Using Copyrighted Music and Media in Your Podcast

This is my final article on narrative podcast learning. Iwill be outlining the rules around use of music, sound effects, and media clipsin your podcast. Maneuvering copyrighted material can be important as youchoose the sounds and clips you want to include in your production, since youdon’t want to open yourself up to potential litigation.

Dangerousmisconceptions

I’ll start by debunking some common myths around the use ofcopyrighted materials.

Myth #1:The 30-second rule

A common misconception around copyrighted music is that it’sOK to use it as long as you use 30 seconds or less. Unfortunately, this is nottrue. It doesn’t matter if you use one second or an entire song, if you havenot secured the rights to use a piece of copyrighted media, you are not allowedto use it in any form.

Myth #2:The credit rule

This myth states that it’s OK to use copyrighted materialsas long as you provide appropriate attribution to the original artist. Alas,this myth is also false. Providing credit to the copyright holder does not giveyou permission to use their work without permission or compensation.

Myth #3:The nonprofit rule

Another popular myth is that as long as your podcast isn’tavailable to the general public, and doesn’t make you any money, then you arefree to use whatever media you wish. This is also not true. Whether yourpodcast turns a profit or not has no bearing on your legal right to usecopyrighted music without obtaining permission.

Myth #4:The fair-use rule

Fair use is the legal principle that the public is entitledto freely use portions of copyrighted materials for the purpose of commentaryand criticism. While this is true, it does not apply to freely usingcopyrighted material in your podcast in any way you wish. You can, forinstance, discuss a copyrighted work on your podcast (such as a movie or book),but fair use does not give you the right to actually play clips of material ormusic without permission.

How tocorrectly use copyrighted material

To make a long story short, there is no loophole to getaround the use of copyrighted media without purchasing the rights to the usethe work or obtaining permission from the copyright holder. If you do not haveexpress permission to access and use a person’s copyrighted works, you cannotinclude them in your podcast without risking legal action.

So you may now be wondering, “Well then, how can I use musicand sound effects in my podcast?” Luckily, there are a number of ways you canobtain access to media for use in your production, both paid and free.

Licensing musicand audio

Your first option is to license the rights to a piece of musicor sound. Basically, licensing requires you to purchase the permission to use apiece of copyrighted material. Unless your budget is astronomical, you probablywon’t be able to purchase a license for something like a Beatles song, but thatdoesn’t mean you can’t get access to music. There are a number of stock musicand sound effects websites that allow you to purchase copyrighted materials.Depending on the site, you may be able to purchase a subscription to a catalogof files, or you may have to purchase each individual asset separately. You cansimply search the internet for the stock audio site that best fits yourindividual needs. One of the benefits of purchasing the rights to a work isthat the license likely does not require attribution of the media.

CreativeCommons materials

CreativeCommons is an open licensing standard that allows creators ofcontent to share their work under clear and transparent terms. This means thatartists are able to make their work available at no cost to use, so long as youfollow the rules set by the artist. Assets under creative commons will usuallybreak down how you can and can’t use the work (i.e. free to use, not-for-profitonly, requires attribution). As long as you follow the rules set forth in thecreative commons license, you are free to use this type of music and media.

Government assetsand the public domain

You are also allowed to use any media that has been createdby a federal US government agency or employee, as part of their officialduties. Though it’s unlikely this will give you much access to music, it doesmean that audio clips of things such as political speeches or federal courtcases is allowable without a license.

Finally, you may use any work that is in the public domainwithout the need to obtain permission from the original author or copyrightowner. A work is in the public domain if the copyright has expired or if theartist has dedicated their work to the public domain. Before using any mediayou believe to be in the public domain, make sure to do your due diligence inconfirming this is the case.

The bestadvice you will ever receive concerning the use of copyrighted material

The use of copyrighted media can be a slippery slope, andthe best advice is to purchase a license from a stock audio website. This willensure you that any audio files you use in your podcast will be legallyobtained. If you are not sure if you have the rights to use a piece of media,then don’t use it. It’s not worth taking the risk of finding yourself in themiddle of a lawsuit.

That wraps up this series on narrative podcasting. I hope ithas inspired you to give podcasting a shot as your next training modality.Narrative podcasts are fun to make, resonate strongly with learners, increaseinformation retention, and are cheap and easy to produce. There’s really noreason not to use them, so go out and create some great stories!

Editor’s note

At DevLearn 2018, Barbara Waxer, a copyright and mediaeducator, will present Copyright?Relax! Devour Free and Creative Commons Media.