Question about creative commons license

[Filmmaker One]

If I sell advertising on my podcast, can I use podsafe music on the show? Or would this be considered commercial use?

[Yotto]

I am no lawyer, but I strongly suspect that "Podsafe" and "Noncommercial" are totally different things. Podshow has advertising, after all, and they host the site. So any Podshow podcasts that play music from music.podshow.com would be violating the terms.

But, like I said, I'm no lawyer.

[WyethDigital]

I think they're more concerned with you distributing the music for a fee, either as a paid subscription, paid download, or as a paid-for physical CD. This is why I really don't care for the Creative Commons Licensing language. It's vague. It's not encompassing. It detracts from your copyrights because of it.

Look at it this way: Podsafe and Non-commercial don't necessarily mean the music is free. It means that you're granted a license to use the product in a certain manner without payment. If you try to use that music in a paid capacity, you may actually have to pay something. I strongly suggest you note the CC license version they say they're using and then look up the actual language for that license. I suspect you're okay to use it in a show as long as you don't sell it, but I didn't select their license, so you should look it up.

Eric

[NWLB]

Where I get confused, and the search functions fail me, is if there is a difference if you use music in less than its complete form.

Specifically, morning radio shows use a few seconds of a tune as the defacto theme music. They don't play the entire song, there is voice-over during much of it, etc.

Bumper music as well, where people jazz up the mood with a few seconds of a tune, then quickly fade the audio down as the host starts his speaking.

Or, people who use an even shorter bit of music, for "update segments."

If one were broadcasting the entire recording, I can obviously see copyrights being violated. But if used only partially, and then only in a form not viable as a "recording" of the song, I have to think there is some use that can be made.

[danosongs]

If I sell advertising on my podcast, can I use podsafe music on the show? Or would this be considered commercial use?

It depends on the particular license of the site, for instance magnatune only allows personal podcasting and you have to pay a license for commercial (and that specifically does include advertising on your site).

However, some musicians do allow commercial use AND are podsafe.

[smartassmusic]

Hi,
This area is misunderstood my most people so please don't feel bad if you're unclear.
Although the details of licenses are confusing, the bottom line is simple-if you use music you MUST have permission from the copyright holder for the specific usage.
Essentially the word "Podsafe" is a non-legal term meaning that you have permission from the copyright holder to use the music within a podcast. You need to check the license terms of any free or purchased music or to be sure and each copyright holder may well have a different license.
The duration of a piece of music makes no difference to the legality of usage although broadcasters will pay different amounts to the rights collection agency (PRS, ASCAP etc) dependent on the length.
My personal opinion on a podcast using advertising would clearly mean that usage is commercial as you are creating revenue from that podcast.
I hope that helps.