Music on a website?

[jmoody]

I know I know...contact a lawyer, bound to be ilegal, dumb question, wrong

category etc...

 

But, am thinking of adding some music to my website to play in the background

of my galleries (kinda like the way (unlicensed?) music gets played in the

background at many stores)... any ideas on the legalities of this? I'm not

specifically trying to profit from their work, just enhance my own (same

thing?) Thanks in advance

 

Also, feel free to comment if you think it's a bad idea in general (ie:

cheesy, might slowdown the downloads etc..)

[ben conover]

Hi, interesting question. I think for a photography site 'muzak' might detract. The reason being that the photograph is a powerful tool alone, music might just dilute the art form you are trying to sell....

 

I have no idea about the legalities, if they exist.

 

For a violinmaking website in which photography and music are important, I think the links would be useful, if only to give an idea of client base etc. Like, Itzhak Perlman played a violin I made at Carnegie hall, etc, and it sounded like this.....ok, wishful thinking!

 

Good Cheese smells good.

 

Cheers.

[jmoody]

Yeah, I know what you mean about the "muzak" addition (darn, was hoping to finally get to use all my instrumental-only Rod Stewart tunes somewhere!). Funny too, since I'm being ultra-careful in the design not to be gaudy at all...and now I find myself wondering if It'll end up being boring instead (unfortunately, no idea how to show an example as it is not yet "published".

 

Was thinking about somewhat thematic music... "fado" music for my Spain/Portugal gallery... maybe some George Winston for the landscapes... maybe Pink Floyd's "money" for the "purchase prints section (just kidding).

 

Here's to cheese (the more it smells like feet, the better!!)

[ben conover]

Mate, I reckon 'money' would be a cool tune to play! Or how about an untracable recording of the sounds of the forest at dusk? Avoiding legalities etc....my choice would be something unrecognizable.

 

Cheers.

[keith_van_hulle1]

Regardless of what somemay say, you do realize that the majority of the world is still a 56k connection, right? You need to take into account bandwidth issues, especially on a site that deals largely in graphics? It might be one thing to put up a few K of a midi file, it's another to have to load a 4meg mp3 (even in a broadband connection).

[ben conover]

Keith, if you have a link to a large music file then perhaps that would sovle the problem of bandwidsth, although losing the spontanaiety somewhat. Although, why would anyone looking at photographs want to do that? Ok, so perhaps the sugguested music links would have some artistic relevance to the photos being sold, etc.

 

Cheers.

[jmoody]

Oops, forgot about dialup (what a snob I am :-) It's a flash player embedded in a flash gallery, so I'd hoped it wouldn't bog down the average joe, but I'll have to do some testing. (I'll try to remember to send links if I do)

 

As to forest noises, not sure if Owls and Timberwolves are what I had in mind :-)

 

Seriously, nobody's seen a photo site with tunes? I hadn't either, but didn't think it'd be THAT odd

[alice_guy]

"Muzak" in the background in stores will generally be from a royalty free muzak cd / collection so not neccessarily "unlicensed". Other venues, cafes etc that play recognisable and mainstream music will have a license. In the UK cafes and bars etc will have a PRS [Performing Rights Society] license to play music.. the fees for that license are distributed amongst registered PRS musicians / composers etc.

[rich_wardwell]

First, I'm not a lawyer and in no way represent myself as one (or an expert on this subject).

By all means, you should contact a lawyer.

 

That stated, all public performances of music require a payment to the performing rights

owner(s). In the U.S., these rights are managed be three organizations -- BMI, ASCAP or

SESAC -- representing U.S. artists. Unfortunately, recently, a new licensing was created

specifically for digital transmission over the Internet. Therefore, if you want to play

copyrighted music over the Internet, you have to use SoundExchange for that right (think

record labels / mechanical right I believe) -- IN ADDITION (I believe) -- you still have to

pay for the broadcast / performing rights to BMI, ASCAP and SESAC. This website gives a

summary: http://ogc.arizona.edu/white_paper_lpe_webcast_music_licensing.htm

 

It isn't pretty is it?

 

Can you create some of your own music? :)

 

Few other comments...

 

The majority of the world may still be on a 56kbps connection, but not by much. First,

U.S. broadband penetration is over 80% of active users (almost 50% overall). European

broadband penetration is lower, but nearing a third on average. Second, I would think that

those who are looking at photos on the Internet are more than likely to be in the "active

users" category. Using the narrowband logic, you shouldn't be putting up photos in the

first place!

 

As far as type of music - nothing sounds worse than MIDI on a web site. I would definitely

use something of decent quality / sampled... this can be done while still retaining a fairly

small file size if done correctly.

 

In my opinion, music in the background can be quite impactful depending on the type of

photography. Music combined with photography can be a very powerful motivator. It can

also distract from the photography if done poorly (or very well). Depends on the effect

you wish to create.

[nanette]

I've seen a website with music and while I like the music, I always turn it off. In fact, I

always turn the music off on any website. I usually have my own playing but sometimes I

think the music detracts and let's face it, not everyone likes good music. :)

 

I would suggest to forego the music and as far as people on dial-up (I'm a snob too), are

these the people you are trying to sell your work/services to? Most businesses have a high

speed connection but if you're providing services to the general public, then definitely take

into account that they may be on dial-up. Oh yeah, and it also depends where you are in

the world too. You'd be surprised of how high tech some countries are.

 

Sorry, no legal advice from me but I wouldn't think (again, just speculation) that there

would be a big copyright issue in playing music on your site. You're not selling it, so the

music in reality isn't doing anything for your site except maybe enhancing it slightly. Best

bet is to contact a lawyer but you already know that. :)

[jmoody]

Thanks to all... great answers, a plethora in fact (big word, I know (goes with my snoby DSL image though:-)) Anyway, I'm leaning towards giving it a shot and figure that I'll

 

1) have such low traffic that it won't much matter (mainly an ego booster & a friends and family thing) and

 

2) would imagine that I'd get a "cease and desist" order before getting an actual lawsuit (wishful thinking maybe). To which I would happily comply.

 

or 3) look for something "free" to use. Maybe I'll finally end up with the owl and timberwolf sounds after all! :-)

by the way, Nanet (sp) AWESOME stuff in your portfolio, especially the reflection shots (I've got a weak spot for those)

[robyn_minkler]

From a tasteful web design standpoint, music is a major no-no. People hate music playing

when they surf to a webpage - what if they are at work, or have the speakers turned up, or

are already listening to music on the computer? They will start hunting around for a way to

turn off the music, or just have to mute the computer in order not to listen to your distracting

tunes.

 

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but it's the truth - musical web pages (with a few exceptions,

like the web pages or bands or labels) turns surfers off.

[chris_leck]

Isn't using someone else's music without permission fundamentally just like using their images without permission?

[gulhan_gulsun1]

1)some music pieces are free to use after 50 years of owner's death. You have to know that, it is very difficult to know if that piece is legal to use.

2)I agree not putting music on the web site, because most people listen to their own music. I personaly do not prefer music on web sites and escape from it.

It depends on the cultural differences though, some like the music in shops some do not.

[qtluong]

I'd get some royalty-free music. Like royalty-free photos, they can go for pretty cheap these days, and you won't run into copyright problems.

I'd say bad idea in galleries and general pages, possibly nice on slide shows.

<a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/">Terra Galleria Photography</a>

[gluteal cleft]

<p><i>But, am thinking of adding some music to my website to play in the background of my galleries</i></p>

 

<p>Please. Work on the side of good, not evil.</p>

[basscheffers]

No, please don't. Music on a website is even more annoying than frames, all-flash and pop-

ups put together!

 

In all seriousnes: if you must, do a google on "stock music", there are lots of sites who'll sell

you royalty free stuff for little.

[j_c38]

Who cares if its legal or not. Please, I beg of you, don't do it.

 

It should be illegal to play music on websites period.

[jmoody]

Wow! After seeing this reaction, I guess I'll scrap my plans to ask my next forum question.. "should I torture and kill small kittens on my site, or only puppies?" :-)

 

Had no idea this was such a sore spot for so many. Oh well. I'm still not convinced that it's THAT tacky, but I AM nervous about it slowing down my site so I'll probably forego it (for now anyway).

 

thanks again

[jmoody]

to anyone who answered here (or cares), this is my final product (sans music :-) feel free to respond with any critiques, ideas, etc... as to design, price, useability etc...

Thanks

www.jmoodyphoto.com

[aaron l]

Music can be good for automated slide shows. Every where else, I hate it and turn it off. If I can't turn it off, I leave the site. Granted, I can turn down the sound on my computer but why should I have to as I'm enjoying streaming radio or something like that.

[bruce_hooke]

"Sorry, no legal advice from me but I wouldn't think (again, just speculation) that there would be a big copyright issue in playing music on your site. You're not selling it, so the music in reality isn't doing anything for your site except maybe enhancing it slightly."

 

I'm not lawyer either, but I pretty certain this is incorrect. If you are using the music to "enhance" the website (i.e., make people more likely to buy your photographs) then that is commercial use, so you need to pay for the right to use the music or find royalty free music. The same would be true of a photograph used as the backdrop for a print advertisement (or a photograph used to enhance a website). Music played in the background in stores is, as I understand it, either explicitly royalty free, licensed, or being played illegally. I'll admit that I don't know what the rules are if it is a radio station that is being played in the store. I'll also admit that a LOT of stores probably violate the rule about paying for the right to play music. However, I would not count on the first step being a cease and desist order. The first step could well be a request for payment of any royalties that should already have been paid, which could be a painful bill. The sad part of all this is how little of the royalty money actually makes it back to the artists.

 

That said, I agree with the view that musical backdrops to websites are almost always a bad idea.