Expert: Donald - 8/12/2009

Question
Donald, my alumni chorus is giving a concert on August 22 in the DC area.  We would like to record the entire concert for posterity.  Part One comprises of Western songs ( Gaudeamus, Two Italian Madrigals, Inflammatus, Hallelujah Chorus, Hallelujah Amen, two songs by Moses Hogan, a song by Jester Hairston, No Man Is an Island, Climb Ev'ry Mountain, The Exodus Song).  Part Two comprises African folksongs.  My question is this:  is it copyright infringement to have the concert audio-recorded by as paid sound engineer?  This group has not been together in 30 years and this concert will be a once in a lifetime experience for us; thus we would like a record for posterity!  Thank you for your help !

Answer
Hi James,

I commend you and your group on such a wonderful occasion! It will be such a joy for all of you to make music again!!

To the best of my knowledge, it is legal to record an archival copy of a performance for review. I am not a lawyer, but I don't believe that you are violating copyright law to do this. Selling the CD is another matter. No one should profit from another person's compositional labor (that is not in the public domain) without paying a proper royalty to them. Any of the pieces that you are performing that were composed before 1909 would be exempt from royalty payment. For any piece after that, you need to check with the publisher to secure permission to record and distribute for profit.

I hope that this helps you to some degree! Good luck with the performance!!!

Best regards,

Donald