October 12th, 2007

Downloadable MP3s and RoyaltyFreeMusic.com

Online services for purchasing background music and production music have become increasingly complex with the introduction of downloadable mp3s and other types of digital media. Royalty free music from reputable companies that offer a great selection of music has become increasingly important to those in the film and television industry as in others dependent upon rich, eclectic music. Royalty free music provides an excellent alternative to the purchase of music from major music providers such as EMI and ASCAP because it offers the opportunity to avoid on-going fees for the use of production music, particularly for television shows that regularly use the same pieces of background music again and again to create a consistent theme from week-to-week. With royalty free music, professionals have the opportunity to pay a one-time, low fee for unlimited use of all tracks purchased and can use the music without restriction for a lifetime in present and future projects. With other music, thousands of dollars can be spent monthly just to satisfy all the royalty fees.

While downloadable mp3s provided by popular providers such as iTunes (which has virtually taken over the online music market) may seem like a great way to stock up a professional background music library with popular tunes, they are actually wrought with restrictions, even for users that do not intend to use the music beyond for personal purposes. The truth is, there are an increasing variety of options for those looking to buy music online, but really confusing restrictions on how these downloadable mp3s can be used.

iTunes and many other background music providers use digital rights management (DRM) in order to prevent anyone from even using his/her choice of mp3 players and other devices. And the "law" of DRM cannot even be broken on tracks that have been purchased to burn CDs or do anything else. Distributing the music at all - which of course includes using the music as production music or background music for restaurants or retail stores - is strictly prohibited and can subject a person to litigation even if he/she is not technically using the music against its indicated purposes.

So what do those that download background music NOT get for their money with iTunes and other music services offering downloadable mp3s?
This is what iTunes claims:

1. "With the iTunes Music Store, you don't have to deal with the hassles of a subscription service or annoying advertisements that have nothing to do with music."

2. "Just 99 cents a Song, Plus Generous Personal Use Rights … The iTunes Music Store lets you quickly find, purchase and download the music you want for just 99 cents per song. You can burn individual songs onto an unlimited number of CDs for your personal use …"

But, despite all these claims by iTunes about how buyers can use downloadable mp3s, the truth is, unlike with royalty free music or even some of the music rights purchased from ASCAP, etc., even though people buy background music from iTunes, Apple still owns it. Apple and other providers of downloadable mp3s can change usage rules at any point. In fact, in April, 2004, Apple decided to change its DRM so people could only burn a playlist 7 times (when it was previously 10). And this is only the rule for personal use of the music, and certainly the rules get much more complex when entering the professional background music and production music realm.

Part of buying something - whether background music, a car, a house or anything else - is the right to give away or sell it. This is typically called "first sale," and is protected under the standard copyright law. But DRM complicates this issue for those trying to use and distribute the background music and also complicates issues for artists trying to sell their background music, etc. through iTunes.

Here is a further list of things a person CAN'T do with downloadable mp3s purchased from iTunes:

1. A person cannot make back-up copies, and the song purchased can only be copied to 5 computers.

2. The downloadable mp3s cannot be converted to other formats to be used with other types of digital media players or devices.

3. iTunes limits portable player compatibility. Only iPods and other Apple products will play the downloadable mp3s purchased.

4. Users cannot remix, edit, excerpt or sample songs purchased from iTunes.

With so many restrictions placed on the downloadable media purchased from iTunes, it's no wonder so many professionals and even just those looking to use purchased music for personal applications have started to think of alternative options such as royalty free music to satisfy production music, background music and other needs that require downloadable mp3s.

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