A sample is a small snippet of music used in a new or derivative work. For example, Vanilla Ice used a sample of the bass line from "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie in his song "Ice Ice Baby." To use a sample in a commercial release, the copyright owner must give permission for its use. Typically, this is agreed to in return for a fee. In cases where clearance is not sought or agreed upon, but a release is issued, the copyright owner can seek recourse. Sean "Diddy" Combs paid damages to two rights owners in 2007 that amounted to more than $100,000 per second of unauthorized sample usage.
This is typically the most common music licensing issue. Copyright infringement covers cases of plagiarism of lyrics and melodies. Only musically distinct passages can be plagiarized.
When a piece of music is licensed for use, the owner and the party using the music typically agree on a fee. The fee is either paid as a share of royalties from the new sound recording or as a lump sum. The Internet, in particular music widgets that can be embedded on websites, has confused this issue. The music streaming site Sonific was forced to cease operations after rights owners insisted on up-front, rather than revenue share payments in return for use of their music.
If you want to use a piece of music in your film or computer game, you must acquire a license to use it from the owner. If a song was written by two or more people, or ownership is shared between writer and publisher, disputes may get in the way of licensing.
Two nonprofit organizations collect performance royalties on behalf songwriters the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, or ASCAP, and Broadcast Music Incorporated, or BMI. Public performance covers all aspects of audio playback, including radio airplay, shopping mall music and even telephone hold music. Any organization that uses music pays a license fee which covers the cost of public performance. BMI and ASCAP collect the license fees and distribute the money to their members. There are certain exceptions to the license that allow people to reasonably enjoy music in public. Private parties and charity events, for example, are not subject to public performance fees. However, confusion surrounding what constitutes a party, as opposed to a public performance, often results in people illegally performing music or paying the license fee.