Posted by doubler on March 10, 2000 at 13:05:55:
I tried to spin off a discussion about this a week or so ago. Could someone give an INFORMED primer on paying royalties? I'd like to know whether and how things like number of people in attendence, whether they pay, whether the money goes to charity, etc. have any bearing on the requirement to pay royalties or the amount paid. Also, for those of us who do a little church stuff or community band, and want to do the right thing, how would we go about PAYING the royalties? And what are my rights to record, if I'm not distributing the recording? What if I do want to distribute it? Do I need to get rights from the publisher beforehand?
I know these are a lot of questions, and I don't really know how complex the answers are; I imagine there are more than a few attorneys who make very nice full-time jobs of dealing with these things. Caveat: I'm asking for friendly advice, not legal advice. Thanks to all who respond, but more than usual please indicate whether you are giving an informed answer or an opinion or guess.