How do I legally create a website where people can download music?

By "download," I assume the users will be downloading their own permanent copies of mp3 files, like itunes, except instead of paying per song, they would pay a set subscription fee. I can think of several ways this would work, but I would need to know more about your plans, your budget, your end goals. Therefore, I think the best thing for you is to make an appointment with a music lawyer and hash through some of these things. To implement any such plan will take a significant amount of money for legal work, as well as for marketing and website creation. A website that allows numerous ongoing downloads is going to cost good money to create and to run. My guesstimate, though, is that if you have $200,000, you could get it up and running legally.

Dear Questioner, Great question. I have several clients who sell or stream music over the web. First off, my disclaimer: I don't know you or the details of your situation. I'm just going to talk about the music business in general this isn't legal advice. If you want good advice tailored to your situation that is legal advice, just e-mail an attorney! So, generally, in any music distribution, you need to make sure you have a license to sell the music. Music is usually licensed in two parts a MASTER RECORDING (for the performance of a band playing a piece of music) and a COMPOSITION (the sheet music by the artist that first created the song). Sometimes you can license both the master recording and composition from the same entity. But most of the time you'll license them separately. Generally, you know who to talk to for the master recording, and that entity can point you to who has the composition rights. Streaming rights are a little different. If you want to stream music as well as allow downloads, you'll need a slightly different license for that. For most mainstream music, these rights may be available from businesses that specialize in music distribution, like Harry Fox (for compositions), and ASCAP, BMI or SESAC (for streaming). But it's cooler to license indie stuff, since you often work with the artists directly, as they haven't sold exclusive rights to anybody. On the website itself, make sure you have a DMCA notice and comply with DMCA regulations, as well, just in case you accidentally bump into an artist or distributor who doesn't actually have the rights he or she thinks or claims he or she does.

Contact the distributor or copyright owner of each song and negotiate an agreement permitting your use of the music for this purpose.

It is critical to get WRITTEN permission from everyone who owns the rights to the music you plan to sell. That means getting written permission from the song writer(s) and the performers and often also from sound editors. If you get permission from someone who already has all those rights from all those people (like the studio that represents them), that works, too.