LibGuides: Music: Copyright and Plagiarism: Using Copyrighted Material

Free and Legal Materials

Free Music Archive The Free Music Archive is an interactive library of high-quality, legal audio downloads directed by WFMU, the most renowned freeform radio station in America.
Musopen Founded in 2012, Musopen is a 501(c) 3 non-profit based out of San Francisco, CA. They work to increase access to music education by providing free music recordings, sheet music, apps, and educational materials.
CC Mixter ccMixter is a produsage community music site that promotes remix culture and makes samples, remixes, and a cappella tracks licensed under Creative Commons available for download and re-use in creative works. Visitors are able to listen to, sample, mash-up, or interact with music in a variety of ways including the download and use of tracks and samples in their own remixes. Most sampling or mash-up web sites on the Internet stipulate that users forgo their rights to the new song once it is created. By contrast, the material on ccMixter.org is generally licensed to be used in any arena, not just the ccMixter site or a specific contest. The ccMixter site contains over 10,000 samples from a wide range of recording artists, including high-profile artists such as Beastie Boys and David Byrne. (from Wikipedia)

Using Someone Else’s Music

You can use someone else’s music when the work is in the public domain, your use falls under the fair use guidelines, or permission has been granted by the copyright holder.
- This only works if you receive express permission from the owner of the copyright, which is not always the original creator

What About a Facsimile?

A copy of a composition does not add any original content, and the copyright remains with the owner of the piece.
You can use a facsimile of a score as long as you do not alter the original content, and you correctly cite your sources.

Using Someone Else’s Sound Recording

If the recording is not in the public domain, licensed under a Creative Commons license, or does not fall under fair use, you must seek permission and pay a licensing fee
If you are sampling a sound recording or composition in your own composition, you must seek permission from the copyright holder before doing so. If you are unable to secure a license, you must either alter the scope of the project to fall under fair use, or not use the sample.

What if Someone Infringes on Your Rights?

If someone uses your music or sound recordings without your permission, and the use does not qualify as fair use, your rights have been infringed. Copyright law allows you to recover an amount equal to the sales lost due to infringement.
To be eligible for compensation, you must have registered your work with the copyright office within 3 months of publication.