Cracking Confusion: Things you should know before you use Music

The internet holds a vast amount of content – ebooks, music, photos and videos. It’s tempting to use any of these that you can find online but unfortunately, you can’t use all of them as you please. Using them without attribution or permission can land you in legal trouble.

When you intend to use free music content, it helps to know the differences between these three types of music license categories – copyright-free (public domain/free license), creative commons, and royalty-free. The term “free” can be misleading and doesn’t always mean liberty to use without a caveat.  Let’s discuss their meanings and differences here.

What are copyrights and licenses?

Copyright refers to the legal right automatically vested to the owner, author or creator over his/her work. It also servers as protection against use of original work without permission. The copyright owner has the right to copy his/her work, or to waive or transfer copyright on his/her work in favor of another party. The license in copyright means a legal contract between two parties – the musician or copyright holder and the license grantee.

Music licenses and copyright status categories

Copyright Free/Public Domain Music – This refers to music with its copyright that has expired or when the copyright holder has given up his/her intellectual property rights over his/her work. So when you use this type of music, you don’t have to worry about someone complaining that you used their music without their permission or flagging your content because of copyright infringement.

Unfortunately, it’s rare to find true copyright free music. Almost every downloadable clips in the webspace constitutes some sort of license. Take note that there are numerous sites or social media channels that claim “No Copyright” or “Copyright Free” resources, but technically they are not. So this truly “free” music is a unicorn. You may find less music of this classification that suit your modern taste as most public domain music were published many decades or even centuries ago.

Creative Commons (CC) License – The licensing scheme of Creative Commons provides free license to the public to use and share a creative work in a simple and standardized way – provided that creator is acknowledged or credited. These CC licenses enable the copyright holder to modify their copyright terms. However, it’s important to note that creative commons license isn’t all about “totally free music” or sounds with no strings attached. CC comprises a rainbow of classifications:

• Attribution CC BY= It is the most flexible CC license, allowing you to share and edit the creative work for commercial or non-commercial purposes as long as you show attribution.
• Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA= You can share and edit even commercially as long as it’s shared under the same license as the original.
• Attribution-NonDerivatives CC BY-ND= You can use the creative work even commercially, but you cannot modify then distribute it. Viberary free license works similarly. We allow modification on our music (e.g. remix, arrangement) for your personal or commercial project, but you cannot claim copyright of the modified version (as what derivative work suggests) and you cannot distribute.
• Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives CC BY-NC = You can share and edit as long as you attribute and use it for non-commercial purposes only.
• Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA = You can share and edit the creative work, but you must license the new work under the same CC license as the origina. And it cannot be used for commercial purposes.
• Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives CC BY-NC-ND=This is the most restrictive license since it only allows you sharing (with credits), but not editing and sharing for commercial purposes.
• Public Domain CC-0 Dedication– This means the authors waived their copyrights. You can edit and share even for commercial purposes or anything you wish for without the need to attribute or ask permission.

Royalty Free Music – Don’t be misled by the “free” in royalty free because it’s not the same as copyright free. This means you pay a one time-off license  (depending on the site’s music library policies) for the right to use copyrighted material without the need to pay royalties to the music owner every time you use it. In other words, the company that holds such music libraries has already arranged payment and other terms with the copyright owners and composers so you won’t have to. Here is the summary of what this licensing means:

• Royalty free music holds no ongoing payments for each use but it doesn’t mean it’s completely free and without use restrictions.
• The licensor or the music owner still holds the copyright.
• Can be used for personal and commercial projects for a single payment.
• Can be used for multiple projects without additional costs.

Misconceptions about Music Copyright and Licenses

On Royalty Free Music

• Royalty free music is the same as free or copyright free music – You’ll still have to pay upfront cost except for the author’s royalties for subsequent or perpetual use.
• Royalty free music is stock music – Stock music means audio or recording that is a part of a large library and grouped according to author, genre and track length. While “stock” music refers to production or library music, “royalty-free” refers to a specific way of licensing music.
• Royalty free music is low quality – Numerous sites offer high-quality royalty-free music that you can filter to your liking.

On Music Copyright

• Ignorance or lack of intent is an acceptable excuse – Even you place a “no copyright infringement intended” in your YouTube description or in any of your vlog audio clips, without permission and/or proper license, you won’t be excused from the liabilities. The same with unknowingly collaborating with an infringer.
• Sampling a piece or part of music makes it my own – You may distort, filter or stretch a couple of seconds or part of a music, still it doesn’t make you own its copyright. Derivative works and fair use are for different discussions though.
• Use any music as you want as long as you credit – While attributing authors is okay for CC-licensed music and to the extent of public domain, you can’t do this in royalty-free or copyrighted music without obtaining the right and paying. In other words, adding a link and crediting doesn’t substitute for asking permission. The artist may be happy to use their content in return for the exposure, but asking them is still the best.
• If I purchased a music, I can use it however I want – If you paid and downloaded some high-quality music from Spotify or iTunes or bought a CD, it doesn’t mean you own all the rights to the music. Technically, you purchased a license for limited and non-exclusive use.
• It’s Ok to copy or use someone else’s work as long as I don’t make money out of it – Nope, except in the case of creative commons and specific public domain licenses.

How to use music legally?

• Check and research if it is copyrighted or not.
• If copyrighted, identify the owner, and request for permission to use. Owner may only request attribution in return, or in some cases, payment agreements.
• Document the agreement, terms and conditions.
• If you want to use music under Creative Commons (CC) license, always read the description of the type of CC license attached to it to ensure that you will not miss any restrictions.

The Bottom Line

Copyright free, royalty free, creative commons and public domain terms can be confusing. But just to be safe, if you need background music, jingle, song, and sound effect, always check the license terms or ask permission from the copyright holder. On top of that, it helps to do a little research on what that license is all about. While using free music even without the credit is okay, it’s ethically desirable to attribute and thank the original author who will greatly appreciate your effort in doing so. At Viberary.com, a collection of high-quality background music is licensed for free, whether for non-commercial or commercial use, so you won’t have to worry about copyright strikes for your video contents. A simple attribution will help us promote our initiative towards free music.