Queston about music and copyright

[The Devil Himself]

If a band is doing a free performance and they do a cover song, do they hve to ask the band they're covering for permission?

[Crodevillian Team]

The short answer is no, you do not need to ask permission, because you are invidivuals, and not a business. It's not really something bands have to worry about unless they are producing and selling a CD with the cover song on it. It's the businesses that have to worry.

Here's the long answer:

If you were performing at a club/restaurant/any business that plays music, you would not need to ask permission. Any business that plays music- live or recorded- is required to purchase a music license from BMI/ASCAP/etc. These licenses allow the businesses to play whatever they want. This, in turn, allows any performers within that business to play anything -they- want WITHOUT having to pay a dime. Since it's the club/business that ultimately benefits from performances, the musicians are not required to obtain licenses or permission, -even if they're getting paid to play.- It's covered. That's the great thing about playing at clubs.

Venues, outside of businesses that have purchased music licenses, are a little more tricky. Live performances of copyrighted music at a non-profit educational institution do not require permission if it is used for teaching purposes. Performances at non-educational facilities where licenses have not been purchased do require permission.

For a definite answer, I would need to know the venue that the band is performing at.

Now, here's the rest of it: If this is a backyard concert, don't worry about it. If this is for a charity, don't worry about it. In fact, in general, don't worry about it. No one's going to rat you out. The best place to perform would be a business that has purchased a music license, but still- don't worry about it.

The only time you would have to be concerned is if you were planning to play on a street corner in front of a bunch of Copyright Lawyers with some time on their hands.

[The Devil Himself]

Let's say te venue is a big concert on TV.

[The Mirror Emperor]

If you do a cover song in a big concert or a small gig I don't think you need to ask permission because if you invented the song, you own the copyright.

[Crodevillian Team]

Let's say te venue is a big concert on TV.

Public television? Or national television? A band performing a cover on national television would most certainly need permission, because they're obviously performing for a business. However, it's not going to be the band that obtains the permission. It's going to be the company that's holding the event. They would have obtained music licenses and permissions from the appropriate publishers. Check out BMI's and ASCAP's websites under the licensing section. It appears they have all of the relevent information on the matter.

At any rate, you don't ask permission from bands. You ask permission from the publishing companies. You purchase a performance license.

Is this a hypothetical situation, a question of curiosity, or a question for something you're doing?

If you do a cover song in a big concert or a small gig I don't think you need to ask permission because if you invented the song, you own the copyright.

But that's what cover songs are- they're somebody else's songs.

[The Devil Himself]

Curiosity. I was watching some live cover performances and wanted to know how the process happened.