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C.C. Chapman
Music Licensing for Podcasts
C.C. Chapman
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[runtime: 00:34:56, 16 mb, recorded 2006-06-16]
You can get music for your podcast free through podsafe avenues, or you can pay for it through the traditional music licensing channels. But if you use music in your show, and virtually every show does, you can find yourself in legal trouble if you aren't careful about the tunes you use and how you use them. C.C. Chapman, host and producer of the long-running and popular music podcast Accident Hash, advises in this Podcast Academy presentation "if you do not have permission to play the music, don't play it!"
C.C. is not a lawyer, but he presents the issues from the podcaster's perspective. Music licensing for podcasting is still evolving, so there are lots of gray areas. The rules are different in different countries, and since podcasting has no geographical boundaries it's vital for podcasters to be aware that there are legal lines before accidentally stepping over them. He explains what "podsafe" means, how to find podsafe music, and what using it requires of podcasters.
Any tune may have a number of different rights holders, and just because it's on the web doesn't mean you can legally use it in your show. Though there are no royalty payments in current podcast licensing, most licenses require proper crediting, reporting back to the artist, or sharing of the derivative work for use by others. Podcasters need to carefully follow the requirements of whatever licenses are attached to the music they choose to use. C.C. and his audience even delve a little bit into the use of audio from film in your podcast.
C.C. Chapman is a Boston-based filmmaker, father and all around web freak. Fueled by a passion for new media, he jumped into podcasting with both feet as the host and producer of two popular PodShow music podcasts – Accident Hash and The U-Turn Cafe. C.C.'s opinions as a podsafe music advocate have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and on ABC and FOX news programs.
Resources:
- .pdf of C.C's presentation
- C.C.Chapman's blog: Reality Bitchslap
- C.C. Chapman Wikipedia Page
- Podsafe Music Network
- Podcasting Legal Guide
- Creative Commons licensing
