baste it with that 'cream' you should be ok

[Cathedral]

Just change a single note in the piece and you have bypassed copywrite laws.
It is only infringement (in legal terms) if the piece is identical to the original copywritten material.

Vanilla Ice went through this with Queen and his example provides the answer your looking for.
Karaoke CD producers must have permission to use licensed material in that fashion which is why for so long karaoke sucked when choosing songs to do...All they had for the longest was The Beatles and Mountain music.

Same with Sampling, It gets sticky but there are things you can do to bypass legal trouble.
I agree though, this practice is wrong to engage in.

If you are wanting to just remove lyrics and sell the music you are breaking the law unless you re-record it and change a note here and there making it NOT identical keeping you from Infringing on their copywrites.
Then again it also depends on the mood of the judge on the day you are pulled into court.

For example, What Van Hagar is doing LIVE would not be copywrite infringement because what their playing doesn't resemble what they recorded on their albums.
Van Hagar is playing Van Halen music with all the flare of a terrible cover band.

[Panamark]

I was in my local record store today and there is almost as many karaoke CD's as real CD's ! They must be paying royalties.... But the Karaoke CD's are lke 1/4 of the price of the original material...
Im guessing even if you use portions, there are royalties payable,
but obviously minute compared to the full song....

What do you think CAT?

[Panamark]

Originally posted by Mr Grimsdale
i'm getting the turkey out of the oven

I bet that fucking bird was fisted with so much stuffing its
neck was leaking.. Im on to you Grimsdale !!

[Mr Grimsdale]

gobble gobble

[Panamark]

Originally posted by Mr Grimsdale
gobble gobble

Gobble Gobble,

The poor turkey cried whilst Grimmy pondered if
the upper forearm was in fact the limits of proper
turkey preparation.

Onlookers were delighted when the articulated elbow
was seen to fully vanish into the walking birds orrifice.

Anyone for Quail ? an eloquent Grimsdale questioned the
gathering...

[Mr Grimsdale]

I can't disagree with anything so far.

[Cathedral]

Originally posted by Panamark
I was in my local record store today and there is almost as many karaoke CD's as real CD's ! They must be paying royalties.... But the Karaoke CD's are lke 1/4 of the price of the original material...
Im guessing even if you use portions, there are royalties payable,
but obviously minute compared to the full song....

What do you think CAT?

What is it exactly that you have in mind with this concept?

Sampling would be the same thing as the rappers did through the 80's to the present and a few of them landed in court over it. they only used portions of the original also.

I have no idea how you would go about getting permission or how they would charge you for this. I would guess it would depend on how much money you were going to make and owe them a percentage.

I guess a letter asking permission would be the first step.

[GAR]

Just go ahead and let the economics of the whole thing work itself out.

Do what you want - if you have actual sales, peg your cost against what portion youd consider rights-earnings and wait till you get a cease-n-desist letter from their atty.