Videos and Copyright

Yeah...
It's strange..

Whether you get complaints or not... It's pure copyright infringement. It's just about your business ethics.

You find a nice image on Google Image Search just to find out that's a stock image with $59 price tag for the smallest size version. There are some free stock images but they are mostly crappy.

There are some cheap stock photo sites with images starting from $1 to $5.

Thanks, Alp - that's how I was looking at it!

What about the issue of MIDI to WAV though? If the MIDI has been made available on a free download site, is the MIDI file infringing on the copyright of the original music?

I really don't know anythnig about copyright issues of MIDI music but I would go for royality-free music that you can find everywhere. Some free ones are really good for video purposes since you are just looking for some relaxing music as background music for your videos.

I'm also looking for some good royality free music (can be paid) to use in my product.

There are some music that offline marketers use to convince their prospect. It's believed that such music so confuses your mind that you can't think healthy and end up with buying the product that the marketer pushes you.

Copyright infringement is a very serious issue. There are legal firms that just specialise in this subject. I know that some people use copyrighted images and music in videos, but they're playing with fire. The format the music is in doesn't matter, it's the recording itself that holds the copyright.

That doesn't mean to say you can't use the image or music in your video. The best thing to do is to write to the copyright holder and ask their permission first. The worst they can do is say no. They may ask for payment, or just a credit at the end of the programme.

For example:

A few years ago I got permission from Elton John's record company to use "Song for Guy" at the end of a video I was editing about drug addicts with AIDS. As one of the backers of the project was a charity Sir Elton was supporting, they were happy to oblige in return for a (very long) credit at the end of the video.

A few years later another client wanted to use "Back in the USSR" by the Beatles over the opening titles of a video. Their lawyers told us to get lost (or words to that effect).

For more information in the UK, the Performing Rights Society has a lot of info on their website Welcome to PRS for Music I'm sure there are similar organisations in other countries.

Going the royalty free route is your best bet. I use Royalty Free Buyout Production Music Library for most of the music in my videos and have been very happy with them.

As far as images and footage are concerned, look for stuff released under Creative Commons as it's usually free to use (subject to certain restrictions) as long as the copyright is acknowledged.

Shaun