Forty year old copyright

[pit]

I have made a short video that I intend showing on the internet and distributing to a few people on DVD. The soundtrack is the theme tune from a TV programme of the 1960s. How can I go about finding who owns the copyright in order to obtain their permission for use of the music?
Many thanks
PIT

[saxy_jag]

Do you know the name of the person who wrote/performed the music?

Or what about the producers/broadcasters of the programme?

Ultimately, if you couldn't find the copyright holders, you could still go ahead an use the music, but you'd have to say something to that effect on the credits and that if anyone was or knew the copyright holder, they should contact you.

I'm not sure whether PRS would be able to help you here, but they are very helpful in matters of this kind. You would have to inform them anyway so that royalties payments can be arranged (don't worry, it's not usually much).

http://www.prs.co.uk/

[willa]

Try to find the name(s) of the music publisher and record label. Perhaps the Web site for the station that originally broadcast the program would be of help. Or check Amazon to see if the song was ever released on a compilation CD - that might yield some info.

I used to work for a music college in the U.S. whose ensembles perform worldwide and have released dozens of commercial recordings. There's a difference between performance royalties (in the U.S., usually paid to ASCAP or BMI) versus the "mechanical royalties" for recording a work, and here a different organization handles each.

In this country, for permission to record and distribute a work we paid a license fee to the Harry Fox Agency (www.harryfox.com), which represents most of the U.S. music publishers. The fees are on a sliding scale based on your proposed usage and distribution numbers. There's even a special fee for small press runs. Maybe there's a U.K. equivalent; you could email Harry Fox to inquire.

Whatever happens, kudos to you for trying to do things properly.

[pit]

Many thanks to you both for your helpful suggestions. I shall make the appropriate enquires.