Fact Sheets

What’s copyright?

When someone creates a piece of music (or a piece of text, a graphic, a photo, painting, a film or anything else that is protected under copyright laws), a whole system of legal rights and obligations comes into play. These rights and obligations outline what someone can and can't do with the material.

Copyright law provides an incentive for creators to continue creating. Copyright Law in Australia is governed by the Copyright Act 1968 (the Act), and the intention of the Act is to protect copyrighted works from being used without the permission of the owner and to provide an economic incentive to artists to produce new material.

 

Who owns the copyright in a piece of music?

There is generally more than one copyright owner in any given track. For instance:

• The composer who wrote the music owns copyright in the musical works.
• The maker of the sound recording (typically a record company) owns copyright in the sound recording. 
• Additionally, the lyricist who wrote the lyrics owns copyright in the literary works.  The artist who performed the music may own the copyright in a sound recording of their live performance.

 

What rights do the copyright owners in the music have?

The copyright owners have a number of exclusive rights, including the right to:

•  Make copies of the tracks;
•  Perform the tracks in public; and
•  Communicate the tracks to the public.

 

I downloaded digital music from a legitimate online retailer – can I play this in my dance class?

 Firstly, if you wish to play music in your premises, whether it is from a digital or physical source, you must obtain the relevant public performance licenses.

In Australia, music creators generally authorise two organisations to administer their rights and collect their royalties – APRA AMCOS (composers and music publishers) and PPCA (recording artists and record labels). A OneMusic Australia licence bundles all those rights into one licence and further simplifies the process of gaining the required permission to use music

If you legitimately buy music legal online distributors you should check their relevant terms and conditions to make sure that you are licensed for the relevant purpose, including for using the music at your bar or hotel. If your use is within the agreed terms and conditions, you need to obtain the relevant public performance licenses from OneMusic Australia.

 

What about using streaming services in my dance class?

You must check the terms and conditions of the particular streaming service you are using, as it is likely that licence you have with the streaming service is for personal, non-commercial use which will not allow the streaming service to be used in a commercial setting such as a dance class.

 

I bought a legitimate CD. Can I make copies for use in my dance class?

The purchase of a CD only gives you the right to own the physical disc, to play it privately, and to pass on the same physical disc to another person. This means that copying the music from a CD, without the permission of all relevant copyright owners, is an infringement of copyright except i n very limited circumstances. The Copyright Act allows you to copy music legitimately obtained for your private and domestic use on to another device that you own e.g., from CD to iPod. However, this does not extend to the use of the music in a dance class.