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How much music can I use without a license?

M

magpie

Guest
On a 50,000 watt talk station without a music license, how much of a song can I use--for bumpers, promos, etcetera? I have heard :15, :20, :30, and :60. No one at the station is sure, and I can't find the info on the ASCAP or BMI sites. Thanks for any help you can give me.
 
personally i wouldn't use anything that didn't come with a buy-out licence. ASCAP, BMI or SESAC could crush a station with fines if you're caught uisng licenced music.

I believe there are several companies that provide prod music for these types of stations. Bob's Music Cafe, Quixotic and The Apple are a few that come to mind.

Hope that helps.
 
magpie said:
On a 50,000 watt talk station without a music license, how much of a song can I use--for bumpers, promos, etcetera? I have heard :15, :20, :30, and :60. No one at the station is sure, and I can't find the info on the ASCAP or BMI sites. Thanks for any help you can give me.
Click to expand...

It depends on what the latest/current state of court interpretation is...

When Limbaugh started his syndicated show, he wanted to use popular music for his bumpers and soon realized this could be a problem. There was an understanding that anything under :18 seconds would be OK.

If you ask purists, they will say you can't use anything.

However, you might want to check pou the "fair use" provisions of the copyright law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use

I would also check with your stations management for guidance...since this is an area of liabitlity for the station, I would not decide anything without a directive from the people who get paid for these decisions.

Slip_Cue said:
personally i wouldn't use anything that didn't come with a buy-out licence. ASCAP, BMI or SESAC could crush a station with fines if you're caught uisng licenced music.
Click to expand...

Do you have any idea what an ASCAP or BMI license cost for a Boston Station?
 
You can't use ANY music (unless you wrote it yourself, or from a library that you paid a fee to for such use) as bumpers without paying ASCAP and/or BMI a special fee for talk stations using bumpers. Talk stations have a much lower rate to pay for such than music stations.
 
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