On Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 07:25:00AM -0400, Jared Smith wrote: > On Tue, 2007-07-31 at 06:36 +0100, Deepak Naidu wrote: > > I think we need to pay for the later, but I am not sure if we need to > > pay for the inbuilt asterisk(freepbx) on hold music. > > I'm no lawyer, but here's what I understand. (Please consult with an > attorney in your area, and don't consider this legal advice.) > > The hold music that comes with Asterisk is provided by Digium under > license from Freeplay Music Corporation for use in conjunction > with the Asterisk software only. It's my understanding that you don't > have to pay any kind of royalties to use it, as long as you're using it > with Asterisk. > > You *do* have to pay royalties on music (or MP3 files) by commercial > artists. These royalties vary by country. Using commercial music as > hold music is considered broadcasting the music, which requires > different licensing arrangements with the copyright holder. In the > United States, you can buy a license from ASCAP (the American Society of > Composers, Authors, and Publishers) to be able to broadcast music from > the major record labels.
ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC, depending on which PRO the music is registered with. Note that while there is lots of "buyout" production music out there, *some* of that buyout is *only* for the synchronization rights and the performance royalties are *still* due to the PRO. Synch rights are for the performers, performance rights are for the composers. Some buyout libraries pay their composers a flat buyout in turn for the rights, and don't register, or they're staffers. These libraries you can use without having to have a BMI or ASCAP license. If the titles of the tracks include (BMI) or (ASCAP), it's a good bet you need a blanket license to use them legally. Note that this is *still* true if someone *sells* you on-hold tracks: the end-user is responsible for performance rights fees, even though the creator of the composite tracks is responsible for the sync rights. IANAL, either. Cheers, -- jra -- Jay R. Ashworth Baylink [EMAIL PROTECTED] Designer The Things I Think RFC 2100 Ashworth & Associates http://baylink.pitas.com '87 e24 St Petersburg FL USA http://photo.imageinc.us +1 727 647 1274 _______________________________________________ --Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com-- asterisk-users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users