Welcome to MENC's Copyright Center!

Presented By MENC: The National Association for Music Education ASCAP Foundation Copyright Society of the USA Music Teachers National Association National Association of Secondary School Principals National Association of Elementary School Principals National School Boards Association U.S. Register of Copyrights American Bar Association

Copyright Information for Music Educators

Licensing Information

MENC Collaborates on Initiative to Help Educators Navigate Music Licensing — Learn about Harry Fox Agency's Songfile®, an easy and fast way for those who plan to make and distribute 2,500 copies or less of their recordings to obtain the necessary mechanical licenses for cover versions of songs. Licenses can be obtained for CDs, cassettes, LPs, or permanent digital downloads.

Understanding Copyright Law

The United States Copyright Law: A Guide for Music Educators — A brief history of the 1976 revision of copyright law, rights (and limitations of these rights) of copyright owners, copyright duration, penalties for infringement, plus resources for duplicating out-of-print works; arranging, performing and recording rights; and fair use guidelines. Revised 2003.

Copyright Law: What Music Teachers Need to Know — An overview of fair use and guidelines for reproducing, recording, arranging, distributing, and performing copyrighted works.

Posting Your Musical Performance on SchoolTube: A How-To Copyright Guide — Learn how to safely and legally share your musical performance on SchoolTube, an educational media sharing site.

MENC's General Music Network features a number of articles on copyright, including

• Copyright: The Public Domain Maze
• Copyrights (& Wrongs): Arranging, Adapting, Transcribing
• Copyright: Recording and Selling Student Performances
• Copyright: Changing Lyrics
• Copyright: Performance Exemptions
• Copyright: Performance Licenses
• Copyright: Parody
  
  

Teaching Your Students about Copyright

Creativity in the Classroom — A program designed to encourage students to respect intellectual property and develop a greater awareness of the value of their creative work in a variety of subject areas. Lessons demonstrate how students can label their creative work with the copyright symbol, the year, and their name, just as they see on any published, professional creative work.

National Copyright Awareness Week — The Copyright Society of the USA presents Copyright Awareness Week (CAW), every March. The goal of the event is to teach students basic concepts about copyright. Teacher curriculum materials are available.

Helpful Links

Music Licensing and Publishing Organizations

Music Publishers' Association of the United States — Includes a Copyright Resource Center which offers forms needed to obtain permission to arrange music, copy out-of-print music, or report a copyright violation. Also offers documents on copyright issues and a list of additional Web links, and an FAQ section.

Music Library Association's Copyright Guide — Includes a list of online resources and an excellent FAQ section.

The Harry Fox Agency — HFA was established by the National Music Publishers' Association to provide an information source, clearinghouse, and monitoring service for licensing musical copyrights. HFA licenses the largest percentage of the uses of music in the United States on CDs, digital services, records, tapes, and imported phonorecords. See HFA's Licensing and FAQ lists.

ASCAP — Information on copyright and performing rights.

• Licensing FAQ
• Internet Licensing
• ASCAP Clearance Express — (ACE is a database of song titles licensed by ASCAP in the United States)
• Fairness in Music Licensing
• History of Music Licensing
• Resources on Copyright and Songwriting
• The Importance of Copyright to Music Creators
   

BMI — Under its "Licenses/Customers" section, please see the General Licensing FAQ.

Fair Use and Copyright Law

The United States Copyright Office — The U.S. Copyright Office site contains a great deal of information on copyright law and pending legislation. They have several publications available including brochures, fact sheets, and reports and studies, as well as an FAQ section.

Stanford University Libraries on Copyright & Fair Use — Information on copyright issues including current legislation, additional resources, and an overview of copyright law.

Public Domain Information

Public Domain Music — A reference site to help identify public domain songs and public domain music

Frequently Asked Questions

Must a student purchase a second piece of music for their accompanist?
Accompanists must have original music to play from. Copying a single page to alleviate a difficult page turn can be justified, but copying the entire work is copyright infringement.

During juries and/or recitals, if a student has the original and the faculty wants to follow along with the music for assessment and grading purposes, may copies be made?
Copying may be permissible, but ONLY if permission is granted by the copyright holders. Write to the publisher and explain your situation. Make sure to get the permission in writing. And remember, unauthorized photocopies are copyright infringements.

(If permission is not granted, perhaps students could borrow copies among their peers, from their teachers, or at a music library.)

I'm doing research on a topic related to the effects of music on children and want to use a particular CD. Do I need to purchase a CD for each participant, or can I simply purchase one and make copies?
Copyright for music and recordings is no different than it is for books or plays. Buying only one CD and making copies is a copyright infringement. To use a CD for research purposes, contact the copyright holders to receive permission. More information can be obtained from the Music Publishers Association.

Can our band legally sell videotaped copies of its concerts?
A single copy of a videotaped performance of your ensemble can be made to keep on file for reference or review. If you want to make multiple copies and distribute them, either with or without charge, you will need permission of the copyright owners for each piece of music performed on the videotape. You will also need permission from parents to have their children videotaped.

Is a public school district allowed to use recorded music of one of their school ensembles in a publication? The publication may be a TV advertisement or a CD for a business in the area. The music would be purchased according to copyright.
The school must license the music properly with a synchronization license and a mechanical license. Mechanical licenses are available from the Harry Fox Agency. For synchronization licenses, contact the publisher directly (publisher information is available on the ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC sites). If another business is used, make sure that business is responsible for all licensing. Also, be sure to check local law regulations. (For more information, read "Mechanical Licensing & You: What You Need to Know Before Recording Your School's Performances.")

Performance Rights for MENC members

Through an agreement with ASCAP and BMI, MENC (or MEA) sponsored groups led by active MENC members are granted performance rights of music managed by these organizations. (This covers only performances sponsored by MENC or state affiliates of MENC.) However, if members wish to record their students' performance of any work, permission must be obtained through Harry Fox Agency. For more information, visit the Harry Fox Agency or the National Music Publishers' Association.
 

Note: MENC does not presume to give legal advice. If you have technical questions about possible legalities of a copyright, speak to your school's principal or district's music supervisor for advice on legal counsel, or contact Harry Fox Agency or the Music Publishers' Association.