Copyright: Overview

Before manufacturing copies of any sort of programme on CD, DVD, cassette or vinyl, you need to think about the copyright issues. In common with all other reputable music media manufacturers, Sounds Good takes copyright issues very seriously. We require all customers to sign a declaration that they have obtained the appropriate permissions and licenses that apply to the material to be reproduced. In addition, we will ask you to supply copies of licenses, or to fill in a form detailing what, if any, copyrighted intellectual properties are included within the content of the programme.

Copyright: Music: MCPS

Audio CD/DVD/Cassette - including cover versions of copyright material...
If you want us to manufacture audio CDs, DVDs or Cassettes that include one or more cover versions, i.e. songs not written by the artist or members of the band, then you will need to get a license from the MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society). Do it well in advance of your manufacturing date!

We can supply you with an MCPS license application form. On it you'll need to list ALL the songs on the album (single/EP) - originals and covers! For the cover versions, you'll need to find out the names of the original songwriters, and the copyright holder (often this would be the publishing company). The MCPS will help you find this information if you're having problems. You'll also need to say how many discs/tapes you are asking us to manufacture, and state the retail and dealer prices of the product, and the barcode number.

It doesn't cost much to be legal - royalties for any cover versions may be only a few pence per track per disc/tape produced. Also the MCPS do allow you to claim a certain proportion of the manufacturing run as promotional copies - free of royalties. Click the link on the right or phone 020 8378 7500 for further information.

Audio CD/DVD/Cassette - all your own material?
Even if all the material on your CD/DVD/Cassette is your own, you'll still have to contact the MCPS to get a 'Notification Of No Claim' - which is basically an MCPS license certifying that no royalty needs to be paid by you on that material.

Audio CD/DVD/Cassette - including original sound recordings of copyright material...
Let's say you wanted to produce a compilation album using original recordings by the original artists. This is a whole different issue. You would still have to get an MCPS license for the songs from the MCPS, but, more importantly, you would ALSO have to negotiate a licensing deal with the copyright holder of the sound recording. This is usually deemed to be the record company which released the track in the first place, by virtue of the contract they have with the artist performing on the recording, or the artist itself.

Copyright: CD-ROM/DVD-ROM: CDSA

CDSA stands for the Content Delivery and Storage Association. This organisation (which used to be known as IRMA) administers the anti-piracy compliance scheme relating to intellectual properties contained within CD-ROM or DVD-ROM content at the point of manufacture.

Let's say you are releasing a multimedia programme on ROM. This programme could contain segments of audio and/or video which, unless you have originated the content yourself, may potentially be subject to copyright. Likewise, the programme may contain software coding which also, unless you have programmed the coding yourself, may potentially be subject to copyright. Other forms of content, eg. text taken from books or publications, or still photographs or artistic images, can also be subject to copyright.

Most CD/DVD manufacturers are members of the CDSA scheme. As part of this scheme we require customers to complete a form detailing any copyrighted content that forms part of the programme being reproduced, plus any related permissions or licenses granted and royalties paid or payable.

ISRC Coding of Music Tracks: IFPI / PPL

ISRC coding is a way of giving music tracks a unique identifying code, which can be an aid in detecting piracy, and also be useful in facilitating radio-play royalties. The ISRC coding scheme is administered internationally by the IFPI (the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), and by the PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited) in the UK . Here's a brief description of how it works, but for further details click the link on the right...

How does the ISRC code system work?
The idea is that an artist or record label applies to the PPL and is given a series of codes - free of charge, I understand. These take the form of a 12-character alphanumeric string, such as GBXXX0600123 - where..

the first two characters are letters indicating the country, eg. GB for Great Britain...
the next three are letters representing the unique reference given by the IFPI to the label/artist...
the next two characters are numbers indicating the current year...
and the final five are numbers which are free to be allocated by the label/artist to their tracks as they wish.

So the label/artist allocates a unique code from their series to each track on any album it releases (including a different code for different versions, eg. remixes or edits, of the same track). If the label then licenses the same track to different companies in different countries, the ISRC code still remains the same and is always tied to that track. If the track turns up on some strange album without its ISRC code, or with a false code, then it's a good indication that piracy may have taken place.

Radio-play royalties
Many radio stations nowadays operate automated playout systems where tracks from CDs are automatically cued up and played out on computer controlled equipment. This equipment can extract the ISRC codes from the tracks played in order to produce an automated schedule of royalties payable. So having ISRC codes can be an advantage in those circumstances where radio play is likely.

Get your ISRC codes before mastering!
With CDs, the ISRC code has to be inserted into the subcode data during the mastering process. So if you decide that you need ISRC codes, make sure you get your series from the PPL before doing the mastering!

DVD Film Classification: BBFC

We're all familiar with the British Board of Film Classification certificate and their ratings system (U, PG, 15, etc.) relating to feature films at the cinema or manufactured on DVD for rental or sell-through.

Most of our customers, however, produce DVD programmes that fall into one of these categories...

Niche market sport or hobby sell-through video
Music video for sell-through or promotion
Educational, self improvement, lifestyle, or entrepreneurship programme
Corporate promotional or training programme

As such it's likely that you can, at your own discretion, deem it to be "Exempt from Classification". This can be stated on the packaging along with the "E" symbol.

Here's a direct quote from the BBFC website:
"The 'E' symbol on video packaging indicates that the distributor believes the work to be exempt from classification. Under the Video Recordings Act 1984, a video is an exempted work if is designed to inform, educate or instruct; is concerned with sport, religion or music; or is a video game. However, if such a work depicts human sexual activity or gross violence to any significant extent it will need a BBFC classification. The 'E' symbol is not an official symbol and does not have any legal standing. Nor is it a requirement that it should appear on video cassettes, unlike the BBFC classification symbols. Under the Video Recordings Act, the onus is on the distributor to decide whether or not a video work is an exempted work, and distributors have tended to put an 'E' symbol on tapes as guidance to the public. The Board does not examine exempted works and does not decide whether or not a work is exempt."

Barcodes: GS1 UK

Barcodes: Overview
If you anticipate that your product is going to be distributed and sold via the usual wholesale and retail channels, then you should seriously consider paying the small extra cost in order to have a bar code.

A common misconception about barcodes is that the information about numbers and the products that they relate to is held on some central database somewhere. This is not the case. Obviously, we keep a record of which numbers we have allocated to which products. But the barcode is meaningless to anyone else until somebody (a distributor or retailer) takes on the product, at which point they enter it into their stock control system. This then ties the barcode number to the product details, such as title, artist name, record label, catalogue number and price. The barcode then becomes meaningful to that retailer or distributor.

The barcode numbering system is adminstered in the UK by GS1 UK (formerly known as 'e-centre'). There are two types of barcode commonly used on media products such as CDs, DVDs and cassettes - EAN-13 and UPC-A. Sounds Good uses UPC-A codes which have the advantage of being readable in Europe and the USA (whereas EAN-13 is more geared to just the European market).

Barcodes on your products:
Some of our customers have their own series of numbers that they have bought from GS1UK. If you can't do that, then Sounds Good can provide one from our own series of UPC-A barcode numbers which we are allowed to use on products which we are manufacturing on behalf of our customers.

For a small administration fee (this may be free of charge on certain Musicians' Deal packages) we will allocate a barcode number to your product. This does not include actually creating the barcode graphic itself.
If you are designing your own artwork and you have barcode creation facilities in your design software, you can create your own barcode graphic from the number we give you, and add it to your artwork.
If you don't have barcode creation facilities in your design software, then we can create the barcode graphic and send it to you as a bitmap so that you can add it to your artwork. We will make a small charge for doing this.
The following wording must be included on the artwork next to the barcode (preferably just underneath). It can be in small type (6pt is OK) as long as it's legible...

Manufactured in the EU by Sounds Good Ltd

Alternatively, we can add the barcode to your artwork when you send it in to us. Again, we have to make a small charge for doing this.

Design tips for using barcodes in your artwork: