Greetings! You would only have responsibilities with unions if the
musicians you use are members of a union - a union is not a blanket
for all, just for its members.
In the case of what you are proposing, I would suggest you ask each
musician to sign a simple disclaimer for their services which includes
two boxes to check:
"I AM NOT a member of a union/organization. I am a free agent with no
representation except my own."
"I AM a member of a musicians union/organization. I belong to
_________ and I am bound by its performance guidelines."
If the musician does belong to a union, then you would need to contact
that particular union to ascertain the performance guidelines, pay,
work time allowed, etc.
The American Federation of Musicians of Minneappolis/St. Paul (Twin
cities) offers information for their members including the following:
"WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU? A.F.M. CONTRACTS
"All forms of Musical Employment in the A.F.M. are covered by some
form of A.F.M. Contract. If you are working for an Employer with whom
the A.F.M. has a Collective Bargaining Agreement already in place,
(eg. a Major Studio or Record Company, Symphony Orchestra, the C.B.C.,
T.V. Ontario, MuchMusic, etc.) then all Terms and Conditions of
Employment are spelled out in that agreement. However, many Musicians
are Freelance, that is, they are Self-Employed, Self-Promoting, and
work for many different Employers each week or each day.
"What does the A.F.M. do for the Freelance Musician?
The A.F.M. sets up Minimum Guidelines for Freelance Employment as
well. Every Member of a Local is provided with a book containing a
Directory, Bylaws and Tariff of Fees. This book will list such things
as Minimum Wages (for various types of engagements), Guidelines for
Contractors (those responsible for hiring groups of Musicians), and
Rules of Conduct for Working Musicians. These conditions are set by
the Membership every year at General Membership Meetings. All
Musicians in the Local are expected to use the Local's Guidelines when
negotiating with Purchasers of Musical Services (since most Musicians
are Self-Employed Freelancers, we usually call Employers, Purchasers,
since they are purchasing Musical Services in the short term, and not
hiring Employees).
To further assist the Freelance Musician, the Local provides Legal
Contract Forms for use on such engagements. Almost all of the Local's
Services depend on a signed contract between Purchaser and Musician.
In the event of a Contract Default, the Local will endeavour to
collect on behalf of the Musician, paying all Legal and Court Costs,
if necessary."
***********
There is an AMF local in Detriot, the Local #5. A link to their
website is below though some pages are under construction.
AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Recording Artists,
has guidelines as well but, again, only for its members. If you are
planning on selling the CD's, you would need to negotiate a contract
with each musician, taking into consideration the unions to which they
belong, if any. Since most classical music is in the public domain,
using public domain music would not violate any royalties dues the
composer.
I hope this information proves helpful to your quest and I wish you
great success in your endeavor. Should you need clarification, please
request it. I do stress you have contracts for all the musicians'
services. Since I am not a lawyer nor is my answer legal advice, I
would suggest you consult an attorney regarding any contract/agreement
you choose.
SEARCH TERMS and LINKS:
american federation musicians [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=american+federation+of+musicians
AMF - American Federation of Musicians
http://www.afm.org/
detroit federation musicians [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=detroit+federation+musicians
Detroit Federation of Musicians
http://members.aol.com/dfofm5/
musician union guidelines [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=musician+union+guidelines
Local 42 AFM
http://users.wi.net/~deo/whoweare.html#wae
american sound recording union
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=american+sound+recording+union+
AFTRA - American Federation of Television and Recording Artists
http://www.aftra.org/home.html |
Clarification of Answer by
journalist-ga
on
10 Sep 2002 07:24 PDT
Greetings again! If the musicians will be paying you for studio time
to record their playing skills, then they are simply purchasing a
service from you the same way they would purchase anything else. If
the musician is a member of a union, he/she would be knowingly
recording their playing skills because of personal choice, and would
be responsible for their own actions.
For them to buy a service from you should not affect their standing in
a union (unless their union forbade it for some strange reason, OR
they had some kind of existing recoring contract with another music
house). I stress again that you may want to have them sign a general
disclaimer to protect your own interests. That way if some producer
came after you for recording "their" artist, you would have a legal
paper whereby the artist had exempted you from any damages resulting
from their own actions.
If the musicians are planning to sell the CDs themselves, then they
may allow you to sell them as well but I would caution you to get
written permission from the musicians before you sell their work
because arrangements and compilations are considered derivative works
and are protected under copyright laws.
As I mentioned before, most classical music falls under public domain
but if a musician plays a unique arrangement of a classical piece
(altering it to a certain degree), then their arrangement is
considered copyrighted, whether or not they register the copyright.
The same goes for compilations of arrangements. So even though they
are paying you for a service, you should make certain you have proper
permission from the musicians before selling their work.
From the US Copyright Office:
DERIVATIVE WORKS
A “derivative work,” that is, a work that is based on (or derived
from) one or more already existing works, is copyrightable if it
includes what the copyright law calls an “original work of
authorship.” Derivative works, also known as “new versions,” include
such works as translations, musical arrangements, dramatizations,
fictionalizations, art reproductions, and condensations. Any work in
which the editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other
modifications represent, as a whole, an original work of authorship is
a “derivative work” or “new version.”
A typical example of a derivative work received for registration in
the Copyright Office is one that is primarily a new work but
incorporates some previously published material. This previously
published material makes the work a derivative work under the
copyright law.
To be copyrightable, a derivative work must be different enough from
the original to be regarded as a “new work” or must contain a
substantial amount of new material. Making minor changes or additions
of little substance to a preexisting work will not qualify the work as
a new version for copyright purposes. The new material must be
original and copyrightable in itself. Titles, short phrases, and
format, for example, are not copyrightable.
********
Examples in sound recordings include:
1.Sound recording (long-playing record in which two of the 10
selections were previously published on a 45 rpm single)
2. Sound recording (long-playing record in which several of the
previously released tracks have been remixed with new instrumentation)
3. Words and music (some of the words are from the Bible)
4. Words and musical arrangement (arrangement is based on a piece by
Bach)
5. Musical arrangement (based on a work by Bach)
Compilations and abridgments may also be copyrightable if they contain
new work of authorship. When the collecting of the preexisting
material that makes up the compilation is a purely mechanical task
with no element of editorial selection, or when only a few minor
deletions constitute an abridgment, copyright protection for the
compilation or abridgment as a new version is not available.
*************
So, knowing these laws and examples, you would need to ascertain you
were not violating any copyright laws if you chose to sell their
classical recordings. Again, I would suggest you get some type of
permission from the musician if you plan to sell the recordings in a
separate endeavor. I would urge you to read the entire page
concerning derivative works and compilations. The last thing you want
is a hassle! : )
I searched for a simple producer's contract and found a plethora of
free downloadable contracts from Coraima Music because you may also be
eligible as a producer/recording engineer. I hope this additional
information is of assistance and should you need further
clarification, don't hesitate to ask.
SEARCH TERMS and LINKS:
united states copyright office [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=united+states+copyright+office
US Copyright Office [I used search box on main page to search "musical
arrangement"]
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/
Search results for "musical arrangement"
http://search.loc.gov:8765/copyright/query.html?col=loc&charset=iso-8859-1&ht=0&qp=url%3Awww.copyright.gov+url%3Awww.loc.gov%2Fcopyright&qs=&qc=&pw=100%25&ws=0&la=en&qm=0&st=1&nh=20&lk=1&rf=2&oq=&rq=0&si=0&qt=musical+arrangement
Copyright Registration for Derivative Works
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ14.html
producer contract music [Google search]
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=producer+contract+music
Music Contracts - Coraima Music
http://www.coraimamusic.com/music_contracts.htm
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