Performing rights and copyright

The role of the librarian is important for the smooth running of your group and doing it well can make a big difference.  You need systems to keep track of all the music whilst being flexible enough to cope with unexpected schedule changes, and the more disorganised members of your group who may forget or lose their music.  

The main responsibilities and challenges are: 

Sourcing music is vital to the efficient running of a music group. It normally falls to the librarian to do this and can involving obtaining music from a variety of sources.

In this resource, we’ll look at how and where you can find the music you need, and the things you need to think about when dealing with publishers and music libraries. 

Obtaining music from publishers is vital for leisure-time music groups. Whilst it can be a big and sometimes difficult task, it doesn’t have to be. We have worked with various publishers and the Music Publishers Association (MPA) on this guidance to ensure our groups can access the music they want and receive the best possible service in doing so.

If you’re sharing a recording online of your group performing music which is in copyright, then you need to ensure that the website or platform you are using has the correct licence(s) to allow you to do so.

YouTube does have licenses and permissions in place for this, which usually means that you do not have to obtain any other licenses from PRS to be able to share your recordings of copyrighted music on YouTube. Check our guidance on licensing live music online to find out how you can determine whether the correct licenses are in place.

When your group decides to perform a piece of music, there will be copyright laws, permissions and licences to be aware of. Part 6 of our guidance looks at how this applies to live or ‘as live’ online performances. For more information on what copyright is, see Part one: What is Copyright?

Part 1 of our two-part video series on Performing Rights Fees (PRS): what they are and whether you need to pay them.
 

Watch Part 2: Paying PRS fees

If you are putting on a public performance of music you may have to pay royalty fees. It is important that you understand what you obligations are and that you are paying any fees where necessary.

When you play or sing or programme a work that is in copyright, you need to consider who licenses the right to perform it. If you’re performing a piece of music as part of a standard concert/recital/gig, that’s usually simple – the vast majority of pieces can be licensed through PRS for Music (read all about PRS fees in our guidance).

A committee is a group of enthusiastic people who care about their group or organisation, want to see it thrive and are willing to take responsibility for making that happen. A committee position requires good organisational skills, a willingness to give up some spare time and the ability to co-operate with others. 

When your group decides to perform a piece of music there will be copyright laws, permissions and licenses to be aware of. Part 1 of our guidance gives an introduction to music copyright.

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