Can I display Lyrics and Sheet Music inside my Piano song tutorial videos?

[servicemark]

What is the name of your state? IL

I offer Piano song tutorials on YouTube showing keyboard notes under Fair Use.

Is it Fair Use to display song Lyrics and Sheet Music inside my tutorial videos correspondingly for the notes being played? I intend to show 1-3 lines of lyrics and horizontally scrolling sheet music at any given time in my tutorial videos for the notes being played in the video as the song progresses. Lyrics and Sheet Music are display-only and not downloadable.

Also, is it Fair Use to use the original song thumbnail as “part” of the thumbnail (along with the image of keyboard keys) for my videos to stand out in searches and make it easy for users to identify my song tutorials? Earlier, I was using the Piano keyboard as thumbnail but there are so many tutorial videos from others as well using keyboard as thumbnail and it is hard to spot my high quality videos from among those bunch in search results.

Thank you for your time!

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? IL

I offer Piano song tutorials on YouTube showing keyboard notes under Fair Use.

Is it Fair Use to display song Lyrics and Sheet Music inside my tutorial videos correspondingly for the notes being played? I intend to show 1-3 lines of lyrics and horizontally scrolling sheet music at any given time in my tutorial videos for the notes being played in the video as the song progresses. Lyrics and Sheet Music are display-only and not downloadable.

Also, is it Fair Use to use the original song thumbnail as “part” of the thumbnail (along with the image of keyboard keys) for my videos to stand out in searches and make it easy for users to identify my song tutorials? Earlier, I was using the Piano keyboard as thumbnail but there are so many tutorial videos from others as well using keyboard as thumbnail and it is hard to spot my high quality videos from among those bunch in search results.

Thank you for your time!

The lyrics and sheet music will need to be licensed from the holder(s) of the copyrights.

 

[quincy]

Here is a pretty good overview of copyright issues commonly encountered by music teachers, published by Music Teachers National Association:

https://www.mtna.org/MTNA/Learn/Copyright_FAQs.aspx

As for the use of thumbnail images, here is a link to the US Copyright Office’s summary of Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corp., a case that addressed fair use and thumbnail images:

https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/summaries/kelly-arriba-9thcir2003.pdf

If you have any questions after reading through the information provided in the links, please let me know.

 

[zddoodah]

I offer Piano song tutorials on YouTube showing keyboard notes under Fair Use.

Please explain exactly what you mean by "showing keyboard notes under" fair use (there's no need to capitalize "fair use" - it's not a proper noun).

Is it Fair Use to display song Lyrics and Sheet Music inside my tutorial videos correspondingly for the notes being played?

If the purpose of your video is to teach someone to play piano, there is no rationale that displaying a song's lyrics is fair use. Videos that purport to teach how to play some song are in a more gray area. There are TONS of videos for this purpose, but there's a very good argument that they're copyright infringement and are not protected by fair use. Most rights owners don't care, but some artists assiduously block stuff like that on YouTube. Keep this in mind: Why are you using Song X, as opposed to some some song no one's ever heard of? If your real purpose is to teach piano skills, you can write an original for that purpose. But the obviously reason why you're using well-known Song X is because you want to draw a greater audience to your video. When that's the case, it's almost never going to be fair use.

If you're a piano teacher, think about the various song books you've seen. The beginner books mostly contain songs from the 1800s that are no longer under copyright. Otherwise, they have paid for licenses to use copyright-protected material.

Also, is it Fair Use to use the original song thumbnail as “part” of the thumbnail (along with the image of keyboard keys) for my videos to stand out in searches

What does "the original song thumbnail" mean? "Thumbnail" typically refers to a visual representation of something, and songs -- being audio works -- don't have "thumbnails." Are you talking about an album cover? If so, the answer is no (see above).

Earlier, I was using the Piano keyboard as thumbnail but there are so many tutorial videos from others as well using keyboard as thumbnail and it is hard to spot my high quality videos from among those bunch in search results.

I agree that it's easier to make yourself stand out when you are using the works of others to do that. But that's kind of the point.

 

[quincy]

Using music that is in the public domain (works from 1925 and before) is as effective a piano-teaching tool as using rights-protected material - and it nicely avoids copyright infringement claims.

You had a similar question in 2019 when you visited the forum, servicemark. The advice and information offered then holds true today.

Here is a link to your previous thread:

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/can-karaoke-audio-tracks-be-used-in-master-class-music-video-tutorials-as-fair-use.655438/


Fair use is an affirmative defense to a claim of copyright infringement. It is not permission to use copyright-protected material. Fair use is ultimately decided in a court after a copyright holder objects to another’s use of their material and sues.

 

[FlyingRon]

I can tell you that there are several classes of music on YouTube:

1. Music that is outright blocked on YouTube by their arrangement with the owner. These won't even appear on the site after you upload them.
2. Music YouTube has an arrangement with the publisher to allow. What you'll usually find is that you lose monetization of your video that has a song with this arrangement as the money then goes to the owner.
3. Music that falls through the cracks and is allowed to remain.
4. Music that the owner files a DMCA takedown. Your video will be removed. You will receive a "strike" and on the third your account will be deleted.

Note that this covers just PLAYING the music on your video. Separate rights ensue for posting the lyrics/sheet music.

Note as far as YouTube's rules go, FAIR USE means diddly squat. YouTube's circus, YouTube's monkeys. Fair use is something you can trot out in federal court if you're sued, but until then it gets you nothing.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to an overview of the fair use doctrine, published by the Digital Media Law Project:

http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/fair-use

But, yes. YouTube plays by their own rules.

 

[servicemark]

Here is a pretty good overview of copyright issues commonly encountered by music teachers, published by Music Teachers National Association:

https://www.mtna.org/MTNA/Learn/Copyright_FAQs.aspx

As for the use of thumbnail images, here is a link to the US Copyright Office’s summary of Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corp., a case that addressed fair use and thumbnail images:

https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/summaries/kelly-arriba-9thcir2003.pdf

If you have any questions after reading through the information provided in the links, please let me know.

Thank you!

 

[servicemark]

Why are you using Song X, as opposed to some some song no one's ever heard of? If your real purpose is to teach piano skills, you can write an original for that purpose. But the obviously reason why you're using well-known Song X is because you want to draw a greater audience to your video. When that's the case, it's almost never going to be fair use.

If you're a piano teacher, think about the various song books you've seen. The beginner books mostly contain songs from the 1800s that are no longer under copyright. Otherwise, they have paid for licenses to use copyright-protected material.

What does "the original song thumbnail" mean? "Thumbnail" typically refers to a visual representation of something, and songs -- being audio works -- don't have "thumbnails." Are you talking about an album cover? If so, the answer is no (see above).


I agree that it's easier to make yourself stand out when you are using the works of others to do that. But that's kind of the point.

correct - I’m trying to teach what people want to learn - not the music from 1800 that is taught in music academies as part of classical music and theory that nobody wants to learn. The academies don’t teach the modern Hollywood music.

There are musicians/singers who produce music. There are casual listeners which forms the majority of the audience. Then there is a niche learner group (0.5% of human population) who wants to learn how to play those songs. There is even a tinier teacher group who wants to teach how to play songs. The large casual listener audience is different from the tiny learner audience. The singer/publisher is not going to lose any revenue if someone wants to teach how to play their songs because the learner audience is different. If anything, it will only bring more audience to the original song and more people may buy the song.

by original thumbnail, I meant to say the thumbnail of the original YouTube song video.

i understand we need sync license to use music in videos like cover songs but YouTube works differently - they allow copyright holders to monetize such videos as a workaround. If everyone needs to get a sync license, there will be far less videos on YouTube. There are several lyric video channels and many of their videos got over 100 million to over 300 million views and all they do is add lyric sentences to the original song audio in their lyric videos and they are monetized by the publishers. Also if you search YouTube for any “song + piano tutorial”, there are hundreds of videos.

if we have to get a license to teach music, what is the purpose of fair use? Is teaching not one of the 4 fair uses?

 

[doucar]

I learned to play broadway musical music when I took piano lessons, I bought the sheet music and my teacher taught me. The teacher needed no license, as I had purchased the music. And no, teaching is not one of the fair uses, as you would be making money of the authors work rather than playing a portion to promote it. Allowing copyright holders to monetize their works is the whole point of copyright protection, which is why You Tube does it right.

 

[quincy]

correct - I’m trying to teach what people want to learn - not the music from 1800 that is taught in music academies as part of classical music and theory that nobody wants to learn. The academies don’t teach the modern Hollywood music.

There are musicians/singers who produce music. There are casual listeners which forms the majority of the audience. Then there is a niche learner group (0.5% of human population) who wants to learn how to play those songs. There is even a tinier teacher group who wants to teach how to play songs. The casual listener audience is different from the learner audience. The singer/publisher is not going to lose any revenue if someone wants to teach how to play their songs because the learner audience is different. If anything, it will only bring more audience to the original song and more people may buy the song.

by original thumbnail, I meant to say the thumbnail of the original YouTube song video.

i understand we need sync license to use music in videos like cover songs but YouTube works differently - they allow copyright holders to monetize such videos as a workaround. If everyone needs to get a sync license, there will be far less videos on YouTube. There are lyric video channels and some of their videos got over 100 million to over 300 million views and all they do is add lyric sentences to the song audio and they are monetized by the publishers.

if we have to get a license to teach music, what is the purpose of fair use? Is teaching not one of the 4 fair uses?

I suspect from what you have written that you did not read (or possibly did not understand?) the information provided in the Music Teachers National Association link.

There are some educational uses of copyright-protected material that can fall within the guidelines of fair use. The Copyright Act offers guidelines only, however. If a copyright holder believes someone is infringing on their rights, the copyright holder can sue. It is then up to a court to decide if the unauthorized user’s use of the copyright-protected material is a fair use of the material or an infringement.

For a look at the four major factors a court considers when assessing fair use, you can read the information in the link provided earlier from the Digital Media Law Project.

The bottom line is that it can be a costly gamble to use rights-protected material without permission from the rights holder. Copyright holders with federally registered copyrights are eligible to collect from infringers up to $30,000 per infringed work (or even up to $150,000 per infringed work for especially egregious willful infringement). It is, in other words, best to get permission in advance or use material that is in the public domain.

I wish you success with your tutorials.

 

[servicemark]

I can tell you that there are several classes of music on YouTube:

1. Music that is outright blocked on YouTube by their arrangement with the owner. These won't even appear on the site after you upload them.
2. Music YouTube has an arrangement with the publisher to allow. What you'll usually find is that you lose monetization of your video that has a song with this arrangement as the money then goes to the owner.
3. Music that falls through the cracks and is allowed to remain.
4. Music that the owner files a DMCA takedown. Your video will be removed. You will receive a "strike" and on the third your account will be deleted.

Note that this covers just PLAYING the music on your video. Separate rights ensue for posting the lyrics/sheet music.

Note as far as YouTube's rules go, FAIR USE means diddly squat. YouTube's circus, YouTube's monkeys. Fair use is something you can trot out in federal court if you're sued, but until then it gets you nothing.

Exactly.

YouTube allows to dispute any copyright claims when appropriate and there is a counter notification and court proceedings process (that the copyright holder needs to complete within 10 days and furnish proof). My videos are not cover songs, they are pure tutorials, I’m teaching music and how to play songs showing keyboard notes. My videos are not original songs, they don’t have the vocals, I use 100% of my own sounds and i own copyrights for their sound recording while the melody copyright belongs to the publisher. I’m transforming the songs by eliminating the vocals, using 100% of my own sounds in the category of Education.

Sometimes my videos mistakenly get copyright claimed by YouTube’s algorithms after I upload them, I dispute under Fair Use which goes to the publisher and they remove the claim because knowingly and fraudulently declining Fair Use could get them sued under 17 USC Section 512(F) and their channel could get a strike too for fraud (3 strikes and they lose their channel forever just like any other channel does). I’m not taking away the commercial purpose or value of the songs I’m teaching, my tiny niche audience is music learners and not the same as the large casual audience of the original song, the publisher won’t lose any revenue from my tutorials. If anything, they will make more sales of their songs. I understand song videos need sync license but YouTube works around it by letting copyright holders run ads on such videos. My videos are not copyright claimed and not monetized by copyright holders.

My question was about displaying lyrics and scrolling sheet music horizontally (in a single Stave) corresponding to the notes of the song being played and if that would be Fair Use. If I’m displaying keyboard notes for the song under Fair Use anyway as tutorial, would it be Fair Use to display lyrics and sheet music notes for the corresponding notes of the song being played? What I was wondering was if I display 1-3 lines of lyrics and 1 line of scrolling sheet music any time for the notes currently being played, that may be like an “excerpt“ at any time and none of these lyrics or sheet music is downloadable.

If lyrics are “public” inside the song when we listen to it, are they considered private and forbidden to be displayed inside a tutorial video? I’m not offering anything for download. If I really want to sell sheet music, I could legally list it on MusicNotes or JellyNote for sale (like some teachers do) who take care of distributing revenue to copyright holders properly.

Would it be fair use to use the original thumbnail of the song video as part (reduced size down to about 75%) of my thumbnail on my tutorial video - with the image of the keyboard at the bottom of the thumbnail at 25%?

 

[quincy]

Did you read the information from the links?

 

[servicemark]

Did you read the information from the links?

Yes, thanks -

http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/fair-use

Fair use will not permit you to merely copy another’s work and profit from it, but when your use contributes to society by continuing the public discourse or creating a new work in the process, fair use may protect you.

criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole;
4. and the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

(for #4, unless the singer/publisher is also in the business of creating piano tutorial videos, how will it hurt their song sales?)

• A use that transforms the original work in some way is more likely to be a fair use; (check)
• A non-profit use is more likely to be considered a fair use than a for-profit use; (please see below - profit has nothing to do with fair use)
• A shorter excerpt is more likely to be a fair use than a long one; and
• A use that cannot act as a replacement for the original work is more likely to be a fair use than one that can serve as a replacement (check)

A common misconception is that any for-profit use of someone else's work is not fair use and that any not-for-profit use is fair. In actuality, some for-profit uses are fair and some not-for-profit uses are not; the result depends on the circumstances. Courts originally presumed that if your use was commercial it was an unfair exploitation. They later abandoned that assumption because many of the possible fair uses of a work listed in section 107 preamble such as uses for purposes of news reporting, are conducted for profit. Although courts still consider the commercial nature of the use as part of their analysis, they will not brand a transformative use unfair simply because it makes a profit. Accordingly, the presence of advertising on a website would not, in of itself, doom one’s claim to fair use.

If you include additional text, audio, or video that comments or expands on the original material, this will enhance your claim of fair use. (check)

====================
I can live with not being able to display lyrics and sheet music inside my tutorial videos under fair use but my videos are fair use (at least on YouTube).

If you search YouTube for any “song + piano tutorial”, there are hundreds of videos.
Cover songs are not fair use (even though I wish they were - when things like parody are allowed).
Lyric videos are not fair use because they use the original audio as-is and add lyric sentences to it.

Also, we do not need to seek permission or license for fair uses.

 

[servicemark]

I learned to play broadway musical music when I took piano lessons, I bought the sheet music and my teacher taught me. The teacher needed no license, as I had purchased the music. And no, teaching is not one of the fair uses, as you would be making money of the authors work rather than playing a portion to promote it. Allowing copyright holders to monetize their works is the whole point of copyright protection, which is why You Tube does it right.

you are talking about buying sheet music which is not free. You bought a licensed copy of the sheet music.

Profit has nothing to do with fair use if it is transformative.
Teaching is fair use.
Transforming others’ work is covered under fair use.
(please see above)

Why would I promote someone else’s work for free?? What would I get from it?

YouTube doesn’t do it right, Even if we use 30 seconds of a 300 second song in our 10 minute video, they give full credit of our video to the original author and let them monetize it 100% instead of giving them just 10% of the revenue - even though YouTube has ALL the data of how much of the original work is used in the video. But they distribute revenue among multiple copyright holders. There is more - even the revenue sharing from the 30 seconds (10% of the original audio) should be divided 50-50 because audio is 50% and my own video is 50% (check out “copyrights explained” video by Tessa Violet - she goes deep into presenting how copyrights work in the industry and also on YouTube)