How Do I Contact A Band?

[youngsirjeff]

We have recently made a 5 minute documentary for our Media Production course at University and have been looking to get permission to use 'Elbow - One Day Like This' and 'Sigur R�s - Gl�s�li'. We have created the film purely for critique, none profit. We hope to get permission so we can allow the film to be viewed outside the University and obviously for all musical credit to go to the bands in question. How would we go about doing this?

[andy-hughes]

I really wouldn't worry too much.

With the net, and burning, music is pirated all over the place, and no-one is going to worry at all about your use of the music on this occasion.

If possible, in your film credits, just put something like -

Music from Elbow and Sigur Ros - all copyright restrictions apply.

This will show that you are aware of copyright, but as i say, it is extremely unlikely that anyone from the bands, or their record companies, would know, or be bothered.

If your film gets to Cannes next year, that's a different matter!

[youngsirjeff]

Thanks very much Andy Hughes, your answer has been of much help and, normally, we would have taken it into account, but right now, joking aside, we don't know where our documentary will go if we allow it for 'festival release' and yes we are first timers but our professors in charge of it want us to go through 'the proper channels' and we're at a loose end so we were wondering if anyone knew a way of getting in touch with the band or the company that manages them just to email them and let them know what we're wanting to do etc. As I say, it's totally none profit, none of us plan to make any money out of this, just to enable our documentary to be viewed fully without worry...

[Canary42]

Have you tried the Performing Rights Society.

You can find them at http://www.prsformusic.com/Pages/default.aspx

[youngsirjeff]

Thankyou Canary42 :) I'll definately look into that. I'll post up if I get any luck or not.

[Sooper]

Just find out which Record label each band is on and contact them and im sure they will put you in touch with the right department who would cover this?

[youngsirjeff]

Thanks for all your help. We are entering our documentary into the sheffield documentary film festival. We've decided to just remove the music to be on the safe side and hopefully it'll be just as effective without.