Copyright for teaching at VU: Music

Key points

At VU print music (sheet music) is considered to be text and is covered under the Statutory Licence. Remember, just because something is on the internet does not mean it is copyright free and can be used without permission.

Under the music agreement with APRA/AMCOS the University can use music listed with APRA/AMCOS for educational purposes.

EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE – This means that the use of music has to be connected with a particular course of instruction or study or for the research purposes of the University. It also includes the administration of the course. Things like entertainment, marketing and advertising do not fall into this definition. 

There are several possible rights holders when it comes to music copyright: 

  • Composer(s)/songwriter(s) for the musical notation
  • Lyricist(s) for lyrics
  • Composer(s)/songwriter(s) lyricist(s) and publishers for the musical work as a whole
  •  Recording artist(s) and record label for the sound recording

Our agreement covers the following licensors:

  • APRA which is the Australasian Performing Right Association
  • AMCOS is the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society
  • PPCA is the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia
  • ARIA is the Australian Record Industry Association 

What are Multimedia Resources?

For copyright purposes 'multimedia resources' are any audio &/or video materials, regardless of where they were sourced, such as:

  • YouTube videos
  • Commercial films
  • Music clips
  • Off-air recordings

What you can do

 YOU CAN:

  • Upload music for teaching if it is for staff and students ONLY and for educational purposes.  You need to ensure that the site is password protected and that you put the copyright notice on the recording or file, and the heading displays the © notice
  • Use music available under a suitable Creative Commons licence
  • Use music for which you have permission from the copyright owner

 The main criteria for using music is that it must be directly related to your course of study and is not made publicly available.

If your use is not for study or educational purposes then you should check with VU Copyright Officer for information about other uses such as marketing, performances and social media which may be allowed under our agreement.

For more information regarding the use of music you can also go to: APRA/AMCOS

 

What you can't do

YOU CANNOT:

  • Download a podcast from an Australian broadcaster that has not already been broadcast
  • Download any podcast from a non-Australian broadcaster or a non-broadcast producer
  • Copy or take excerpts from commercial CDs, DVDs or videos to create compilations
  • Record the part of a lecture where a commercial CD or DVD is played.  Use the pause recording button
  • Make material available to download.  Files must remain on CMS or LMS or intranet and be password protected.

  It is not permitted to make:

  • Commercial music available for online access at a later time away from the class
  • Audio available by way of streaming from physical media for private study or homework unless your Copyright Officer can authorise it under s.200AB of the Act

Music Agreement FAQs

What does the music agreement cover?

The agreement covers:

  • performance of musical works and sound recordings
  • communication of musical works and sound recordings
  • musical works and sound recordings in audio-visual circumstances
  • musical works and sound recordings in audio-only circumstances.

What about online classes or events over Zoom or Teams?

The agreement covers music to be used in a course of instruction (with limitations as detailed above) whether that instruction is given in person or online. If the instruction is given online it is best practice that the class is password protected to ensure that only staff and students may access the lesson.

If the University is running an event online it must manage the synchronisation and stream in line with the rules detailed above.

Where can we source legal sound recordings?

As long as you are not illegally downloading or streaming the recording – such as from The Pirate Bay or similar – but instead purchasing the recording or stream from a legitimate provider, then this is considered ‘legally sourcing’ the recording.

Can we give online lectures that contain music?

Yes– even if they are streamed via a platform like Zoom or Teams. You need to consider though that in making a recording of lecture that contains music you are making a synchronisation and you must treat that audio-visual file according to the limitations surrounding synchronisations.

Can I put a video of my students’ music recitals on the University website under this agreement?

Yes, but make sure you are adhering to the rules regarding online synchronisations. If the students are performing the works and not using any ARIA sound recordings then putting their recitals online would be covered for both the University website and official social media channels. If, however, your students have used any ARIA sound recordings (for example they have sampled some Queen recordings and looped them as an accompaniment to their recital), then the use of the ARIA sound recordings means that the student’s performance can only be streamed via the University website, not social media channels. It may be shared via the University LMS but not any public facing website.

These FAQs (2021) are selected from the University Music Agreement created by Universities Australia using a CC-BY-SA licence.