Music Copyright

Music copyright is complex, with rights existing in the composition, the performance, the arrangement, the mechanical recording and transfer, the published edition, and the lyrics (if any) of a work.

There are a number of royalty collecting societies involved in the various aspects of music use, including AMCOS & APRA ; ARIA ; and PPCA .

The Australian Copyright Council has excellent information sheets on Music Copyright .

Using music in class

You may perform or play a recording of music (ie. a CD) in a classroom situation, including ISL classes (videoconferencing), without infringing copyright, as section 28 of the Copyright Act 1968 does not consider this to be a public performance. If the lecture is being recorded for videostreaming or podcasting, then the terms and conditions of the Music Licence Agreement applies.

A Music Licence Agreement has been negotiated between the Music Societies and the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee (AVCC), and CQUniversity is a party to this. This covers playing and performing music from the societies' repertoires for educational purposes.
It does not cover Grand Rights Works or public performances - the Conservatorium of Music negotiates the rights for major productions separately.

The Screenrights Licence (Part VA) allows copying from radio and television for educational purposes, so this allows music and music videos to be recorded by CQUniversity staff, as long as the tapes and/or discs are labelled correctly. If another University has a tape made under the Screenrights licence, you can ask them to make a copy for you.

Making music available online
CQUniversity may make audio recordings of AMCOS Works and ARIA sound recordings in any format for the educational purposes of the University provided the audio recordings are for analysis by students as part of a course of instruction. This includes videostreaming or podcasting of lectures where music was played for analysis.

CQUniversity may give students and staff access via its intranet, to these audio and video recordings, provided that any access granted is username and password protected, and cannot be saved (ie. for listening only). For centralised annual reporting, standalone music files should be provided through the Library's Course Resources Online (CRO).

Print Music

Limited reproduction of print music may be done under the CAL Print & Graphic Licence (Part VB) , that is: you may only photocopy or communicate up to 10% of a musical work for educational purposes, unless the work is unavailable within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price, or is not separately published; otherwise permission must be obtained from the relevant copyright owner(s). See also this AMCOS Guide.

Duration of copyright

The duration of copyright has been amended recently in Australian law, to bring it into line with the US and Europe. It was previously the life of the composer plus 50 years, but it has been extended to 70 years. If the music was unpublished (or not performed in public) during the life of the composer, copyright now lasts 70 years from when it was first published/performed.
If the music was already in the public domain as at 1 January 2005, it remains so.

 


Be aware, even if the original work is no longer in copyright, you may need permission to reproduce a more recent arrangement or transcription of the work, or of a published edition with added directions such as bowing, phrasing or guitar chords may be considered to have separate copyright.