THE GENTLEMAN’S LAWYER

Dear Readers,

With a festive spirit, hearts and minds, it not only seems appropriate, but necessary, to adopt a Christmas theme for this article. So while scrolling through your list of questions, I decided (with good reason!) to choose Julia’s as the basis of this Christmas article.

Dear Gentleman’s Lawyer,

Firstly, I am a big fan of your articles. They are such a great addition to the Gentleman’s Journal publication.

I am a singer and want to release a copy of Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer’. Obviously he owns the music, but could you let me know how best I should go about recording and selling my version of his song without being sued.

Many thanks GL!

Julia

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… so with Julia’s question, I will answer with a focus not just on Peter Gabriel, but a couple Christmas songs too; new versions of which are forever being re-released.

Dear Julia,

Good question. This is a matter of copyright law.

I am going to dive straight into the law, and then we can look at a few different examples.

Law:

Copyright (©) is automatically owned by the creator of the work, upon its creation. The duration that copyright then lasts will depend on the type of work that it is. Within a song, there are three types of copyright: (i) the lyrical words, (ii) the score sheet of music, and (iii) the sound recording itself.

The duration of (i) and (ii) is 70 years after the author’s death, while (iii) is 50 years after it is first published. Once expired, anyone is free to use the work.

By way of example, the copyright in Elvis’ Blue Suede Shoes (recorded in 1956) no longer exists, though the copyright in the lyrics and score sheet still does (assuming Elvis did write the lyrics and score), as it is not yet 70 years since Elvis died.

Practical Steps:

Musicians who want to cover somebody else’s work should contact the PRS (Performing Right Society) for Music, which protects the interests of composers, writers and music publishers.

If you will be making a cover of the song then a simple licence from the PRS will be fine. However, if you will be recording a different version of the song (i.e. changing lyrics/musical score) then permission from the rights owner, as well as a licence is needed.

The type of licence needed will depend on what you intend to do with your cover/version.

Christmas! (and Peter Gabriel)

I want to look at a few classic Christmas songs, but before we do so, let’s look at Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” for Julia, which I have broken down into a three-question plan.

1. Does the copyright exist? Yes. As Peter is not yet dead the copyright held in the lyrics and music score still exist. As you are not using the same sound recording (unless very similar), you will not be infringing that copyright.
2. Secondly, do you need to contact Peter? Yes. As it is a different version of the song rather than a cover, you will need to obtain his permission.
3. Finally, do you need a licence from the PRS? Yes, again. The type of licence you need will very much depend on your intentions, and your ambitions as to those intentions, for your version of the song.

And so what about Christmas carols such as Silent Night and Hark the Herald Angels Sing? Well, having been created in 1818 and 1739 respectively, both songs are beyond all three types of copyright discussed above. This is great news then if you decide to release an album of old Christmas carols.

Happy Christmas All!

The Gentleman’s Lawyer.

To discuss any of the above or other legal matters, please contact the Gentleman’s Lawyer at lawyer@thegentlemansjournal.com.