QUESTION

Is it legal to share two songs and give copies of those songs?

Asked on Jan 02nd, 2013 on Entertainment Law - Michigan
More details to this question:
My Youth Pastor would like a song that I bought for myself from ITunes, but he wants it done NOT illegally, so I want to know if itโ€™s Ok to share two songs, that are from a College group we personal know, and give a copy of those songs to him legally.
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4 ANSWERS

No, it is not legal to make copies of songs and share them, unless you get the permission of the owner of the songs to do this.
Answered on Jan 10th, 2013 at 3:23 PM

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Theodore M. Roe
When you buy a song or album off iTunes, you acquire a personal license. This means that it is for your personal use, not for re-sale and not for commercial use. There are two ways to do this, acquire a copyright license from the copyright holder of those songs (record label, band, song writer, etc (there are often several)) or have your pastor purchase the songs himself and obtain a commercial license. This would likely be the most cost effective method for 2 songs. Bear in mind that the license must be obtained by anyone holding a copyright interest in the music, composer, performer, producer, etc. If they have a registered copyright this information is relatively easy to ascertain.
Answered on Jan 10th, 2013 at 3:23 PM

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Acquisitions Attorney serving Lincoln, NE at Jayne L. Sebby
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Any copying of a song that is copyrighted is illegal unless you have advanced written permission of the copyright owner (who is not necessarily the creator of the song or the group performing it). Furthermore, your paster should not play these songs for anyone other than himself without written permission. There is no exception to copyright law for religious organizations.
Answered on Jan 10th, 2013 at 3:23 PM

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Michael Alan Novak
Only the copyright owner has the lawful right to make copies.
Answered on Jan 10th, 2013 at 3:22 PM

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