Securing Your Sound Recordings Online
James Heller* gives some tips for securing music online and discusses the shift in Digital Rights Management (DRM).
Placing your music on the internet can help you reach a worldwide audience. However, doing so also increases the risk of copyright infringement. By using some of the following tips you can both promote and secure your music on the internet.
Copyright note
The Copyright Act 1968 with the United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act 2004 provides that both the maker and performers of a sound recording own the recording’s copyright. In industry terms the maker of a recording is generally the record company or the person who pays for or operates the recording equipment. As an artist this means that unless you entered into a contract releasing your copyright ownership you have a right to control the use of your sound recording.
Tip 1: Start Simple
The simplest way to protect your recordings is to only store high-quality versions in encrypted and password-protected folders, or offline completely on an unshared or external drive. This minimises the opportunity for internet users to access your recordings in the first place.
Tip 2: Low-quality recordings
As a best practice, upload only low-quality copies of your recordings. In computer terms this means uploading only copies compressed to less than 81 kilobits per second. Low-quality recording copies allow listeners to sample your music; however their sound will be such that listeners will have an incentive to purchase high-quality versions of your music.
Tip 3: Provide your name & purchasing information
You can help people get in contact with you by attaching your name and purchasing or licensing details to your recording. Such information can be incorporated into the actual recording, for example by using a sound clip with your name and details to lead into and exit your song. Some artists also include such a sound clip at points during the songs. All of this can be done by using any multi-track recording and editing program.[1]
Tip 4: Digital watermark
Digital watermarking allows you to embed inaudible information into your music. It does not restrict music use but can be used to track music distribution.
A number of online programs can used to add digital watermarks to your sound recordings[2]. Be sure to add a unique digital watermark to each licensed, sold and sample copy of your recording, including each CD, since CD’s can be 'ripped' and uploaded to the internet. Unique digital watermarks can enable you to trace unauthorised copies of your work to a specific source.
What to do if someone infringes your copyright?
For information about how to proceed if someone infringes your copyright please see www.artslaw.com.au/legalinformation/CopyrightInfringmentAndLetterOfDemand/ or contact Arts Law for further advice.
A few words on the future of DRM
Over the past few months music on the internet has become markedly different. Much of the recording industry has invested itself in some of the abovementioned tips rather than DRM technologies which limit the use of legally purchased music and restrict consumers from copying music onto multiple devices. Stores such as Amazon.com and iTunes now offer high-quality 'DRM-free' music for purchase which can be played on any device and copied onto other computers.
This shift has led some people to claim 'DRM is dead'. Certainly, DRM as it existed from 2003-2009 has fallen out of favour with the big music labels, some of whom are now exploring technologies such as unique digital watermarks, which do not restrict music use but can be used forensically to track music distribution. Although still in its early days, such technology could be used to accurately pursue copyright infringers or develop network-wide piracy filters. It should be noted that restrictive DRM technology is still widely used by the movie and video game industries.
Regardless of your preferred technology, be sure to secure your artwork online. At the same time, you will ensure peace of mind which will help you to get back to something you truly enjoy, like making music.
* James Heller is a daytime volunteer at Arts Law and a student of law at Sydney University.
[1] Examples are Pro Tools, Logic Pro and Adobe Audition.
[2] An example is Digimarc, available at Digimarc.com.
