Can I Play This Song in my Podcast?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions about podcasting. I hear things like: But I'm a small show My podcast doesn't make any money I'm only playing (X amount of time) I bought the CD The reality is, it doesn't matter. You need...
This is one of the most frequently asked questions about podcasting. I hear things like:
- But I'm a small show
- My podcast doesn't make any money
- I'm only playing (X amount of time)
- I bought the CD
The reality is, it doesn't matter. You need permission from the songwriter, the performer, and whoever owns the mechanical rights (typically a record label). The problem is podcasts are downloadable. If they were streaming only, but because their not, they don't fall under the same situation where a soundscape account could make you legal. Then throw on top of it that podcasting is global, so what is legal in the US might be different in another country.
My friend Steve Stewart for a takedown notice from Spotify. (see tweet). These episodes are from 2012-2014, and he just now getting notices. Steve has a great Podcast Editor Academy that teaches you how to be a Podcast Editor.
The authors of the book Reclaiming Fair Use: How to Put Balance Back in Copyright might say it is fine as he didn't give away the full song. However, when you use it as a bed (think soundtrack), things get murky.
What I've seen people do is have a musician listen to the song they like and make one very similar to the original, and use it for their show.
Custom Podcast Theme Music
There are places such as Music Radio Creative, Fiverr where you can hire people to write your own jingle. It won't be $5, but if you buy a logo at some place like Audio Jungle, it is often under $20 and then you can hire someone to do just a voice-over and put them together yourself.
I mentioned a blog post about fair use. Here it is.
Music Can Set the Mood
When creating a podcast, it is essential to have music to set the mood and tone of the show. However, it is illegal to use copyrighted music without permission. This means that podcast creators must find alternative ways to get music for their shows. One of the best options is to find local artists to provide music for their podcasts. Local artists are often more than willing to work with podcast creators to provide music for their shows. They may be willing to provide music for free, or for a small fee. This is a great way to support local musicians and get the music that you need for your podcast.
When looking for local artists to provide music for your podcast, it is important to do your research. Make sure that the artist is reputable and reliable. Look for reviews online and talk to other podcast creators who have used the artist's music. It is also important to make sure that the artist is willing to work with you and provide the music that you need. Once you have found a local artist that you would like to work with, it is important to discuss the terms of the agreement.
Make sure that you are both clear on the terms of the agreement and that you both understand the rights and responsibilities of each party. It is also important to make sure that the artist is willing to provide the music in the format that you need. Using local artists to provide music for your podcast is a great way to support local musicians and get the music that you need for your podcast. It is important to do your research, discuss the terms of the agreement, and make sure that the artist is willing to provide the music in the format that you need. With the right artist, you can have the perfect music for your podcast.
In the End, Get Permission or Don't Use it
it is important to remember that you must get permission to use the music in your podcast. It doesn’t matter if you are making money or not, how popular you are, or how much of the song you play. You must get permission. This means that you must contact the artist or the copyright holder and get written permission to use the music. Without this permission, you are in violation of copyright law and can be sued.
In conclusion, it is important to remember that if you want to use music in your podcast, you must get permission. This means that you must contact the artist or the copyright holder and get written permission to use the music. Without this permission, you are in violation of copyright law and can be sued. Fortunately, there are plenty of “pod safe” or royalty-free music resources available, so you can find the perfect music for your podcast without worrying about getting in trouble.
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David Jackson 0:00
Growing up, you have always loved this one song from your favorite artist. And you can't wait to use it as the theme song for your podcast because you know, you're not making any money and you're only going to use 10 seconds. And that's going to be illegal, right? So let's talk about that.
David Jackson 0:37
I am shocked. I am really I cannot believe this. I went out to the website podcastconsultant.com. And I searched for music. I'm like; surely I've talked about this already. Because it is a very popular topic. And yet, I've never talked about playing music in your podcast. And the answer is can I play unlicensed music? So can I play Elton? John, can I play Billy Eilish? Can I play? Whoever you love? The answer is no.
And you're like, wait, wait, wait, but I'm not making any money. No, wait, wait, wait, I'm gonna use like 10 seconds of it? No, wait, I did it. No, no, no. Now I know of one person who jumped through all the hoops. And he said it took him about nine months to be able to play BTOS taken care of business. And that is Dan Miller. And I think he ended up paying something ridiculous, like $99 a year. And at that point, they were just like, go away, annoying man about this music thing. And that's part of the problem.
The music business, sees podcasting right now still is a very, very small thing. Because you're like, why don't they build some sort of form? Or we could pay them X amount? No, it's just I know, like, we as much as we talked about how podcasting has grown, at least in the eyes of the music business, they don't care enough to make it easy for us to play music in their show.
Now you might hear well, you can play music and Spotify, well realize that a they have to approve every track, you have to talk in that show as well. You can't just be a DJ. And here's my six favorite songs. And then I think you have to be a paid actual subscriber to podcasting. And I know it only works on the app, not on like their desktop version.
In other words, the kinda. And as far as I know, I don't know that many people that are doing that, because by the time you put in all that criteria to listen, you end up with with no listeners, I tried that I did about four episodes. And I just was like, This is too much of a hassle. So but just to prove that you might get caught. I have a friend of mine, Steve Stewart, you can find him at Steve stewart.me. And Steve did a podcast for financing. Steve is now doing podcast editing full time; he runs an academy for it, the podcast editor Academy, I will put a link to that in the show notes.
And so Steve put a thing on Twitter and it says, don't use copyrighted material on your podcast. How do I know because Spotify sent an email about four different episodes of my podcast where I use 30 Seconds or Less of certain songs. So on January 2013. And if you look at your calendar, you're like that was a while ago. 25 seconds of tax man by the Beatles in January 20 1218 seconds of levels by I don't even know how to pronounce this abbacy. Avi CI in August 2012 23 seconds of command by testo. And October 2014 30 seconds again, of tax man by the Beatles.
And what Steve had to do was basically pull those episodes down. And this is a show that Steve did like seven years ago. And he hasn't put out too many episodes. And so he said I could either remove the episodes, edit the songs out or face lawsuits. And he says I no longer have the session files, meaning he just has the finished stuff. So he basically just took them down. So don't use third party content on your podcast without the appropriate rights.
Now you might be saying hey, Dave, Dave, I listened to your school of podcasting show, and you play the band, Kings x. On the end of your episodes, they have a song called Go tell someone, which is what I want you to do about this episode. And so I wrote the band and said, Hey, can I play Go tell someone I'm going to take out about 10 seconds of it? Can I do it? And they said, Yes.
Hey, this is Doug from kegs x and if you like what to hear, go tell someone and may the group be with you.
David Jackson 5:00
So I have the band's approval. But here's the fun thing, technically, I don't know that if I'm completely in the clear, I believe the album that that song is on, they released themselves. So there was like they were their own record label, because you need permission from the person that wrote the song. Well, in that case, that's kings X, the person that performed the song, and again, that was kings x, and the record label, and I believe that they were their own record label when they, you know, released that song. Now, the fun part is, if a record label came along and bought their back catalogue, and that might be a problem.
So in general, if you need a song, what you can do, here's a workaround, find a local artist, or online and say, I would like a song that sounds like this. And they can without fully just stealing it, make a song, they can be inspired, shall we say, by that song and come up with something that will fit the vibe of your show the brand of your show, without blatantly ripping off the song. But in the end, can I play unlicensed music in my podcast, it doesn't matter if you're making money or not, it doesn't matter how popular you are, it doesn't matter how much of the song you play, you need permission. Now there are those that will argue with this. There's a book called Taking back or reclaiming fair use.
And here's a quick blurb from a blog post that I'll link to in the show notes. It says a quick and dirty measures ask yourself, would someone listening to this copyrighted material on my podcast be able to say Oh, good. Now I don't have to buy that. This is the same thing only for, you know, this, this, whatever you're listening to, let's say it's a song. And I play the song. I don't talk over it. Somebody could take that, chop it out and listen to it. You know, it's the same thing. It's just free. If somebody could say that, well definitely get a license they say. Also, if you're using music as a soundtrack or decoration, licensing is probably in the cards. Then licensing for soundtrack uses is a common use of copyrighted music. The same logic applies to stock photos and sound effects, which are created to be used in all kinds of situations. So I lean on the you know what, there's plenty of what some people call podsafe what most people call royalty free music to use in your podcast. I know.
I know you love that one Rihanna song, but I'm just here to tell you that if you really want to know that you're safe, don't use it. You have any other questions? Come visit me over at podcast consultant.com If you're ready to plan, launch, grow or monetize your show. Then come visit me over at school of podcasting.com/yp See that stands for your podcast consultant.
I'm Dave Jackson from the School of podcasting.com and I want to be your podcast Consultant.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
