Music Department - How to remain legal?

[ictstbenedicts]

We have a large music department who currently share a CD collection to use in classes. What they would like to do is to make the content available electronically so they do not have to carry around a stack of CDs which can get lost/ damaged.

 

The obvious solution is to create a re-only network share, rip the cd's and save them as MP3s. Then lock the masters away where they are safe.

 

The problems with this approach are not technical, but revolve around music copyright.

 

Copyright

 

Having checked our license agreements, and other agreements available to educational establishments in the UK, I can't find one which will allow us to rip a copyrighted audio CD.

 

My assumption is that this is because there is no license for schools and any school wishing to do this for educational purposes needs to contact the individual CD/music publisher. Can anyone confirm whether or not I'm correct in this assumption?

 

Streaming Internet Music

 

An alternative option might have been to use Spotify, but this is only for personal use and can not be used in schools Spotify - Frequently asked questions.

 

CD-ROM Tower/ Server

 

Possible solution, but if you have 30 CDs can take up a lot of space.

 

iTunes?

 

It has been suggested that iTunes may be a solution. I don't have experience of iTunes. Can paid for DRMed tracts be stored centrally on a network share? How does this work when multiple teachers want to access the share at the same time?

 

How does your School Manage Copyright Music?

 

I would be interested in your comments on the above an how your school has given music teachers the flexibility of digital music whilst remaining legal.

[FN-GM]

Maybe you could convert them .iso images then mount them using something like alcohol 52%

[flyinghaggis]

Our music department primarily use a website called Naxos Music Library

 

Naxos Music Library - Invaluable Resource for Music Enthusiasts and Collectors

 

It's more geared for folk/classical music so doesn't contain a lot of well known contempary music though so may not be suitable depending on your requirements. You'll find most of the well known music download/streaming sites aren't usable in school because their EULA's only permit personal (itunes/we7/spotify/etc).

 

AFAIK there is no legal way to 'rip' a retail purchased CD onto the school's public network without breaking copyright so playing back the original CD directly is the only option. Would love to hear someone tell me I'm wrong about this though!

[powdarrmonkey]

Consult your LA's legal department. "I asked unqualified peoples on the interwebs" is not a defence in court.

[SteveBentley]

If you were able to get a license to allow ripping, I suspect it would be MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) which would issue it. They may be able to advise.

[Robbocop]

Interestingly, CURRICULAR use of music does not require a licence. However, even if you put a piece of background music on which is not strictly required for the curriculum, you DO need the licence. Safest bet is to just get one, I think. You need to contact CEFM CEFM: Licensing - PRS for Music: Schools

They will advise which type of licence you might need. The mechanical copyright one (PPL) is covered here: http://www.ppluk.com/files/tariffs/PPLPP114.pdf

The annual licence fee doesn't seem to expensive either. CEFM also handle performance rights for music (ie live performance rather than recordings)

There's a printable tariff sheet and FAQ here: http://www.cefm.co.uk/licensing/prs_ee/prs_uk_schools_info_pack.pdf The PPL link at the top implies that as long as you own the music you can play it any way you like under the terms of the licence, but you should confirm that with them.

It seems pretty complex, but I hope that you can get somewhere with these links.

[powdarrmonkey]

Interestingly, CURRICULAR use of music does not require a licence. However, even if you put a piece of background music on which is not strictly required for the curriculum, you DO need the licence. Safest bet is to just get one, I think.

 

Citation needed. And, as I feared, "I think" is not good quality legal advice.

[stinkfoot]

M understanding is that placing any commercially recorded music on the server is an absolute no-no, as it breaks copyright. Making copies is also an infringement of copyright, I believe the only thing you can do is buy individual copies for individual people.

[Robbocop]

Citation needed. And, as I feared, "I think" is not good quality legal advice.

 

ermmm... yes, that's why I posted the links and advised the poster to contact the relevant licensing body. I'm not trying to give good quality legal advice Powdarrmonkey. I'm trying to point the poster at the right places to get such advice. and since I've never yet seen a school which doesn't do at least one of: have musical performances/have music on hold/play background music in communal areas/play music in theatre productions I suspect that, as I said, the safest bet is for schools to get one. You'll find all the citations you need if you look at the CEFM, PRS and PPL sites, but the easiest thing is to write to them. So I'm agreeing with you: Get proper advice.

[ictstbenedicts]

Many thanks to all you for your replies, I think the Naxos Music suggestion is interesting and something worth investigating further.

 

Mark