DANZUnlike when playing music for ‘personal use’ such as at home or in the car, when you play music in your dance business this is considered a ‘public performance’, and to do so legally requires permission from the owners of the copyright in that music.
Under the New Zealand Copyright Act, having permission from music creators to use their music in a business setting – including dance – is a legal requirement.
This includes music in all forms, like Spotify, YouTube, CDs, radio, television, live music, DJs, and more. Permission is also required in almost all cases when you use curriculum and syllabus supplied music.
The OneMusic licence is your key to the legal use of music and unlocks the permission you need to play it. OneMusic represents the rights to play essentially all commercially released music from anywhere around the world.
Read more and apply for a licence today at onemusicnz.com/dance.
There are several types of music licences for dance to cover the different ways music can be used.
DANCE INSTRUCTION LICENCE
The OneMusic Dance Instruction Licence, grants Dance Schools and/or Instructors permission to play music as a part of their dance classes, including one-on-one and group dance tuition (where payment is made for instruction).
The licence ensures studios and instructors are covered for the music played. It can also cover independent instructors if they are not teaching within a studio e.g. teaching in community venues or school halls etc.
MUSIC DUBBING LICENCE
This is required if you copy or supply music to students for practice and/or rehearsal purposes, create playlists, curate music, provide copies of music for competitions, splicing, editing or remixing tracks, or when using a digital music service (e.g. Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube). Learn more about Music Dubbing here.
LICENCES FOR CONCERTS, RECITALS OR ANNUAL PERFORMANCES
Just like your OneMusic Dance Instruction licence covers your music use in dance classes throughout the year, it’s also important to have the additional permission in place for the music you want to use in your concert, recital or annual performance – ideally before you start rehearsals.
Concert and Dramatic Context Licences grant instructors and dance schools permission to play music as a part of end of year (or similar) concerts or theatrical performances.
For these licences, APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ work as intermediaries between you and the rights holders. On occasion it may not be possible to obtain clearance for the use of some songs and compositions. To avoid disappointment, please apply for both APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ licences as soon as you have selected the songs you would like to use.
Read more in the previous DANZ article here.
FILMING PERFORMANCES
When you record performances you must have permission to copy or reproduce the music included in the recording. This is different to the public performance of music, which the Dance Instruction and Concerts and Dramatic Context licences cover. The Domestic Use Video licence covers you for filming performances that include music, and making the recordings available to students, their friends and family for free or at cost.
For more information and to apply for a licence to film performances visit the Domestic Use Video page.