Legality over filming live music?

by Jessica
(Devon, UK)


Hi, I want to film live sessions of music artists to create a local you tube hub. Many of the artists I film will be unsigned, so what if they do get signed and then the singing label want to take down the youtube session, or the artist in a few years may decided they want to take it down. I am worried that I could start to create a really good hub with the videos getting lots of hits and then get asked to remove them from the hub.

Is there a legal form that would cover me. Something perhaps to do with owning the live sessions, visual and audio? Or some other way of getting a safety net so that I do not have to remove the sessions from the hub?

Thanks

Jess

Comments for Legality over filming live music?

Click here to add your own comments

Nov 05, 2013
 Thanks
by: Jess

Thank you I am hopefully going to go over certain things with a lawyer and will keep researching, thanks for the links they are really helpfull. :)
Nov 05, 2013
 release forms and contracts
by: Desktop Documentaries (Faith)

Hi Jess, I'm not a lawyer, so I'm giving you my best guess as a filmmaker who's dealt with music issues in the past. You are very smart to think about this in advance! You are correct to be cautious.

As with any filmmaking endeavor, you want to make sure you have permission from the music owner before "broadcasting" it and sharing it. Whether that's on YouTube, The Discovery Channel or a local theater.

You'll definitely need to draw up a contract with the bands you are filming to get their permission to post their music online. You could either get a lawyer to help you draw up a contract or search online for a "generic" contract that you could modify.

Here's a great article about Music Rights.

And here's an article about copyright issues which includes a free Talent Release Form which you will also need when filming the bands.

Good luck Jess!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Copyright Questions.

7 Day Documentary Crash Course

Ready To Make Your Dream Documentary?

Sign up for our exclusive 7-day crash course and learn step-by-step how to make a documentary from idea to completed movie! 

Learn More



Return Home