When manufacturing CD/DVDs that contain material which is protected by copyright, attention must be paid to gaining permission from the copyright holders, or payment of royalties where applicable. This is a requirement for manufacture.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS FORM
For orders of more than 200 units, Spin Digital Media will ask you to fill out an Intellectual Property Rights form, which indicates if you are the copyright holder for the material on your project. If some or all of the material is not yours, proof of licensing (royalties) or permissions must be provided. (see below)
MECHANICAL LICENSING / ROYALTIES
For songs that have previously been recorded by other artists, and for which you do not hold the copyright (normally called a "cover tune"), a fee is normally charged for mechanical licensing (also known as royalties). The royalties are done on a song-by-song basis, and can be arranged through either the CMRRA (in Canada) or the Harry Fox Agency (in the USA). Royalties can only be paid for songs written or arranged by others, where the song has been newly recorded by the applying artist.
Paying royalties does not give you the right to reproduce the actual recordings done by another artist. Discs that include "mixed" or "sampled" audio, or complete tracks by another artist (such as compilations of popular music) cannot be duplicated without express permission of the artists whose work has been used.
For full details on the fees and forms necessary, please visit their sites:
For Canadian licensing visit:
For U.S. licensing visit:
Spin Digital Media can help you arrange your royalties, for a small fee. Please call for details.
We don't need to wait until the actual confirmation of licensing has returned to you (which can take up to 6 weeks), we just need proof that you've applied (photocopies of your paperwork and payment are sufficient).
PERMISSIONS AND GRANT LETTERS
Sometimes, the actual owners of the copyright will have given you direct permission to use their material (often the case in collaborations or compilations). If this is the case in your project, royalties are not necessary, but a letter indicating permission is usually required. View a sample letter (PDF).
| Legal Notice: While the information presented on this web site is accurate to the best of our knowledge, we can make no assurances or guarantees as to its accuracy. Wherever the information presented differs from common law, or information presented on the licensing sites referred to above, the other information shall be assumed to be true. As is true worldwide, the onus is on the client to make full and legal accounting of any royalties owed to the copyright holder. |
Next: Artwork Requirements
