If you’ve worked hard to create music that stands out, your work deserves all the protection it can get.
But that means you should be fair to others too.
This is not an exhaustive list, but let’s talk about some of the lines you shouldn’t cross when it comes to copyright.
#1. Sampling Without Permission
It’s a big No-no!
Sampling is not a crime in itself. However, you must do it right. You would be wrong to just grab a piece of someone else’s track, tweak it a bit, and call it your own.
Even if it’s a small part of the song, it’s still an idea that was borrowed without asking. Always get permission or a license to use someone else’s music, particularly the instrumental. Take a leaf from a recent and popular book from Burna Boy. The song “Shayo” used the instrumental of Toni Braxton’s hit song “He Wasn’t man Enough”, but not without permission.
Fine, some do this thing everyday without permission, perhaps the owners are not aware or aren’t interested in taking it up. But you can’t bet on being lucky. So, do the needful and save yourself from a lawsuit.
#2. Plagiarism Isn’t ‘Borrowing’
We’ve all experienced situations where melodies get stuck in our head. Like, you sleep and it plays in your dream. You wake up and that’s your morning devotion. It happens.
If you’re an artist, it can end up creeping into your own work. And it’s perfectly okay to get ideas from a song you love. What’s wrong, however, is to just lift them directly.
Plagiarism is a big copyright violation everywhere in the world. Although you may feel lucky if people don’t really take it seriously in your country, your luck might not last. Someone might take it seriously. Note that taking is very different from copying and pasting someone else’s melodies, lyrics, or sounds.
#3. When Covering a Song, Don’t Skip the Paperwork
You like a track so much, you just can’t resist the urge to jump on it. Calm down a little. Resist that urge to go perform or record a cover and expect everything to be fine and dandy. There’s paperwork involved!
Whether you’re doing it live or putting it on an album, you need the right licenses. That means getting a mechanical license if you’re recording a cover. Otherwise, you might end up in a copyright mess.
#4. Public Domain Doesn’t Mean ‘Free Game’
A song on the public domain is not automatically yours to remix or re-record. You can use it freely
just as everyone else can. But you can’t claim it as your original work.
Some folks might try to copyright a version of a public domain song. But legally, it’s still public domain, so you don’t want to mess with that!
#5. Respect Others’ Moral Rights
If you’re remixing or collaborating with other artists, don’t harm their reputation with your alteration of their work. In some places, artists also have moral rights. Moral right is the right to protect the integrity of your creations. So, while remixing or using another artist’s track is fair game, make sure you’re not doing it in a way that damages their name.
The Bottom Line
Observing copyright rules is a sign that as an artist, you respect your colleagues. It also means you respect the art. Everyone’s hard work deserves to be valued. That’s how an industry conducive enough for everyone to thrive, is created. So while you keep creating, keep innovating, don’t forget to cross your T’s and dot your I’s when it comes to the rules of copyright.
