Re: Re: Indigenous music

Robert Labossiere, MFA LLB said ...

"Parallel to the thread about the Hollywood sign, if the convention for architecture is that a photograph of a work taken from a public view point is permissable, then a sound recording made of a public performance should be similarly permissable."

If this were true I could have a tape recorder on the Washington Mall and record the Independence Day performance by the Beach Boys and sell copies of it. Perhaps I should pay mechanical rights for the copyrighted songs but the above senerio suggests the actual performance by the artists is up for grabs.

Perhaps one of the things that might distinguish the difference of these two is that the Hollywood sign is not using itself to make a living. So a photo of something in a public place is different from a performer who is expecting to maintain control of his or her product.

I hope others will chime in and provide a more eliquent expanation than mine. As a radio producer I know one cannot simply record a public performance for anything other than personal use (and often that is prohibited by the venue at the direction of the performers) without the permission of the artists. This could possibly be accomplished by getting the artists' verbal permission on tape but the written release is prefered.

Phil Leonard Received on Mon Jun 27 2005 - 21:15:15 GMT