Re: Rights to music at sports events

On 97-04-29, David Ginsberg <davidg[_at_]metrolight.com> wrote:
>
> My questions are:
>
> - What rights have to be obtained by the rider for use of the music?
>
> - Is there any difference in the rights required for a neighborhood
> show vs. the rights for an FEI and/or Olympic event (is there a legal
> threshhold beyond which rights must be obtained? or is it just a
> practical threshhold where no-one knows about local shows, so the
> likelihood of being penalized for an infringing local use is low,
> while the likelihood of being "caught" in an upper level show is
> greater?)
>
> - If rights must be obtained, how do you clear them? Contact the
> publisher of the record label each piece of music was recorded on?
> The performer's agent? Or is there a clearinghouse which can do this
> in one stop? BMI? ASCAP?)
>
> - Is there any potential liability on the part of the **organizer**
> of the event, if s/he allows a rider to perform to music without
> adequate clearances?
>
> - What if the event were recorded on videotape (as Premier Horse
> Network did record the Olympics) for broadcast and for sale on
> videotape?

I think the real world answer to these questions is that depending upon the venue, the performing rights societies have probably licensed the public performance of the musical compositions to the venue, and the copyright proprietor of the song (as opposed to the sound recording) would be looking mostly to that fee as renumeration for the use.

If the event is recorded on videotape and sold, then you've got a mechanical license necessary for reproduction of the song, a master use license for reproduction of the sound recording, and a syncronization license to allow the song and sound recording to be put together with visuals. These would, presumably, all be negotiated at once with the relevant proprietor of each copyright (song and sound recording).

David M. Given
<onysoit[_at_]aol.com> Received on Thu May 01 1997 - 23:52:08 GMT