Copyright Rip Off Festivals & Contests

One of my former students who is currently doing an internship at Blue Sky writes with a question about festivals and contests.

Larry

I had some questions about film festivals/contests because I've never submitted anything and I'm baffled as to what's the norm. Vancouver Opera is having an animation contest to support their new season. Pick one of the four operas they're doing (Norma, Nixon in China, The Marraige of Figaro, or Madama Butterfly), do an animation on it in under four minutes, and post it to YouTube. I'm probably going to do something set to the "Humming Chorus" of Madama Butterfly with animation done in Photoshop and After Effects. Here's what I'm wondering:

1) What goes into licensing music? If I acquire the sheet music and have someone else play it, what goes into a fee for that? It looks like a lot of this is covered by PRS for Music, who's asking for £200 for something, I'm not sure what. This is the same company that's demanded some UK citizens to get a public performance license to play the radio. (I'm not kidding. I fear if I put one toe out of line, they'd send me to a PMITA prison.)

2) On that note, do you have any knowledge of freeplaymusic.com? It looks like I pay a one time fee of $125 for one song they own under four minutes and for one film (and they have it, thank God). Of course, I'll e-mail them to see what their stance is, but are these sites legit or will I be looking at PMITA prison?

3) Is there a legal difference between a festival and a contest? Vancouver is calling this a contest, but most of the legal jargon I've seen on the ASCAP sites regard festivals.

4) If I submit this film, the ToS says it becomes their property. Can I still put this on a reel, submit it to other contests, or is it theirs, body and soul and I can never touch it again? (And are all animation festivals
like this? Should I run screaming?)

5) Does international copyright need to get involved even though the contest is open to U.S citizens too?

ToS are hyah:
http://vancouveropera.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=244&Itemid=15

If they say they own everything, they own everything and you should run screaming. This is a sucker trap and they end up with the copyright on everybody`s work not just the winners. Far too many contests are like this. Most festivals know that they can`t get away with it.

You could still put it on your demo reel and maybe show it but they would own the work for the next 35 years if you remember to revoke the transfer of copyright 25 to 33 years after that transfer or forever if you don`t remember to revoke transfer. (that is U.S. law and you would have to check on Canadian Copyright law)

If the music is out of copyright, say the Magic Flute, then you can use it without problems but you can not use versions of it that are in performance copyright. Your idea about having someone perform the music is a good one but only if the core copyright is Public Domain.

A festival has a public performance and a contest does not. In most cases the laws are about the same.

The copyright law of the country where the contest/festival takes place is the law under which you have to operate. Most countries have more creator friendly copyright laws than we do. Too many big donors to public politicians have a vested interest is ripping off artists in our country.

If their country has signed international copyright agreements with your country (Canada has) you have the same rights as the citizens of that country in theory. (The English courts judged that the Crown was at fault in blocking Frank Zappa from performing but that it was not dignified to ask the Crown to pay for their mistake to a foreign commoner)

Don`t know about freeplaymusic.com but it may be a music buy out site with higher prices than musicbakery.com.

Do your animation for someone else and shame on Vancouver Opera for being a big rip off.

Larry