June 17th, 2008

The process of licensing rights-managed music is often time-consuming and difficult. It could take months to locate copyright owners and even longer to negotiate favorable rates, not to mention the time it takes to interpret the legalese and usage restrictions of licensing contracts. That is precisely why many businesses and individuals prefer to use copyright free music in their projects.But is this type of music really copyright free The answer is no. Copyright free music is actually a misnomer: most copyright free songs and albums are actually protected by copyrights.

What Is A Copyright?

Copyrights are a form of legal protection for musical, artistic, literary, and dramatic works that are fixed in tangible formats such as CDs, DVDs, software, electronic files, and books. In theory, a work is automatically copyrighted the moment that it is created. However, it is necessary to register the work with the U.S. Copyright Office in order to legally defend the work against infringement. Copyrights grant copyright owners the right to do and give others the right to do the following:

• reproduce or make copies of the work
• use the work to create derivative works
• sell, rent, lease, or lend copies of the work to the public
• perform the work publicly
• display the work publicly
• perform the work publicly using digital audio transmission

What Is Copyright-Free Music?
As noted above, copyright owners have the right to give others permission to use, perform, reproduce, and display their works as outlined by copyright laws. When copyright owners grant an outside party the right to use copyrighted songs or albums without paying ongoing licensing fees, the works are considered copyright free music. It is important to note that copyright ownership is not transferred when users purchase copyright free music: copyright owners still retain all the rights and privileges associated with their copyrights despite giving others permission to use their music. The difference between copyright free music and rights-managed music lies in the licensing structure. When individuals and businesses license rights-managed music, they must pay fees based on how the music will be used. For example, they must negotiate mechanical licenses for physical sales, performance licenses to perform the music publicly, and synchronization licenses to use the music in film and television projects. Copyright free music offers the flexibility to utilize the music for multiple projects in perpetuity. Instead of negotiating licensing fees for each use, copyright free music users pay one fee up front, satisfying the copyright. This allows copyright free music users the flexibility to incorporate the music into a wide variety of projects without having to invest extra time and money into licensing music for each project.

Royaltyfreemusic.com offers a comprehensive royalty free music catalog featuring a wide range of production music, presentation music, music on hold, and much more to satisfy your licensing needs. The process is simple. In exchange for a one-time licensing fee, Royaltyfreemusic.com allows customers to use music from its royalty free music library in their projects and businesses.

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