Copyrights and Campaigns

(Photo by Alena Darmel from Pexels) What is a Performing Rights Organization? A Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) are groups of companies that help songwriters and publishers collect royalties (money) from their copyrights. They help the song copyright owners (primarily songwriters/publishers) calculate and then distribute the royalties from all of the different venues, platforms, companies where their music is played or used. These royalties are typically paid every quarter in the United States. For songs with multiple writers, the PROs will distribute the agreed upon percentages specified for each songwriter.  For information about royalties, check out my previous blog post here ( link ) Songwriters can register with one the PRO and publishers register individually with each PRO their artist is represented by. There are PROs worldwide for the different countries/territories copyright law. In the United States, there are three major PROs: BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC. BMI (Broadcast...

(Photo by Dziana Hasanbekava from Pexels) Do you need to register your copyright? While authors and creators are not explicitly required to register their copyright, it is highly recommended if you want to receive to protect your copyright when faced with infringement. In other words, no you do not have to register. But, if your work is stolen without registering your work with the copyright office, you cannot take legal action in U.S. courts.  Once your work is fixed in a tangible medium (or perceptible with the aid of machine or device) your copyright is protected. But as mentioned previously, you cannot start an infringement lawsuit without registration. It is in your best interest to register your work as soon as you can so you are eligible for all the rights and possible legal action. For example, your copyright must be registered within three months of publication if you would like to be eligible for statutory damages up to $150,000 and attorney's fees pertaining to the infri...

(Photo by Mudassir Ali from Pexels) Trademark Law and Musicians: Specifically for campaign use, the infringement comes from the confusion of the artists brand or image they have created for themselves. In legal proceedings, they refer to the precedent set by the Ninth Circuit in AMF Inc v. Sleekcraft Boats: AMF Inc. v. Sleekcraft Boats, 599 F.2d 341, 348-49 (9th Cir. 1979) This case is where they developed eight factors to determine whether or not a trademark has been violated. AMF Inc. came out with Slickcraft Boats and registered their trademark in 1969. Sleekcraft Boats was another company that manufactured boats. AMF Inc., the plaintiff, sued Sleekcraft Boats for causing confusing for the two similarly named boats and created competition in the market. The defendant, Sleekcraft Boats, argued that Slickcraft Boats only manufactured high performance boats whereas Sleekcraft catered to a larger audience with a variety of boats. The court originally ruled that although the names were s...

Worst Uses of Campaign Songs I already talked about three examples of successful campaign songs, now I'm going to be looking into three songs that I think didn't quite hit the mark. Below I have given some different reasons why these songs were possibly not the best choice for the candidates. *Note: This list does not relate to my personal feelings or views about the candidates.  1. "The Official Donald Trump Jam" (performed by the Freedom Girls) - Donald Trump In 2016, at Donald Trumps rally in Pensacola, Florida, three young women known as the Freedom girls performed what is known as "The Official Donald Trump Jam." Most people that watched were immediately skeptical. Beyond the messy choreography on stage and questionable singing, even the lyrics were poorly written. The first verse is a call and response from the girls that say, “Cowardice, are you serious? Apologies for freedom, I can’t handle this!” These are not the type of words that stick well with...

Best Uses of Campaign Songs As previously mentioned, theme songs can play a big part in a campaign if used well. Below are three of my favorite campaign theme songs or election songs.  *Note: I chose these campaign songs only based on the use, message, effectiveness, or relevance of the song in the campaign. It does not relate to my personal feelings or views about the candidates.  1.  "This Land is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie - George H.W. Bush  Former President George H.W. Bush used this song to help boost his campaign in 1988. I believe this song is effective because it is widely known and already has a strong strong following for the older generations. Most people that have grown up in the United States know this song. It praises our country and aims to bring people together. Many people in both political parties have used this song for other campaigns and it seems to be well received all around. The song has been so widely used and associated with our country th...

Taylor Swift and Congressmen Eric Swalwell Getting artist's consent for using their music is the easiest way to know you are not infringing on their trademark or copyright. This last October, for the first time ever in her career the renown pop artist, Taylor Swift, agreed to license one of her songs to congressmen Eric Swalwell. Eric Swalwell has been California's U.S. Representative for congressional district 15 since 2013. Swift allowed the campaign to use her song "Only the Young" for a political video. Although Eric Swalwell's campaign made the video, it is more of a statement towards the current political climate and promoting presidential candidate Joe Biden. The 1 minute and 45 second video shows clips of protests, police brutality, support for the LGBTQIA+ community, and Black lives Matter movement.  This video and the music sets a positive and uplifting tone to invoke change in our current political offices and bring minority groups to the spotlight. The...

  (Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels) What are Royalties? A music royalty is a payment that is given to a rights holder to license the use of their music. Licenses are the agreements that a user makes to pay the copyright holder for their work. It's important to know who is exactly getting paid for what type of use because there are two copyrights for every song. The rights holders are the owner or partial owner of either the song copyright (ex: composer/songwriter and publisher) or sound recording copyright (ex: recording artists and record labels). Royalty payments vary depending on the country, but I will only be focusing on the United States. The current royalty rate for a mechanical license (CDs or permanent downloads) is 9.1 cents for every song that is under five minutes long. Any song over five minutes has a statutory rate of 1.75 cents for every minute (rounded up to the next whole minute). For example, a song that is 8:32 in length would be treated as 9 minutes so ...

Photo by Mike from Pexels Campaign Theme Songs: In presidential elections it is customary to pick a theme song that is representative of your candidate and campaign. Each campaign has a message and/or motto that they center themselves around. Most campaigns songs are already famous songs by popular artists. The listeners will be already familiar with your music or fans of it already. These songs are used to add to the theme and insight an emotional response from the audience.  The theme song will be used throughout the campaign and needs to be properly licensed and approved. Without taking the proper steps your campaign will most likely be in violation of the artists trademark. Check out my previous blog post on the Lanham Act ( link ) for more information about this type of infringement. How to choose the right song? The song titles or portion of lyrics should tie into your candidates message. Finding the right theme song can be difficult and may require your campaign to emphasize...