Permission to use copyrighted music for YouTube - Musicians

13 Nov 2024

Hello friends,  

I am new to Shared Weight.  I am seeking advice about getting permission to use
copyrighted music for English Country Dances that I have composed recently. 

I would like to post my dances on YouTube with recordings found on CDs and/or YouTube. I
did some research online. Some articles recommended going through music licensing
companies. Having looked at their websites, it seems clear the companies work with
business entities that have an income stream and a budget to work with.  I am just a
private individual with little money to spend. 

Others in the ECD community have worked with copyrighted music in the past. Jenna Simpson,
for example, has used music from the Boldwood ensemble and Nova ensemble for several of
her dances.  I need to know the best way to do this.  Should I, for instance, offer a fee
for using the music with a YouTube video?  If so, what is a reasonable amount to offer? 
Do I need a formal letter of permission from the recording artist to send to YouTube?  If
I request that the recording artist get income from the advertisements that run before the
video, how does that artist get paid?  Do I forward contact information from the artist to
YouTube?  

--A little about myself: I have a Master’s degree in Dance and have professional training
in dance, dance notation, choreography, dance history, ethnic dance research, and theater
production.  I taught folk dance professionally for many years and wrote a book as well as
several articles on Norwegian folk dance.  I have done a variety of choreographies for
folk-dance groups, theater, and liturgical ensembles.  I am currently teaching and calling
ECD for advanced classes at Tapestry Folk Dance Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  

Thank you for your kind assistance with the above,  Daniel Beal  