Rock' n Roll' n Lives

Rock and Roll lives!

Don’t step on My Blue Swede Shoes… Elvis Presley is a world renowned musician and artist of the twentieth century. Many of his compositions are used in everyday life like, “Don’t step on My Blue Swede Shoes”. Growing up we listened to all kinds of music in my house everything from Count Bassie to Kiss. I recall my Father having his tape recorder with blank tape ready for any new song that came on the radio that he wanted to record.

I also, recall being 14 working my first job at a local ice cream store and swapping tapes with other young employees, as a Valentine’s Day present. I think it is funny now remembering how excited I was to get my first paycheck because, I had already spoken to my Mom and she was going to take me to the store to buy blank tapes after I cashed my check. When that Friday rolled around I cashed my check at my credit union and went right to the store to buy a twelve pack of blank tapes. I invited two of my girlfriends over for music, dinner, and recording. It was Friday night music filled slumber party. We ate tacos and listened to two different radio stations and recorded music off the radio all night.

Now, I know this reminiscing brings back all kinds of memories for all reading this blog. (I am sure you can recall doing the same type of recording.) Today this is not the normal behavior of teenagers. They use backdoor sites to share and download music from the internet. This is not legal in the since of the word because of copyright and licensing laws.

What is a copyright? Why do I care?

The long winded version of a copyright is legal “protection provided by the laws of United States” to the creators of  various forms of “intellectual works” which include literary , dramatic, artistic works and included some other categorized work deemed simply, intellectual works. 

Most people think that a copyright is only applicable if the work has been published or mass produced. This is a false assumption, as the copyright laws do cover works that have not been published or reproduced. There are several “liberties” a copyright holder has the exclusive right to do…

1.       They may make copies or phoneorecords of the “intellectual works” (a phonorecord is a physical object in which sounds (except for the sounds that go with a movie or audiovisual work) are fixed, such as a compact disc.)

2.       They can make additional similar works that are based on the original works. ( I am assuming that this would be like Annie (the original)  and the newly created Annie (that has different actors and the singing is just not the same).

3.       They may distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale, rental, lease, or lending

4.       They are able to perform and display their work publicly.

There is also something called the “Fair use”, limitation. which is basically using copyrighted material to criticize or do a parody. 

The use of the information is given under a compulsory license

which may be permitted when payment is given with the conditions of use.

a.               Fair use

                                                                           i.      The purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

                                                                          ii.      The nature of the copyrighted work, such as whether the work is fiction or non-fiction, published or unpublished;

                                                                        iii.      The amount of the work used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole, such as using a poem in its entirety, or using one chapter from a long book;

                                                                        iv.      The effect of the use upon the potential market for the copyrighted work.

Here are 3 ways you can have “fair use” in the classroom:

1.       If the use of the material is for instructional purposes it may meet the fair use criteria.

2.       If you’re using the information while in direct site of the class, face to face teaching, it may meet the criteria.

3.       Is your educational institution nonprofit?

Reviewing most of the fair use referencing sites it seems apparent that the creator has the liberty to deem, for the most part, what is fair use. There is no a certain amount of notes, words, or lyrics you can use. In most cases if it is a published work, it is best to ask permission, especially if you are writing a publican.

Some interesting information that you may not know about copyrighted information is that:

1. A copyright lasts from the moment a work is created until 70 years after the death of the author, except for works produced by a company/employer in which case the copyright lasts 95 years from the date of publication.

2.       A copyright does not need to be registered, published.

I really feel like I have entered a courtroom just to explain the information and the uses of the information. I mean when did enjoying a little music get so complicated? I just want to have a presentation that has a little, Chubby Checker in it. I love music and every note written…well except for the evil stuff.

I wish I could open my syllabus and hear “Great balls of fire” or “Hello, Baby!”. I wish I could just embed the music into this blog too…but hey… it is the American way the (once) ole’ mighty dollar versus fun.

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Thank you so very much for the use of music Jason Shaw @ audionautix.com your AS-NiceAndEasy is the song I chose for this podcast!