Copyright Laws and Music in iMovies

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Copyright Laws and Music in iMovies

I was wondering if anyone knows the laws for using music that is purchased through iTunes in a movie that is made in iMovie. I was going to shoot some video at my kid's school and make a movie about their 2009/10 school year (kind of like a video version of a year book, but not as detailed as a year book), but I'd like to incorporate music into it. Is it legal to use music in this way? If not, how do I get permission to use certain songs?
Thanks!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.7), 20" 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Posted on Dec 14, 2009 4:48 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 15, 2009 6:17 AM in response to isign31

Best is to find and use "royalty free" music for your video.
Do a Google search.
Years ago Apple used to include free audio files from http://freeplaymusic.com/

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Answer 2

Dec 15, 2009 7:14 AM in response to isign31

I agree with QuickTime Kirk.

For home use, you can probably use any song you want. You are the only one who would see it. However, even for home use, I would recommend royalty free music. One day you will want to post your video to Facebook or YouTube, and you will find that you cannot because of the copyrighted music.

A movie you think is for personal use can quickly become commercial. For example, if you make this movie and give a copy to some other parents, and one of them posts it on YouTube, then YouTube is a commercial site. You may not be personally getting revenues from the ads on YouTube, but someone is, and it is not the copyright holders.

I think you raise a good question about getting permission. Generally, this would be from the record label. If you were a television show or were making a movie, you would have a staff that would contact the record labels, negotiate fees, and get permissions. I don't think they make this particularly easy for individual consumers, but it would be worth checking the record label's website to see if they offer any guidance.

Message was edited by: AppleMan1958

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