Facebook Rejecting Apple Audio Tracks

Facebook must have bought the recognition software from google/youtube... YouTube will give you the same headache, and you probably have no grounds for appeal (believe me, I've tried.)

The companies that contest the copyright on Apple Loops (and "jingles") are PIGS. They sold the "software" to apple for inclusion with Logic/Apple Jam Packs and you have this license:

you may use the Apple and third party audio file content (including, but not limited to, the Apple Loops, built-in sound files, samples and impulse responses) (collectively the “Audio Content”), contained in or otherwise included with the Apple Software, on a royalty-free basis, to create your own original soundtracks for your film, video and audio projects. You may broadcast and/or distribute your own soundtracks that were created using the Audio Content,

BUT - there is a BIG HOWEVER:

*individual Apple loops*, audio files, sound settings, samples and impulse responses may not be commercially or otherwise distributed on a standalone basis

[you can extend that statement to mean you cannot use these things in entirety for commercial purposes - so if you're trying to monetize your video, you will not win an appeal.]

It's a *very subtle* exception... I had to read this several times to "grok" it. Quite frankly, I think it's all pretty misleading... You're given the impression you can use the content you paid for with a license that you don't really have.

So if you use the "jingles" (music beds) in their entirety, that is a violation of the copyright. It's not Apple's copyright -- they belong to "third parties" and "they" will nail you with it.

Those copyright "warnings" are a standard proceedure. If you're not monetizing the video, then your account will remain in "good standing". Just don't get too many of them.

Here's the problem with using the music beds in Logic -- Somebody else already beat you to it. (Elle sans elle doesn't sound like any of the music beds available, so somebody on youtube put up a piece called that an properly credited the work.)

Your best defence is:

• ***Always*** include a credit in the video to the music you use (I recommend at the begining "opening credits").

• Avoid using *anything* that might be questionable

Your opening credits should state that the video is

©20xx by Nick DiToro

Music Bed name licensed by Apple Computer

or Music Bed name used with permission

[BTW - you can't just claim these, you have to actually have and can produce under demand, the licence; you have to also have properly applied the license to the material you used.]

That copyright stamp you put with your name on it means that you understand and protect the rights of "your creation" (the video). If all the content is properly credited and is inside the bounds of all licensing (or other permissions) agreements, then you yourself are protected.

This is the actual wording of the entire Permitted Licence Uses and Restrictions clause from the EULA for Logic:

C. Except as otherwise indicated, you may use the Apple and third party audio file content (including, but not limited to, the Apple Loops, built-in sound files, samples and impulse responses) (collectively the “Audio Content”), contained in or otherwise included with the Apple Software, on a royalty-free basis, to create your own original soundtracks for your film, video and audio projects. You may broadcast and/or distribute your own soundtracks that were created using the Audio Content, however, individual Apple loops, audio files, sound settings, samples and impulse responses may not be commercially or otherwise distributed on a standalone basis, nor may they be repackaged in whole or in part as audio samples, sound files, sound effects or music beds.

Otherwise distributed on a standalone basis: you give away or sell the individual loops (files) to others.

The distinction of in their entirety is "sticky" at best. You can use "enough" of the music bed (anything, really) in what is called "Fair Use" of the copyright code (and there are rules for that as well - so check them out). I personally figure, you can use about 30 seconds of the media under fair use.

How are you at remixing?

The thing that ticks me off about most of this: there is at least a thousand year old practice called "parody" in music composition. Then the promoters/publishers/and other non-musical greedy types stepped in a mucked everything up. I've even had trouble using John Philip Sousa (patriotic) music in my youtube videos-- even though I rendered the **performance** myself in Logic -- I've had Sony, BMI and EMI all claiming they owned my work (the copyright recognition software is NOT perfect). The copyrights on Sousa's marches have expired (and he himself was adamantly AGAINST copyright when it first started being enacted) BUT (again) -- performances of copyright free works (classical music, etc... all of it) can be copyrighted by the performers, their publishers, and other greedy non-musical types... I've tried using "copyright-free" music from places like Archive.org, etc... where the copyright is stated as being clear... no go... somebody will claim it. Once you get a lien on the piece, you can contest it, but it will never clear (those fat-cat publishers have absolutely no reason to release their "claim" even if it is in error and YouTube will not go out of its way to help resolve the situation.)

I try to reuse the MIDI content (only) in the loops library by generally changing the note durations (option drag the right edge to change note durations by 2, 3 or 4x to create "second line content") - always change their default instrumentation (ever try using drum loops with some strange non-drum synth sound?) -- always adding other loops to create essentially completely new compositions [adding percussion sounds at semi-random intervals is also quite effective -- these include bongo, shaker, conga, etc...] The actual sampled/recorded media is too difficult to alter without distorting or making it sound "chopped up". -- By making it sound original, it essentially becomes original...

Basically all I'm suggesting it take the time to at least re-compose the music you use from the loops library (creating interesting "arrangements", instrumentation, etc...). In the philosophy of composition, a series of notes can be considered a single event (best example, an arpeggiation of a chord - a little faster and it becomes a strum - and simultaneously, the chord itself.) So even if you're using all loops to create some music, if you come up with an original expression of it -- that is your original composition and you can claim a copyright to it — but it has to be more than one loop — there actually has to be various elements that are composed together (llike layering effects on an image) -- different instrumentation... different interpretation... just different. There is a finite set of toys in the toybox: who's to say you didn't come by the combination on your own anyway... I play Blues music on guitar. There is a vernacular for Blues... and it's practically the same thing everybody else uses to make their music sound like the blues... If you just use black keys on a keyboard... the resulting tonalities sound very oriental... it's just 5 pitches. Etc... etc...

Tread carefully. This copyright stuff has turned into a bleeding minefield. [I recently read that music based on Pi (3.1415926.....) cannot be copyrighted... LOL... but that was the result of a lawsuit!] Twenty years ago, I wrote an application that composed serial music for which I relinquished all compositional rights to music generated to the licensees... I wish I had kept up with it (it is SO obsolete now). I still have pieces generated that I use and reuse -- and I've even been "caught" with that on youtube (yes -- apparently is IS possible to violate your own copyright... still trying to figure that one out.)

So -- make an effort to make the beds/loops sound different enough... tag your video with credits and the all important © notice -- and you should state: original soundtrack by [yourself] if you've used loops. [I **believe** somebody at YouTube actually puts "eyes on" videos to find that information -- it has made a noticeable difference in how quickly my copyright is "cleared" since I've started doing that.] You cannot get away with simply stating it in the description... it just doesn't count. Read up on copyright law (it's all over the place.) And take a couple of aspirin to get rid of the headache...

Glad to be of help. I had to figure it all out the hard way... When you "publish" your videos, you've got to think of them as a mini TV show or movies... let the credits roll!

Facebook did not like me using the jingle "Buddy.caf" that comes part of iMovie.

I used it as background music for my iMovie home made video that consists entirely of my own video footage.
I used the Share to Facebook feature of iMovie.
So apparently that Buddy tune triggered their auto listening filter.

I sent in an appeal and quickly the rejected clip became restored.
But it is not clear if they have really approved it of just restore it until a human get a chance to take a look ?

Anyway looks like sharing to Youtube will be a safer bet in case of iMovie.

Side note story:

My company has youtube channel and we have a license with DeWolfe music library for all rights and access to their resources. We have been uploading our stuff to yt for several years but we started to have our videos rejected for "music copyright violation" about a year ago. I contacted the library representatives and they worked some kind of magic with yt. Our channel is now designated in the yt gatekeeper software as a legitimate DeWolfe licensee.