How much of a song (i’m looking for a percentage or time) can u legally play in a public arena (ie on tv, on radio,) with out having to pay royalties for the song. I seem to recall that there is a percentage but can’t find any information on it.
Thanks
B_Black
Generally, none. There is no fair use for public performances.
As to how much you can play without getting sued, it depends on all sorts of factors, like the nature of the performance, how much the copyright holder wants to persue the issue, if the copyright holder is made aware of the violation, etc. In many cases, you can get away with it, but in no cases is it legal.
This comes into the “fair use,” area. You are allowed to use part of a song if it is intended to explain or give credibility to a site. But if you are strictly using it for promotion of your site, regardless of length you owe royalties.
It reminds me of The Simpsons, where Krusty the Klown says "Stop, if you play any more of the song we have to pay for it.
Although certainly the length of the song used is important the intent also comes into play
Reading that over I should add though, even if your intent is to quote or give credibility to that quote, you can’t use a substantial portion of a song without paying the royalites. This is where it becomes subjective.
You’ll find the information on this site very useful, and in particular this article about ‘fair use’, even though it’s mainly about recording and copyright rather than royalties and public performance.
The short answer is that (a) it is unwise to rely on the ‘fair use’ exemption unless you are 100% certain that you’re on safe ground, and have good, heavy lawyerage to back you up, and (b) how much you actually risk by not paying due royalties depends on a host of factors, such as if anyone finds out, how much potential revenue is at stake, and whether anyone can be bothered to prosecute you.