As an agent for our copyright owners,
Behny Entertainment, Arts, & Media reserves all rights.

What is protected under the phrase, “All rights reserved”?

Under code § 106 of the Copyright Act, copyright owners are granted several exclusive rights: Reproduction rights which includes mechanical rights (recording a composition, typically a cover, for reproduction on disc storage mediums, cassettes, and digital audio files) and print rights (sheet music, lead sheets, song lyrics, and collections), Derivative rights which include sync rights (taking all or part of a work and incorporating it along with other content like serial or episodic shows, movies, commercials, and photos) and derivative work rights (rework or rearrangement of an already existing composition with additional content for any perceivable use), Distribution rights which covers who gets to sell the work on behalf of the artist, Performance rights which includes public performance rights (performing the original work on television, radio, satellite, and at live venues) and grand rights (performing the original work on Broadway or as part of a stage show to advance the story), Display rights which covers the public display of works and choreographed actions that exist in a physical space, and Streaming rights which covers sound recordings publicly performed by way of digital transmission. Lastly, there is also a master right which pertains specifically to the use of an original recorded track of a song (not the composition which is covered under mechanical rights) in any manner or format. To learn more about these individual rights, visit this ReverbNation blog page on Performance Rights Organizations. Scroll down to the last paragraph to expedite your visit.

When do these rights apply to a work?

An artist owns the copyright to their work immediately upon the creation of such work and will continue to own their copyright until they sell it, release it, or it expires. Any work currently under copyright may come out of copyright next year or next century; it depends on a number of factors. If you really want to learn more about copyright, a good place to start is this Wikipedia page on Copyright; be sure to scroll down to “Duration” to get a jump start on the important details.

What is needed to perform a copyrighted work?

In general, a copyright where “All rights [are] reserved” means that before a protected work can be used for any reason, someone will need to obtain a legally acquired copy of the content to be used and the express permission or license from the author/agent/publisher to proceed. This is important because publishers, labels, and artists are entitled to royalties and are legally empowered to prosecute any violation of their rights. The practice of finding every publisher, label, or artist who owns a copyright to a work so as to avoid legal liability would be a nightmare were it not for the three main Performance Rights Organizations (PROs): BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC. Most music is licensed through these PROs, but some artists and publishers elect to conduct this process themselves. Behny Entertainment, Arts, & Media does just that as we are not affiliated with any PRO at the present time. Any use of works published by BEAM will need to be licensed through contact with us. Read on to learn how this works.

Who needs to get permission?

Legally, the responsibility to get permission for live performances falls to whoever owns the venue at which the protected work is performed/displayed. For any other form of protected use, liability falls to the performers. Venues that play recorded/live music generally have licenses with these organizations which usually makes it safe for a musician to perform a protected work publicly on the venue property. Check this Create Legal page on Public Performance Licenses to learn more.

Is there an exception for me?

Let’s find out! You do not need to secure a license if your entire scope of use clearly meets any combination of the following qualifications:

A.     Public domain – This is when a work has been released for general public use.
B.     Educational – This is when a work is under discussion or in practice of the medium.
C.     Transformative – This is when a work has been altered so much from its original form (typically into another medium) that it no longer qualifies as infringing.
D.     Parody – This is when a work is mocked for the sake of critical commentary: not to be confused with satire which must justify its use of the unlicensed material.
E.     Religious services` – This is when works of a religious nature are used in the course of a religious service. `Also use the “Non-profit” link below and scroll down to sub-section 3.
F.      Non-Profit* - This is when an entire performance is without commercial advantage, compensation, or private financial gain. *Scroll down to sub-section 4.

While the term “fair use” has been used by many as of late to justify their use of copyrighted content, their actions may not qualify under code § 107 of the Copyright Act and legal precedent for what is accepted as fair use, which would mean their likely ill-informed claim will put them in violation of Code § 106 of the Copyright Act and leave them vulnerable to a lawsuit. A good rule of thumb for fair use is when a work appears, in part, in another medium, but is not the focus and is not wholly represented. For more information on what constitutes fair use, check out this Copyright Clearance Center page on What is considered Fair Use?

Disclaimer: The content above is intended for informational purposes and is not legal advice. The presented links are intended to aid this stated purpose, but only a lawyer can guarantee accuracy; we are not lawyers. We practice songs; not law. The content presented above is also not the complete picture concerning copyright law. For a more complete outlook on this topic, please contact a lawyer; aka, Not Us!

For information concerning licensing music published by Behny Entertainment, Arts, & Media (BEAM) for the purposes of performance, recording, synchronization, print, or otherwise, please continue reading.

Copyright Licenses

#1 – I want to publicly perform live music published by BEAM.
What do I need?

In every circumstance, every performer will need legally obtained paper copies of the work(s) to be performed – and – if you are…

A. A(n) group/individual who believes your use falls under “public domain”,
You are sorely mistaken. No music that BEAM Publishing or BEAM Records has produced is in the public domain or creative commons. Go back to the top of the page and try again.

B. A(n) group/individual who believes your use qualifies for “fair use” under code § 107 of the Copyright Act,
Please contact us. A license may be required. Contrary to the saying, it is definitely better to ask for permission rather than forgiveness.

C. A worship leader or religious organization conducting a religious service under code § 110 of the Copyright Act,
Hallelujah! Thank you for playing our music for His glory. No license is required. If you can contact us with advanced notice, the composer may want to visit to hear their music used for this purpose.

D. A scholastic institution conducting a concert under code § 110 of the Copyright Act,
Wow, that’s great! Thank you for using our music to enrich the lives of our nation’s children. No license is required. If you can contact us with advanced notice, the composer may want to visit to hear their music used for this purpose.

E. A non-profit performing a charity concert under code § 110 of the Copyright Act,
Please contact us to ensure that a license is not required; keep your charity aboveboard. Also, we may also want to show up and support your cause.

F. A(n) group/individual doing a charity concert under code § 110 of the Copyright Act,
Interesting. Please contact us to ensure that your event will not require a license. Also, we want to know why you chose our music for this event and perhaps learn how we might help support your cause.

G. A non-profit performing a for-profit concert to replenish operating funds,
Please contact us and tell us your situation. A license may be required, but maybe we can work something out. We must be doing something right for you to want our music to support your cause.

H. A group/individual performing a show or concert for commercial advantage,
Lucky you! A Live Public Performance License is required and you get to support our artists with a royalty check. If you haven’t already guessed it by now, yes, please contact us and give us details including, songs selected from our catalog, a concert program, venue(s), maximum venue size(s), anticipated audience size(s), date(s)/time(s), notable performers, et cetera. Alternatively, you can do this through our Shop; this way the base fee is handled up-front with a special form designed to make gathering the necessary details about your concert easy. Our reckoning of royalties is based on a base plus percentage structure which features a fixed percentage of box office receipts divided by the number of BEAM titles against the total of songs performed. Our listing for this Live Public Performance License includes a calculator to easily learn about how much in royalties will be due after your concert. This should eliminate some of the guesswork in organizing your event so you can focus on making it great. Thank you for selecting our music; we look forward to working with you.

#2 – I want to record my public performance of live music published by BEAM for later private viewing or study. What do I need?

Notwithstanding the criteria you meet for #1, nothing else is required. BEAM grants a free license for the performers or parties directly related to the performers to audio/video record live performances of our works for later private viewing or study providing: A) they DO NOT find their way onto social media, video sharing platforms, email, or any other part of the internet, not even for storage, B) they ARE NOT shared or viewed by anyone outside of the family or organization that recorded the material, C) these recordings otherwise DO NOT see the light of day (become pubic in any way), and D) the resulting recordings ARE NOT used for or edited into anything that may violate the terms of this license or any other reserved rights.

#3 – Concerning sheet music, I want to make copies of select pages or whole pieces because, I want convenience pages for easy page turns and guilt-free mark-ups for practice, or substitute copies to protect the originals from neglect or to have every sheet plainly visible throughout the course of a song. What do I need?

You will need our Non-Commercial Print License.

Normally this behavior is outright forbidden by publishers. We here at BEAM recognize this ethical dilemma that rational people encounter, “I know that this music is not to be reprinted for any reason, but my actions are for the benefit of my property”. While we still forbid any print reproduction of our music that is protected under copyright (and we reserve the right to prosecute legitimate offenders), we have drafted a non-commercial print license to bring relief to this moral quandary. The conditions are as follows:
-The cost is 25¢/substitute-copy-in-use/year with any underestimations paid for in the following year’s license.
-Substitute copies from previous years may be kept for future use providing this license remains current and in good standing.
-Volume of substitute copies in possession must not exceed volume of originals owned year over year; destroy all inventoried copies in excess of owned originals.
-Minimum yearly cost to acquire this license and to keep substitute copies inventoried is $2.00.
-Convenience pages copied for practice, gratuitous mark-ups, or easy page-turns must be destroyed once their usefulness is outlived.
-Your organization’s music librarian is responsible for the tracking and accounting of every substitute copy made or used throughout the year.
-The license is for a fifteen month period from June 15th of the current year to September 15th of the following year and becomes available for purchase May 1st of the current year.
-Failure to renew this non-commercial print license in any way is an agreement to immediately destroy all substitute copies and convenience pages (yes, every last one). A notice must be sent to our company email (BEAM@BehnyEAM.com) prior to 30 days past this license’s expiration with a statement detailing the number of substitute copies destroyed and for what songs. Failure to acknowledge expiration of this license, willful or otherwise, without self-renewal will result in an $8 charge ($2 renewal, $3 processing, and a $3 penalty for lack of adherence. Failure to acknowledge expiration of this license two years in a row may result in legal action.

Example #1: You’re an independent pianist and you have four works from BEAM. You would rather spread your song out from end to end in practice and maybe in concert as well. Your cost is $2 for the year to make up to four copies. If you acquire four more (to make eight), you cost to have counter copies of every work is still just $2 for the year. Say you have ten works; that’ll be $2.50 for the year.

Example #2. (1st year) There are thirty students with two BEAM songs each, but five students are gentle with their music and will not need substitute copies, but your librarian reports four more prints were made throughout the year; the next year (2nd year) goes by without a performance of music made by BEAM, but in the following year (3rd year) there are now three songs for twenty-five students overall with just as many that are gentle and no extras are made by the end of that year: this will cost $12.50/1st year, $2.00/2nd year, and $15.00/3rd year. Assuming an average cost of $4.50/original, that comes out to an average of about $10/year to protect over $300 worth of music, guilt free.

To acquire our Non-Commercial Print License, please check it out in our Shop and follow the listing’s instructions to checkout. Included in the listing is a calculator to aid you in knowing what volume your license needs to be to accommodate your maximum use needs. Please contact us if anything here must be clarified.

#4 – I want to record audio in a private session of live music published by BEAM to share/sell singles/albums to fans/patrons in person/online. What do I need?

Not possible. Until BEAM releases recorded versions of any songs in our catalog, we will reserve our right to bar third parties from doing so until we have released such tracks. Once that has happened, we will update our site to reflect this.

#5 – I want to record audio and video in a private session of live music published by BEAM to share tracks with friends or family and/or to sell dvds/upload online to fans or patrons. What do I need?

#6 – I want to create a derivative work (arrangements, parts, medleys, remixes, et cetera) from one or more works published by BEAM. What do I need?

You would need a derivative work license; however, you must first contact BEAM. We reserve the right to reject any derivative work license application and (fair warning) we probably will unless we REALLY like your idea. We also reserve the right to take legal action against anyone who attempts to create content that is derivative from any work(s) published by BEAM. The only exception to this is “fair use” as described under code § 107 of the Copyright Act. We are strict with this particular right because our artists are still new and need time to establish their sound and catalogs before we allow anyone to use their works. Thank you for understanding. To be clear, this is not an outright “no,” but rather an appeal to curb expectations.

#7 – I want to stream music (Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, SiriusXM, traditional radio, etc.) published by BEAM at my establishment.

A streaming license, you say? Please contact BEAM; let’s have a conversation.

#8 – I want to set music published by BEAM to a theatrical stage production as I believe it would benefit the story.

Grand rights, eh? Good question. Please contact BEAM; we’ll see if it’s to be or not to be.

#9 – I want to display your printed works in public. Wait, do I really need a license to do that?

While we’re flattered that you would consider such a thing, we do have some rough limitations in place to protect our content. As long as you are not charging admission for the express purpose of featuring work of ours or like ours [If you are, please contact us.], the following is allowed: hanging display of cover page and/or the title page with(out) its opposite, inclusion of any cover art for the purposes of promoting a show featuring music made by BEAM artists, or any other reason personally approved by BEAM or it’s artists.

STILL NOT ENOUGH?!

Wow! If somehow after making it all the way down here and reading all the supplied links you still have unanswered questions, please contact us with what burning questions you may yet have and we’ll do our best to answer them (as long it doesn’t require speaking Legalese; English is hard enough as it is).

To prove you really did read all the way down to the end here, include the last two words in the last example given for license #3 followed by the phrase “Peanut Butter Chocolate Deluxe Swirl Cookies” in the body of your message. We take chocolate and peanut butter very seriously around here, just like we’ll take you very seriously when you can prove that you really did read everything!

As an agent for our copyright owners,Behny Entertainment, Arts, & Media reserves all rights.