Need help for "Terms And Conditions" of my instrumental Mixtape

Mattus

New member
Hey guys,

Im new on Futureproducers and I hope some of you can help me with some questions about my upcoming release.

To introduce myself I´m a 24 years old Hip Hop producer from Germany. I´m producing since 8 years and I got lots of beats which i´ve never sold or uploaded in any ways. So i decided to put them on a Instrumental mixtape which i´ll release as a free download this fall.
On this mixtape there will be mainly Beats without any samples but there are some with a sample in it and of course I don't have any rights to sell them.
My first question is - Is it even legal to offer sample beats for free or is it maybe with borderline values? I often find producers who sell sample beats or upload them to youtube. And I´m sure they not always got the rights oder payed for it.

So if I do so and put some sample based beats on my mixtape I would like to put a pdf or txt as well into the rar file where I can advise to this. Some kind of terms and conditions that there are for example beats on my mixtape where I got no rights for and that it´s illegal if you pick one of this beats for you're song and you use it in a commercial way.

Maybe there is a standard form for it or some of you can help me with this issue.

Thanks in advance,

Mattus :)
 
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if you don't own it or at least own the rights to do so you should not release it;

others will argue that it is fine ;no-one will hassle you until you start to make money (by which time it is too late to negotiate a good faith license and you will be throwing money at the problem to make it disappear).

The legal position is not did you make money but did you use the material illegally i.e. without a license to do so? you can only answer yes or no and the material will be the source of the answer not you
 
Thanks for your reply, of course I know that it´s kind of illegal what Im about to do but I can´t imagine that someone would hassle me for sampling for beats I will release for free. Especially when I advise in my terms and conditions that it´s prohibited to use beats in commercial way - For private purpose only.

Can someone help me or has some experience with terms and conditions ? Especially I just dont know how to write such a text in english which include the most important things like copyright, no commercial use allowed, allways refer to the producer in your song etc..

Thanks!
 
it is not about whether you charge someone to buy the beat

- it is that you have released it containing samples that you have used without permission

- seriously it is not worth the future damage to your wealth to do it without worrying


in fact, the simple act of you asking here shows that you have a concern you may be doing the wrong thing

- this will weigh against you in any future responses to show cause in legal proceedings
 
Ok but for example..what is the difference between offering sample beats on youtube or the way i wanna do it. There are so many samplebeats on youtube with thousands of views ...or remixes etc. It seems that no one cares cause their videos aren´t banned from youtube.
I also read/watched a few interviews where different artists say that they will release a free mixtape or something like this cause they want to rap on sample beats.
I just want to know if here is somebody with same experience who can give me some advises to do such a release as "legal" as possible. I don't have any rights of some samples but I will release the beats anyways for free.
Granted that there is no sample beat in my mixtape. Could somebody tell me how to write a Terms And Conditions in english. Or just refer me to a link with "help".
Thanks
 
Ok but for example..what is the difference between offering sample beats on youtube or the way i wanna do it. There are so many samplebeats on youtube with thousands of views ...or remixes etc. It seems that no one cares cause their videos aren´t banned from youtube.

only because they have not been reported as yet by the owners of the copyright material and given that yt/google do not look to create problems for themselves (i.e. they engage in wilful blindness to avoid litigation)

I also read/watched a few interviews where different artists say that they will release a free mixtape or something like this cause they want to rap on sample beats.

and those rappers that release those mixtapes with sample beats may have to pay through the nose if the original artist/owners of the material hear it and decide to pursue them

i.e. if they said they wanted to jump of the Empire state Building and land on the concrete below just to experience the feel of it would you follow them??????

put another what they tell you they do and what they actually do may be two different things entirely - management, agents and lawyers are there to stop you making mistakes that cut off the flow of money
I just want to know if here is somebody with same experience who can give me some advises to do such a release as "legal" as possible. I don't have any rights of some samples but I will release the beats anyways for free.

there is no 'as "legal" as possible'; either it is legal or it is not. I can tell you now that there is no legal way to do what you want to do without paying someone money first to use the samples you assert below that you are not using

Granted that there is no sample beat in my mixtape. Could somebody tell me how to write a Terms And Conditions in english. Or just refer me to a link with "help".
Thanks
 
Ok I guess you don't really understand me. Thank you anyways

yes he understands you
1. release your mixtape (no matter what terms you write for the mixtape it will be a illegal release period)
2.you release your mixtape with uncleared samples nothing happens you don't get your music banned from Youtube,Datpiff,and other music outlets
3. you release your mixtape with uncleared samples and you get your music banned from some sites
4. you release your mixtape get sued by the the orginal copyright owner(s)
5.you release your mixtape and nothing happens

so it's like selling crack in a safer environment than a street corner you have a higher chance of not being caught but it's illegal and you can get caught

that's why I stop using uncleared samples years and years ago
and only mess with royalty-free samples and VSTs
 
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Hey guys,

Im new on Futureproducers and I hope some of you can help me with some questions about my upcoming release.

To introduce myself I´m a 24 years old Hip Hop producer from Germany. I´m producing since 8 years and I got lots of beats which i´ve never sold or uploaded in any ways. So i decided to put them on a Instrumental mixtape which i´ll release as a free download this fall.
On this mixtape there will be mainly Beats without any samples but there are some with a sample in it and of course I don't have any rights to sell them.
My first question is - Is it even legal to offer sample beats for free or is it maybe with borderline values? I often find producers who sell sample beats or upload them to youtube. And I´m sure they not always got the rights oder payed for it.

So if I do so and put some sample based beats on my mixtape I would like to put a pdf or txt as well into the rar file where I can advise to this. Some kind of terms and conditions that there are for example beats on my mixtape where I got no rights for and that it´s illegal if you pick one of this beats for you're song and you use it in a commercial way.

Maybe there is a standard form for it or some of you can help me with this issue.

Thanks in advance,

Mattus :)

Obviously none of you guys "trying" to help out did zero research on this matter. yes you can give out the beat-tape for FREE! if you aren't looking to make profit do it the FAIR USE DOCTRINE by law you have the right to use any... ANY copyrighted EXCLUSIVE or NON EXCLUSIVE samples for NON-COMMERCIAL and NON-PROFIT uses... And to answer your initial question what you should put in your disclaimer is a list of the sampled beats although they might be obviously sampled but the user of those said beats cant play dumb with anyone and say in it that they cant use the listed beats to profit or for commercial use
 
Obviously none of you guys "trying" to help out did zero research on this matter. yes you can give out the beat-tape for FREE! if you aren't looking to make profit do it the FAIR USE DOCTRINE by law you have the right to use any... ANY copyrighted EXCLUSIVE or NON EXCLUSIVE samples for NON-COMMERCIAL and NON-PROFIT uses... And to answer your initial question what you should put in your disclaimer is a list of the sampled beats although they might be obviously sampled but the user of those said beats cant play dumb with anyone and say in it that they cant use the listed beats to profit or for commercial use

from the Copyright Office
The distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.

The safest course is to get permission from the copyright owner before using copyrighted material. The Copyright Office cannot give this permission.

When it is impracticable to obtain permission, you should consider avoiding the use of copyrighted material unless you are confident that the doctrine of fair use would apply to the situation. The Copyright Office can neither determine whether a particular use may be considered fair nor advise on possible copyright violations. If there is any doubt, it is advisable to consult an attorney.



examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”

hmmm.. I don't know what fair use information you been reading please site your source of information
my source is the Copyright Office
 
Obviously none of you guys "trying" to help out did zero research on this matter. yes you can give out the beat-tape for FREE! if you aren't looking to make profit do it the FAIR USE DOCTRINE by law you have the right to use any... ANY copyrighted EXCLUSIVE or NON EXCLUSIVE samples for NON-COMMERCIAL and NON-PROFIT uses... And to answer your initial question what you should put in your disclaimer is a list of the sampled beats although they might be obviously sampled but the user of those said beats cant play dumb with anyone and say in it that they cant use the listed beats to profit or for commercial use

the fair use doctrine exists for two reasons (at least these are the only two reasons most competent courts uphold)

1) critical review/discussion of the intent and purpose and

2) education

use for non-profit or profit is irrelevant in the discussion of fair use
 
Thanks for your help mixtaperookie!
Sorry for my delay i didn't except another helpful answer on this thread. So I will put a txt or pdf with the words: "The Beats of this Mixtape are for non profit uses only. This Mixtape underlies the Fair Use Doctrine because in some beats might be samples where I don´t hold any rights."
Is this ok? I just don´t understand how to put it into the right words because the bigger part of this beats are without any samples. How to say that in the disclaimer? And although I´ve used samples for some beats I created a new piece of music with a mix of this sample and my own sounds…so do I own "half of copyright"? I hope you can understand me sorry i´m not a native speaker.
Regards!
 
Thanks for your help mixtaperookie!
Sorry for my delay i didn't except another helpful answer on this thread. So I will put a txt or pdf with the words:

"The Beats of this Mixtape are for non profit uses only. This Mixtape underlies the Fair Use Doctrine because in some beats might be samples where I don´t hold any rights."


Is this ok? I just don´t understand how to put it into the right words because the bigger part of this beats are without any samples. How to say that in the disclaimer? And although I´ve used samples for some beats I created a new piece of music with a mix of this sample and my own sounds…so do I own "half of copyright"? I hope you can understand me sorry i´m not a native speaker.
Regards!

anything that you say about "fair use" in the above is simply wrong

use of a sample or any form of quoting a copyright work for non-profit or profit is irrelevant in the discussion of "fair use"

"fair use" is not about quoting your sources either.

"fair use" is about quoting part of a copyright work for critical review or educational examples

e.g.

1) I am reviewing a song by david bowie. I want to discuss the harmonies used in one part of the chorus, I can quote part of the work to illustrate my points.

2) I have done an analysis of the song Crystal Silence by return to forever. In the process I have analysed the melodic line, the harmonic progression and even addressed the interpretation of the written part vs the actual rendering by the soprano saxophone. I have used written notation (taken from the real book lead sheet) and my own transcription of the rhythmic differences as well as referencing the recording via youtube video.

you can find the whole discussion here Help me Bandcoach! (jazz fusion)

All of this is fair use as I am creating a document to educate and inform


I will advise you to seek the advice of a real lawyer to better understand the issues here (whilst I studied Music Business Law at university it was in 1987 - the ground hasn't shifted much in the last 27 years, but getting a qualified opinion that you can later sue is always more helpful than an internet forum answer)
 
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bc got cranky because this guy is only willing to read what confirms his world view

- that he can steal peoples music and use it for himself without penalty if he says he knows that the works can't be used to make money

- the fair use doctrine does not give him or anyone else for that matter the right to do what he is proposing and what mixtaperookie.com tells him he can do (they are both wrong)

mixtaperookie.com also sounds exactly like someone else who got banned yesterday for abusive attacks because he was told the fair use doctrine does not allow you to use samples without approval - the more people push this viewpoint the more people end up falling foul of the law
 
Well, you know what they say about the web right?

No matter how twisted up your perspective may be, if you keep looking, you will find others who will agree with you.

In other words, just keep asking and eventually you'll get the answer you want to hear.
 
I was just asking what is wrong and what not. I just wanted to know what Im about to do...what is the difference between making a remix (sampling, "stealing music", editing) and putting that remix on youtube, soundcloud etc (free for everyone) what thousands of producers do without getting banned or offering my beats, remixes (call it how you want) as a free download mixtape. To me it is all the same and thats the point I dont understand. If I would sell not my own music to customers and making money with it I would obviously agree with you that I steal music otherwise not.
 
the un-licensed use of anyone else's music is a copyright infringement

several videos that have been linked to in posts here at fp are no longer available due to infringements and violations of copyright so it is very real - it just takes time for people to realise that they have had their music misused and to then act with take-down notices or other legal action

the defence of "others have got away with it" is no defence at all; it would be reckless of anyone to advise you to rely on that as a basis against any future legal proceedings
 
if you like to remix instrumentals/songs search for Official remix contests there are tons and for many genres
 
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