What are the legal requirements to DJ in SL?

[MsChowMein]

Hi I wanna be a DJ in SL like my friend  So, my friend couldn't be sure about the licensing part....D: Can someone tell me if to DJ at clubs from France Ill be needing a streaming license besides buying music from spotify or sl clubs and land parcels covering the license? (I read online many places but all those posts were contradictory - some saying sl covers the license so djs dont need to worry about getting one to broadcast , some saying i have to check with my countrys licensing laws D: )

Your help will be appreciated! Thanx

Edited September 14, 2017 by MsChowMein

[Skell Dagger]

You should always check your country's licensing laws, regardless of what some random person on the internet tells you. Some sites and searches that will help you:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_DJ_licensing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Société_des_auteurs,_compositeurs_et_éditeurs_de_musique (SACEM)

http://www.ppluk.com/I-Make-Music/Misc-member-info/French-Collection-UK/

[Alwin Alcott]

1 hour ago, MsChowMein said:

 buying music from spotify

in addition to Skell's links.. music from Spotify is only for personal and privat use, not for broadcasting, unless you have a special agreement with the provider.

This also for music you have on CD/DVD, you'r not allowed to use that for public situations, unless it's explicitly meant for use in public venues ..the costs are mostly not that different, but the licence and where you buy it is.

[MsChowMein]

2 hours ago, Alwin Alcott said:

in addition to Skell's links.. music from Spotify is only for personal and privat use, not for broadcasting, unless you have a special agreement with the provider.

This also for music you have on CD/DVD, you'r not allowed to use that for public situations, unless it's explicitly meant for use in public venues ..the costs are mostly not that different, but the licence and where you buy it is.

So, where do I get music from to DJ in sl and do i have to pay royalties or sl club events r considered private events?

[Chaser Zaks]

These is also the stupid patenting MP3 to be aware about(ugh I know, software patents SUCK).

To make matters worse, it's licensing program has ended which means it is even harder to get a broadcasting license.

The good news is, there are alternatives like ogg and aac(although aac still is covered by some patents, a license to encode isn't required though.

My recommendation is to go with ogg encoding whenever and wherever possible.

 

As for music royalties, you can always use royalty free music or music licensed under creative commons. Otherwise, you can look at getting a blanket license which lets you broadcast whatever for a whole year. I don't know where you would get one though, possibly on BMI's website.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Chaser Zaks

[MsChowMein]

So, from what i gather from the replies so far is I cannot play music I bought from itunes/spotify (let alone youtube)? and i have to pay royalties in some way to live mix or just boradcast the music, right? plus i have to check with my countries laws for a streaming license because sl parcels don't cover the license, right?

[Callum Meriman]

57 minutes ago, Chaser Zaks said:

These is also the stupid patenting MP3 to be aware about(ugh I know, software patents SUCK).

Nope, the MP3 format is now public domain. You can't though grab any old windows transcoders and use them as they are (C) the author. heh. So what you say is partially correct, MP3 is hard, as it's deadware on windows/mac,

But on Linux thriving.

[Callum Meriman]

59 minutes ago, MsChowMein said:

So, from what i gather from the replies so far is I cannot play music I bought from itunes/spotify (let alone youtube)? and i have to pay royalties in some way to live mix or just boradcast the music, right? plus i have to check with my countries laws for a streaming license because sl parcels don't cover the license, right?

Legally it's a nightmare. But you should be paying a streaming license, you are braodcrasting like a radio station to poeple all over the world. You are not actually playing in a real club, so the cheaper Club DJ license is not correct. You are a radio station.

The money you pay goes to your countries recording artists association, like GEMA in Germany, ARIA in Australia, RIAA in America.

You should speak to them and ask for about streaming licensing. They will fill you in on how much and what records you need to keep for them.

Most people in SL pirate and don't pay licensing. This is just as wrong as copybotting.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Callum Meriman

[Alwin Alcott]

1 hour ago, MsChowMein said:

So, where do I get music from to DJ in sl and do i have to pay royalties or sl club events r considered private events?

it has nothing to do with being private as event,

By broadcasting, you make it public.

No matter what venue you play..rl or sl...

[MsChowMein]

 

7 minutes ago, Callum Meriman said:

Most people in SL pirate and don't pay licensing. This is just as wrong as copybotting.

So how come DJs who illegally (without license) stream music they bought from itunes/spotify or just downloaded from youtube r getting away with it...including club/venue owners who allow such djs?  

Edited September 14, 2017 by MsChowMein

[Callum Meriman]

Just now, MsChowMein said:

 

So how come DJs who illegally (without license) stream music they bought from itunes/spotify or just downloaded from youtube r getting away with it?  

Nobody reports them.

[MsChowMein]

Just now, Callum Meriman said:

Nobody reports them.

I see  

[Callum Meriman]

And just for the record for people who come over this:

If you are an Australian based broadcaster you will start by filling in an application for with ARIA. The form is at http://www.aria.com.au/pages/documents/ReproductionLicenceApplicationform20.10.09.pdf they will use the form to advise you.

They don't make it easy. At all.

 

In Germany https://www.gema.de/musiknutzer/ is a starting point. https://www.gema.de/musiknutzer/musik-lizenzieren/webradio/?select-1=18&select-2=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gema.de%2Fmusiknutzer%2Fmusik-lizenzieren%2Fwebradio%2F the actual tarriffs for webradio - Germany actually do this much better than Australia.

Cost about EUR 0,01841 (about 2 cents per song)

 

 

Edited September 14, 2017 by Callum Meriman

[Anna Nova]

One of the best things about SL, is that you can go to a club, and turn their music off, and dance to your own...

[Alwin Alcott]

6 minutes ago, Callum Meriman said:

Cost about EUR 0,01841 (about 2 cents per song)

a few years ago i looked at the licencing in the Netherlands. There you need two: one to broadcast music , and one to use and make it public  ..but still only allowed to use special licensed music sold for public use... if you still understand

The total cost for both licences went over € 500 ... (yearly)  If you play on demand it totally deraills here.. you don't want to know those amounts..( 1000 and up) really not fun.

Additional to this fees you also have to report how many and how long you broadcasted your songs.. ( nearly all official dj equipment registers this for you) and get a invoice for it.. really fun.. but for small broadcasters this can be in a one time, yearly, amount.

They sometimes check on the web to catch illegal streams who really abuse the music rights (= big fish) in every song there's a code they can register... you'll hav to pay a serious fine.

[MsChowMein]

1 minute ago, anna2358 said:

One of the best things about SL, is that you can go to a club, and turn their music off, and dance to your own...

Yeah that's what Ill do from now if i find djs illegally streaming  

[lickmydonkey]

All you people who think most sl djs r illegal, can u prove to me that the streaming license isn't covered in parcels? I think every parcel is licensed or they wouldn't allow so many djs to spin without license

[Alwin Alcott]

3 hours ago, lickmydonkey said:

All you people who think most sl djs r illegal, can u prove to me that the streaming license isn't covered in parcels? I think every parcel is licensed or they wouldn't allow so many djs to spin without license

we need to prove nothing, ask your local organisation for public broadcasts.

Linden Lab has no contracts or any other agreements about that.

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Streaming_Music

Edited September 14, 2017 by Alwin Alcott

[lickmydonkey]

6 minutes ago, Alwin Alcott said:

Linden Lab has no contracts or any other agreements about that.

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Streaming_Music

how can u be so sure about it?

Edited September 14, 2017 by lickmydonkey

[Alwin Alcott]

1 minute ago, lickmydonkey said:

how can u be so sure about it ?

READ the link, first part halfway

" Remember that streaming copyrighted music across the internet requires a license from your relevant national licensing authority. "

[Ceka Cianci]

3 hours ago, lickmydonkey said:

All you people who think most sl djs r illegal, can u prove to me that the streaming license isn't covered in parcels? I think every parcel is licensed or they wouldn't allow so many djs to spin without license

you can drop any link you want in the music or media section of the land..Those are outside streams..Anyone that is listening is also linking outside of sl to those servers..

It's your IP address that shows up on the dj's server..

It's basically like clicking on a link in these forums and going to an outside link..

Linden lab will not protect you or take responsibility for things that happen outside the grid..

[Rhonda Huntress]

3 hours ago, lickmydonkey said:

All you people who think most sl djs r illegal, can u prove to me that the streaming license isn't covered in parcels? I think every parcel is licensed or they wouldn't allow so many djs to spin without license

That's like saying you can play music on your radio at home so the radio manufacturer must be paying a license.

It is not the receiver that pays, it's the transmitter.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Rhonda Huntress

[Vin Soulstar]

So here is a question, all these people who make dancer animations that play someones song then either sell them on MP or give them away are likely in the wrong as well i'm guessing or is it the person who uses the dancer in public is in the wrong....or likely both.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Vin Soulstar

[Klytyna]

5 hours ago, Rhonda Huntress said:

That's like saying you can play music on your radio at home so the radio manufacturer must be paying a license.

It is not the receiver that pays, it's the transmitter.

There have been cases in the past here in the UK, where people playing their in-car cd players very loudly, while stuck in traffic, have had passing under cover broadcast licensing agents fine them for broadcasting music illegally.

Dangers of 'broadcasting' music publically, while sitting in your car near the headquarters of the licensing authority.
 

[Callum Meriman]

46 minutes ago, Vin Soulstar said:

So here is a question, all these people who make dancer animations that play someones song then either sell them on MP or give them away are likely in the wrong as well i'm guessing or is it the person who uses the dancer in public is in the wrong....or likely both.

Both. It's highly illegal to rip a whole song into SL unless you have the shifting rights to do this. Media shifting is a license of it's own.

And it's illegal to perform a song without paying one's national licensing authority the proper performance fee.

The lab did alot to try to stop people pirating this way, 10 second maximum clips and all, but they can't police our sandbox world unless people report the dancers, with the DMCA process of course, meaning the right's holder needs to do it.