Copyright, Fair Use, and Music An Educator’s Guide

Susan Brandon

Copyright Law & Music Without the consent of the artist/publisher, it is against the law to: -Copy and adjust music from a copy or live recording -Transmit/share or post publicly, music or images from a live or recorded performance -Distribute music (free or for profit) to others *Click here to view Copyright Law & Music resource

What is Fair Use? -Fair Use guidelines assist educators in using copyrighted works appropriately in classroom settings. -Fair Use considers use of copyrighted content for the use of instruction in face-to-face teaching situations. -Fair Use does not protect free use of content for educators. -Getting permission from the copyright holder is the best way to guarantee legal use.

Fair Use= Limited Permission Limited use of content can occur when:

1. The purpose for using content is for criticism, comment, news reporting, education, scholarship or research.

2. The purpose for content used is for analyzing the content itself.

3. The amount of content used does not impact the main intent of the work.

4. The use of content does not impact the copyright owner financially. *Content must be legally owned by user before use.

Fair Use ≠ Full Use

1. Up to 10% of a copyrighted musical composition may be used in a multimedia program.

2. This means playing 30 seconds or less for a typical song.

3. Use must be for an educational purpose.

4. Copyrighted works may not be displayed in a public forum, by anyone other than the copyright owner. *Click here to learn more about Fair Use

Music Resources for Projects To use music in classroom instruction and presentations, consider the following: -Create and record original music

-Use works with a ‘Creative Commons’ license or “Public Domain” works which allow non-commercial use of music in projects.*

-Purchase a license to use works from an approved source, such as ‘Soundzabound’. They collect ‘Royalty Free’ content to be used for projects.*

*It is still required to give credit to the artist when using these types of content.

Scenarios to Consider

Let’s review some common classroom scenarios and discuss ways we can help educators stay within the Copyright Fair Use guidelines.

Scenario #1

A teacher creates an end of year photo montage of her class and the activities they participated in all year. Can the teacher use songs he/she downloaded from a legal music site to create the project?

Scenario #1- Discussion

Songs downloaded for personal use may not be used in presentations for public display. This use of music is not intended for an education related lesson; it is more for entertainment.

Suggestion: It would be best for educators to use Creative Commons licensed music, or music through an educational licensing program.

Scenario #2

Students are creating a digital project on how to stop bullying at school. They want to add popular music to their presentations.

Can students use songs from cd’s the teacher owns, to add to their presentations?

Scenario #2- Discussion

Fair Use does not cover teachers sharing music with students or vice versa, even if they have ownership. Music sharing takes away financial gain from the content owner. If a student chose to use music they owned, it would still need to include a clip under 30 seconds, and would need to exemplify a point being made in their project. Suggestion: Have students use a music program or app to create original music, or use music that is Royalty Free or covered under the Creative Commons License.

Scenario #3

A class is studying the reading concept of ‘mood.’ A teacher would like to play several songs in class, so students can analyze the mood conveyed in each song.

Can this teacher play a song from a CD or Mp3 player for this activity?

Scenario #3- Discussion

As long as the teacher or school owns the copy of the music being played, it can be played in class, during face-to-face instruction, for the purpose of using the music as a tool to analyze mood.

Suggestion: Be sure to note the activity and music used in your lesson plans, in case this use of music is ever questioned. Also, cite references to the song used for the class to see, to model how to give credit to the copyright holder.

When Using Music For Projects:

-  Instructional Presentations -  Class Photo Displays -  Digital Projects & Storytelling -  Videos -  Website Enhancement

Be sure to know and utilize Copyright Law and Fair Use Guidelines

Resources: http://www.copyright.gov/

https://creativecommons.org/legalmusicforvideos

https://www.copyright.com/Services/copyrightoncampus/basics/fairuse_rules.html

http://www.soundzabound.com/

http://www.xavier.edu/library/help/fair_use_music.pdf

http://www.teachingcopyright.org/handout/fair-use-faq

http://search.creativecommons.org/

http://copyright.musiclibraryassoc.org/Resources/CopyrightAndFairUse

http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/fair-use/related-materials/codes/code-best-practices-

fair-use-media-literacy-education

https://kennesaw.view.usg.edu/content/Copyright&FairUsebyTechnologyandLearning.pdf