Commercial music in demo reels

#1

This is something I’ve been wondering about for a while; what’s the legal situation on using commercial music in CG videos like demo reels and animations ?
Most of the time these projects aren’t intended to (directly) make money for the artist, so you aren’t using somebody else’s work for your own gain, but I can’t imagine you can just go about and use any music without getting any permission. So I’m wondering, how would Peter Sanitra for example have handled using Linkin Park music for his reel ?

#2

I am wondering the same thing, as I pretend to use some music that fits perfectly with my anim, but unfortunately it belongs to a copyright…

#3

I’ve just recently begin working on a degree in animation, and I’ve always visualized what I wanted my demo reel to look and sound like, and it does involve a copyrighted song, i’m also curious about this as it never crossed my mind until readin this thread.

#4

Saw some reels to with commercial music in it too…
I’m really wondering what is legal and what not! Maybe some copyright specialists around ?

#5

Strictly speaking, you are violating the owner’s copyright if you use the music without permission (actually, you’re violating two copyrights – that of the songwriter, and that of the performer).

The rights of the songwriter are easiest to clear – I’ve been in a number of (bad) bands that put out cassettes (yes, that long ago :slight_smile: ) that covered various songs. We’d contact ASCAP (or whoever held the songwriting rights), they’d ask how many copies we were pressing (500-1000), they’d say “Include this text on the liner notes, have a nice day, we don’t collect royalties on small runs like that.”

The performance clearance is a whole different issue – you have to deal directly with whoever the agent/lawyer/accountant in charge is for the band, and they view you as nothing more than a walking dollar sign. This is why sample clearance sucks.

So, if you’re wanting to stay 100% legal, don’t use sampled material.

That said, the odds are overwhelming that nobody is going to sue you for music in your demo reel. If it does somehow come to the attention of the rights holder, you’ll get a threatening letter or email from a law firm demanding you cease and desist.

Of course, you might hit the jackpot, especially if you’re posting your demo reel on YouTube or Google Video or MySpace or any of the other spots where people are actively trolling for copyright violations…

Summary

  1. I’m not a lawyer. Talk to one.
  2. There is no grey area, you are risking a civil (and nowadays, possibly a criminal) charge by using stolen music.
  3. In my opinion, it’s a negligible risk.

Edit: Yes, there is something called “fair use,” that mostly applies to educational uses (e.g., analyze this song as part of a college course) and small snippets for review purposes. It most certainly doesn’t cover using it as a background track for your demo reel. It has nothing to do with the commercial/non-commercial status of your reel.

#6

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