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How do you bill for iTunes downloads?
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Well, to play devil’s advocate here…let’s assume that the said music will NOT be in the final. What you all mention is very very bad if the music that is downloaded is used in the final. Unless you license that music from BMI or ASCAP and pay the hundreds to thousands of dollars for it. In that case, YES, you bill them for that.
But what I tend to do with this music is use it as TEMP music. Something that will be replaced later by a composer, or some stock library music later down the road. Although, if it is going to be replaced with stock library music, I’d rather go for that FIRST, otherwise the client falls in love with the U2 track that you just laid in.
NO, I tend to download stuff like THE DARK KNIGHT or PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN and use that as temp music that is later replaced. In this case, the cost is eaten by me….for lunch. With crackers and a spot of tea.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
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Well, we could consult the Magic 8 ball….
*shakes it and turns it over**
“Concentrate and ask again later”
Well that’s no good…
*shakes it and turns it over…again**
“My sources say use royalty free music you have rights to and bill them for that to be placed in the project”
…
……Ok, well….there you have it! The Magic 8 ball has spoken!
Jeff Bonano
http://www.bonanoproductions.com“I want to have a cool quote at the bottom of my signature, just like everyone else on the cow forum!” -Jeff Bonano
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Section C
(c) Statutory Damages. —
(1) Except as provided by clause (2) of this subsection, the copyright owner may elect, at any time before final judgment is rendered, to recover, instead of actual damages and profits, an award of statutory damages for all infringements involved in the action, with respect to any one work, for which any one infringer is liable individually, or for which any two or more infringers are liable jointly and severally, in a sum of not less than $750 or more than $30,000 as the court considers just. For the purposes of this subsection, all the parts of a compilation or derivative work constitute one work.
(2) In a case where the copyright owner sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that infringement was committed willfully, the court in its discretion may increase the award of statutory damages to a sum of not more than $150,000. In a case where the infringer sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that such infringer was not aware and had no reason to believe that his or her acts constituted an infringement of copyright, the court in its discretion may reduce the award of statutory damages to a sum of not less than $200. The court shall remit statutory damages in any case where an infringer believed and had reasonable grounds for believing that his or her use of the copyrighted work was a fair use under section 107, if the infringer was: (i) an employee or agent of a nonprofit educational institution, library, or archives acting within the scope of his or her employment who, or such institution, library, or archives itself, which infringed by reproducing the work in copies or phonorecords; or (ii) a public broadcasting entity which or a person who, as a regular part of the nonprofit activities of a public broadcasting entity (as defined in subsection (g) of section 118) infringed by performing a published nondramatic literary work or by reproducing a transmission program embodying a performance of such a work.
(3) (A) In a case of infringement, it shall be a rebuttable presumption that the infringement was committed willfully for purposes of determining relief if the violator, or a person acting in concert with the violator, knowingly provided or knowingly caused to be provided materially false contact information to a domain name registrar, domain name registry, or other domain name registration authority in registering, maintaining, or renewing a domain name used in connection with the infringement.
(B) Nothing in this paragraph limits what may be considered willful infringement under this subsection.
(C) For purposes of this paragraph, the term “domain name” has the meaning given that term in section 45 of the Act entitled “An Act to provide for the registration and protection of trademarks used in commerce, to carry out the provisions of certain international conventions, and for other purposes” approved July 5, 1946 (commonly referred to as the “Trademark Act of 1946”; 15 U.S.C. 1127).
(d) Additional Damages in Certain Cases. — In any case in which the court finds that a defendant proprietor of an establishment who claims as a defense that its activities were exempt under section 110(5) did not have reasonable grounds to believe that its use of a copyrighted work was exempt under such section, the plaintiff shall be entitled to, in addition to any award of damages under this section, an additional award of two times the amount of the license fee that the proprietor of the establishment concerned should have paid the plaintiff for such use during the preceding period of up to 3 years.
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Get the client sign a transfer of rights letter absolving you of liability and placing future use on them.
Write it up yourself. Doesn’t have t be fancy.
Regards,
Ty Ford
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You can’t transfer rights you don’t own. I don’t believe you can “resale” or transfer iTunes song ownership (private use). If you could then it shouldn’t simultaneously exist on your computer to use.
If they own it and you use it, it’s still illegal. -
What kind of music did you download? Was it cleared for your use?
Ty Ford
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[Ty Ford] “Get the client sign a transfer of rights letter absolving you of liability”
Yeah, as stated before that doesn’t work. Just because someone else gives you “permission” to do something illegal doesn’t make it any less so. They may say they are willing to take the heat for you, but it just doesn’t work that way.
If it did, a hit man could knock people off left and right and never fear going to jail himself. “No, no… the lady told me I could kill her husband. See? Here’s my copy of the receipt I gave her!”
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Actually it’s very common, among other places, with any kind of talent, ad agencies and clients.
The ad agency get the client to sign a transfer of rights from the agency to the client if and when the client wants to start doing their own time and space buying. The use of the talent is no longer under control of the original purchaser (the agency). As such, the client takes full responsibility for any fees due.
Happens often enough that AFTRA and SAG have standard transfer of rights forms. I have a blank one somewhere in my files.
Regards,
Ty Ford
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[Ty Ford] “The ad agency get the client to sign a transfer of rights from the agency to the client if and when the client wants to start doing their own time and space buying. The use of the talent is no longer under control of the original purchaser (the agency). As such, the client takes full responsibility for any fees due. “
You can certainly transfer the rights if you actually own the rights you’re transferring. That’s generally not the case with iTunes downloads.
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It was not specified as to what was downloaded. I have at least one song on iTunes. If I cut a deal with someone and they wanted to download the tune from iTunes or SoundClick, the site where most of my stuff is, that would be fine. Not free, but the download is just a delivery method.
Ty Ford
Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Watch Ty play guitar
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