The copyright law can be a very serious offence in relation to the consequences that may be involved as a result. For example, plagiarism can cause any individual or offending party into court to resolve the offence that they have committed. In some cases, some people do not realise how serious it can be and so find themselves landing in unintended and unexpected situations as a result. For example, 'Blurred Lines' by Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke sounded very similar to Marvin Gaye's 'Got To Give It Up'. This resulted in them facing a $7.4 million fine after being taken to court as a consequence. Justin Bieber and Usher also faced a similar situation where they were fined $10 million due to their 'Somebody to Love' song being so musically alike another song with the same name, by Devin Copeland De Rico that features Mareio Overton.
The song in which my group and I have chosen to make a music video for is 'Hometown Glory' by Adele. The record label which essentially owns this material is XL Recordings. Because this isn't our song and doesn't have any aspect of it that was created by any of us, we had to ensure to apply for music copyright. This would help prevent us from being at risk of plagiarism and attracting any concern within the record label. Furthermore, by applying for copyright, it takes away the power of the record label being able to delete the video once uploaded to YouTube.
Firstly, we had to find out a way of contacting the record label and so used the search engine, Google, to carried out this. It was difficult to find a valid and direct email that would be recognised by the appropriate concerning individual. However, a website called 'Showcase' had a contact page for XL Recordings and so allowed you to fill out a form which would then be sent off to the label. We supplied an email address for them to contact us by and gave the subject title of 'Apply for Music Copyright'. We had previously structured what we wanted to write in the message to the label and so inserted it in the 'message' box within the form. After submitting to send the message, we awaited a reply.
Firstly, we had to find out a way of contacting the record label and so used the search engine, Google, to carried out this. It was difficult to find a valid and direct email that would be recognised by the appropriate concerning individual. However, a website called 'Showcase' had a contact page for XL Recordings and so allowed you to fill out a form which would then be sent off to the label. We supplied an email address for them to contact us by and gave the subject title of 'Apply for Music Copyright'. We had previously structured what we wanted to write in the message to the label and so inserted it in the 'message' box within the form. After submitting to send the message, we awaited a reply.
Unfortunately, we have not received any feedback from our record label, however we will try and contact them again in order to receive a reply. The way in which they haven't responded to our request for copyright is understandable as the label are obviously very busy and dedicated to the artists in which they are managing.
This post demonstrates some understanding of why music copyright is essential to carry out. You have included an example from the industry, which demonstrates your understanding of the law, but you need to ensure that you have explore it in more detail, by relating back to the points of the law.
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