Media Laws and ethical procedures

Our music video must adhere to media laws and ethical procedures.

Ethical procedures include:

1.  UK regulation- Broadcasted media is split into two categories; public service broadcasting (such as BBC) and commercial broadcasting (produced by private media companies) e.g ITV. To make sure we follow regulation rules, our music video will not include use of drugs, alcohol consumption, explicit language or violence. Both public service broadcasters and private ones are overseen by a regulator called Ofcom (office of communications) 

     2.  Media laws and Ethics- Laws are in place to restrict people from reporting things which may damage or harm other people or organisations. Ethics means doing what is ethically and morally right, regardless of what the law says. To make sure we don't break any of the laws and stay ethical we will: 

• Double check our sources 
• Avoid subterfuge 
• Respect peoples privacy
• Give those criticised a ' right of reply' 

 3. Legal issues in the music industry 

Copyright

Copyright is a form of legal protection. For our work to be protected by copyright, it must be "original" meaning that it was not copied from any other source. 

" Fixed in a tangible medium of expression" which means that it exists in some reasonably permanent or stable form so that a person can perceive it and reproduce it.

Also it must include a minimum degree of activity.

The rights of the copyright owner:

Owner of a copyright has the rights to do the following:

1. Reproduce the work- these are the rights to make copies of the work, such as the right to manufacture compact discs containing copyrighted sound recordings
2. Distribute copies of the work- sell copies to the public
3. Perform works publicly- Copyright owners of songs (but not owners of sound recording copyrights) control the rights to have their song performed publicly. Performance of a song generally means playing it in a nightclub or live venue, on the radio, on television, in commercial establishments, elevators or anywhere else where music is publicly heard.
4. Make derivative work- This is work that is based on another piece of work such as a remix of a previous song or a parody lyric set to a well-known song 
5. Display the work- E.g. displaying the lyrics and musical notation to a song on a karaoke machine.

There are two kinds of music copyrights:

1. Sound recordings- A sound recording is simply work comprised of recorded sounds. For example, the recorded performance of a song that appears on a compact disc is a sound recording.

2. Musical works- Both the music and the lyrics to a song, or each of them separately, can constitute a copyright musical work.

Copyright ownership

The copyright in the work is owned by the author, who can transfer it to anyone they want, but transfer must be in writing. Owner can also license the work, which means giving someone certain rights to use their music without giving them actual ownership of the copyrights. 

Getting permission to use someone else's work 

To get permission to use someone else's work you have to do these following things:

1. Determine if permission is needed
2. Identify the owner
3. Identify the rights needed
4. Contact the owner and negotiate whether payment is required
5. Get your permission agreement in writing