I was wondering about using royalty-free music, such as what came on the DVD Studio Pro disc and was on everyone's iDisks (may be on .Mac now, but I don't know).
I wanted to know if anyone is using that music on Final Cut Pro projects that you plan to broadcast.
I am working on a local TV show. Is it OK to use that music since it is labeled as "royalty-free."
Is there anything that's required before using it?
Thanks,
- John

John,
You should check with the distributers of the music (FreePlay?) before using it for any commercial application. Many such "royalty free" publishers have restrictions on what constitutes a "free" use. Some require a nominal fee for commercial use.

Thanks, Ken! I think most of it is Freeplay music, so I'll check out there site for information. Actually, I'm beginning to think that Final Cut Pro 4 may be the answer to my prayers. The only problem is that I can't wait until it's release date - sometime in June.
Thanks again and I'll check out their site for the music.
- john

John,

I've already spoken to FreePlay about this. You can use their iDisk music provided you follow these conditions:

1. They like to be informed by e-mail of your intent to use it with a description of the production and what you plan to do with it
2. You list them in your credits including both the company name and the URL to their site

It's free to use it PROVIDED there is no profit involved, both direct or indirect. For instance, if you submit a film to a film festival, and the film festival sells tickets to screenings, you'll have to negotiate a paid license rather than a free-use license. Or, let's say you plan on showing your film on a site such as iFilm, and iFilm receives income from advertising on their site...in this case you'll also have to negotiate a paid license rather than a free-use license.

The deciding factor is...will anyone down the line make any money off your film. If the answer is yes, time to negotiate with FreePlay or get some original music. Before you let this info discourage you, though, you should talk to FreePlay. Their fees are probably more reasonable than you're thinking.

OK. I thought there may be something like that. I'm going to check it out further, but I think I'll try to make my own...hopefully I can get good results from FCP 4.
Thanks,
-john

http://tvspy.vault.com/

read copyrighted music thread.

When you purchase "buyout" or "royalty-free" music, you should get a license agreement that specifies the terms of what you can use it for, and what you can't.

You should read the license agreement before you purchase the 'buyout' or 'royalty-free' music to see if your intended use is okay, and look for any 'gotchas' or other issues.