The Breakdown: Playing and recording other peoples’ music

Story by Howard Druckman | Thursday January 12th, 2023

If you’re a music-maker, at some point in your process, you may want to use other peoples’ music – whether via sampling, recording a cover version, or in academic study, for example. In all cases, there’s a legal way to do that while respecting the copyright of, and ensuring fair compensation for, the original songwriter, or composer, and music publisher. Usually, it’s a matter of obtaining permission first.

Sampling
If you’re sampling a song, then both the copyright owner(s) of the recording of the song, and the copyright owner(s) of the song itself, must grant permission. So, for example, if you wanted to sample the  solo from Blue Rodeo’s “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet,” you’d have to get permission for use of the recording from Warner Music Canada, and for the use of the song from its co-writers, Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, and/or its publisher, Thunder Hawk Music.

Although in most cases when a music publisher is involved, they’ve been granted, by contract, the right to negotiate payment and provide permission on behalf of the songwriters or composers that they represent. If that’s the case with Cuddy and Keelor, then you’d obtain permission for all three rights holders in the song from Thunder Hawk Music.

Recording a Cover Version
If you wish to record a cover version of an original copyright-protected song, you have to get permission from the copyright holders of the song, but not the rights holders for the original recording of it. If, say, you want to re-arrange “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” – and possibly change where the solo of the song comes in, or add a verse – you’d have to get permission from the writers, Cuddy and Keelor, possibly via their publisher, Thunder Hawk Music, and from Thunder Hawk itself. The same is true if you want to record a cover version of the song.

Reproducing a Cover Version
Anyone wishing to copy their version of a copyright-protected song – on a pressing of 500 vinyl records, for instance, or an audio streaming service – must first seek the permission of the copyright owner(s) by obtaining a “mechanical” or reproduction rights license. For the same example of “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet,” you’d once again have to obtain permission for the song only, from its co-writers, possibly via their publisher, and from the publisher itself.

Third-Party Services
In all of the above cases, there are third-party services that can license songs on your behalf, for you to cover; but ultimately, permission must always be obtained from the copyright owners in the end – whether you yourself obtain it, or a third-party company obtains it for you. And you should always check thoroughly to ensure that any such company is operating legally and legitimately before engaging with them.

Fair Dealing
The Canadian term “fair dealing” is similar but not exactly the same as the American term “fair use.” In Canada, it means that copyright isn’t infringed when a part of a work is used for private study, research, education, parody, satire, criticism, review, or news reporting. Fair dealing is a case-by-case assessment, based on factors set out by the Canadian courts. So, for example, if you’re presenting a private seminar about songwriting, it’s possible that you could play “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” to illustrate or teach certain techniques – say, how to craft a great chorus – without having to obtain permission first.

Public Domain
In Canada, a song or composition enters the public domain 70 years after the year of the death of the last surviving writer, composer, lyricist, or author of the work. No fees are typically due if the song or composition in a performance are public domain. So, 70 years after the last surviving composer of “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” passes away – whether Jim Cuddy or Greg Keelor – the song will be in the public domain, and can then be recorded without any permission required.

For answers to other frequently asked questions about copyright, and how SOCAN works, have a look at our FAQs.

 

Photo by Pierre Barlier

Cristobal Tapia de Veer to speak at Les grandes rencontres SPACQ 2023

Story by Eric Parazelli | Wednesday January 18th, 2023

Screen composer and SOCAN member Cristobal Tapia de Veer may have become one of the most sought-after composers in the world – thanks in part to his outstanding work on the HBO series White Lotus and the hit film Smile – but he’s still taking the time to share his expertise and creative secrets with the participants of Les grandes rencontres SPACQ, an event to be held Feb. 23, 2023 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. ET. The Société professionnelle des auteurs et des compositeurs du Québec (SPACQ) has invited the multiple award winner – including two Emmys in 2022 for White Lotus, SOCAN’s International Award in 2017, and Screen Composer of the Year at the 2021 SOCAN Gala – to speak to its members during the conference.

Hosted by composers Anaïs Larocque and Éric Shaw, this intimate one-hour conference will cover the artist’s career path, tools, and inspirations, among other themes.

“The first time I came into contact with Cristobal’s music was with Série Noire,” says Shaw. “After the first notes of the soundtrack, I picked up my phone and searched who composed the music because I was amazed by it. Then, during Season 1 of Dirk Gently, I looked up the composer’s name again and realized it was the same one! I started feeling a bit nervous. And then, after hearing the theme for White Lotus, I’m considering quitting the trade. Cristobal inspires creativity, originality, and spontaneity in me and it’s an honour for me to meet him.”

Anaïs Larocque says, “Cristobal Tapia de Veer is a fine example of a contemporary composer whose authenticity shines through from the first notes of the music he composes. To me, he’s a refreshing voice in the fascinating landscape of screen music.”

Definitely a not-to-be-missed Masterclass! Reserved only for members of SPACQ. Mandatory registration on Zoom.

Photo by courtesy/courtoisie

SOCAN grieves the passing of Shirley Eikhard

Story by Howard Druckman | Thursday January 12th, 2023

SOCAN member, singer, and professional songwriter Shirley Eikhard died on Dec. 15, 2023 (while SOCAN was on hiatus), at the age of 67 , in Orangeville, ON, after a battle with cancer.

At age 15, Eikhard wrote “It Takes Time,” which became a No. 1 hit on Canadian Adult Contemporary radio charts for Anne Murray in 1971. That resulted in television appearances on The Anne Murray Special and The Tommy Hunter Show on CBC. Eikhard won two JUNO Awards, both for Female Country Artist of the Year, in 1973 and 1974, and was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020. Her songs have been recorded by, or written for, the likes of Cher, Amy Grant, Rita Coolidge, and Emmylou Harris. Eikhard released 18 full-length albums between 1972 and 2021, and taught herself to play guitar, piano, bass, drums, percussion, chromatic harmonica, saxophone, banjo, and mandolin.

But her most widely recognized commercial success came from a song Eikhard wrote in the mid-‘80s while working in Nashville. Written in ab out 20  minutes, and pitched to artists for about seven years, “Something to Talk About” was recorded by Bonnie Raitt for her 1991 Luck of the Draw album, which enabled the American singer-songwriter and guitarist to further a commercial comeback begun two years earlier. “Something to Talk About” reached No. 5 on the Billboard U.S. singles chart, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 1992 Grammy Awards. Raitt actually earned a Best Pop Vocal Performance Grammy for her recording of the song. “Something to Talk About” even inspired a 1995 Julia Roberts comedy-drama movie of the same name, in which she plays a woman who learns her husband is having an affair.

Eikhard was born in Sackville, NB, to parents who both played musical instruments, and music quickly became her lifelong passion. She was living in Oshawa, ON, by the time of her debut 1969 appearance at the Mariposa Folk Festival, as a young teen. By 1972, she’d shifted from folk to country pop, as she released her self-titled debut album. It included a version of Sylvia Tyson’s “Smiling Wine,” which garnered significant Canadian radio airplay, as did Eikhard’s cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Say You Love Me,” from 1976’s Let Me Down Easy.

There was a 10-year gap in her recorded output, from 1977 until 1987’s Taking Charge, as Eikhard dealt with voice issues. Still, during that time, she co-wrote a song, “Kick Start My Heart,” that was included on Alannah Myles’s self-titled 1989 hit album. Eikhard’s own first album after Bonnie Raitt’s cover greatly heightened her public profile — 1995’s If I Had My Way — saw her return to familiar musical territory. Then, three years later, she was recording for the legendary Blue Note jazz label. For Eikhard, it only natural, as she’d included Billie Holiday songs in her live performances for years.

As the years rolled on in the 2000s, Eikhard painted, released modest  but quality albums created largely on her own, and dedicated time to social causes, including animal rights and the environment. Her most recent full-length was 2021’s On My Way to You.

SOCAN extends its warmest condolences to Eikhard’s family, friends, fellow musicians, other colleagues in the music ecosystem, fans, and anyone who’s ever enjoyed her music.