IOS Karaoke app - HOW TO Solve the Copyright problems

Demon50 · Post by **Demon50** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:10 am

May I request some advice please.

If We want to devleop an IOS Karaoke app, so, how we get a karaoke License? Please advise me in details.

Thanks for any advice.

AndyJ · Post by **AndyJ** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 11:56 am

Hi Demon,
The people to speak to are PRSforMusic. They have special karaoke licences.
A lot will depend on where you intend to get your music tracks from, assuming you are not getting the music specially performed for your app. Once you have a source for the music, you should check with the supplier what licences they already hold and what licence you need from them concerning the performance of the music, as distinct from the copyright in the song itself.
Just for interest, PRSforMusic also do online music licences in case you are thinking of any other sort of music related apps.

typonaut · Post by **typonaut** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:35 am

Just to add a little, for each territory that you want to sell the IOS app in you will need to deal with different collecting societies. So, PRSforMusic will fulfil your requirements in the UK, but if you are selling the app in the USA you will need to talk to a different agency.

I would imagine that the practicalities of building a karaoke app for IOS are similar to those for any karaoke implementation, or indeed for any game including music (eg Guitar Hero, etc)

Demon50 · Post by **Demon50** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:36 am

Hi AndyJ,
Thanks for your reply.
You mean we should to do this through Music PRS, but my boss not willing ....
Is there any way???

Thanks

AndyJ · Post by **AndyJ** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 8:05 am

Demon50 wrote:Hi AndyJ,
Thanks for your reply.
You mean we should to do this through Music PRS, but my boss not willing ....
Is there any way???

Thanks

Hi Demon,
Bearing in mind that karaoke songs are other people's intellectual property, using them is always going to involve paying royalties (or otherwise you would be facing litigation for infringement), so as a relatively small company there is no real alternative to using the copyright collection society. If you were in the same league as Spotify or iTunes, you would be able to negotiate directly with the record labels.

typonaut · Post by **typonaut** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 12:01 pm

Demon50 wrote:Hi AndyJ,
Thanks for your reply.
You mean we should to do this through Music PRS, but my boss not willing ....
Is there any way???

Use songs that are out of copyright protection. But I doubt that would prove to be a very popular karaoke implementation given that many of those songs would be approaching, or over, 100 years old.