Royalties?

[angelamjeffries]

Posted: 10/17/10 at 3:02pm

I want to do The Last Five Years for my senior project at my university. I wasn't planning on charging the public to come see it. Would I still have to pay royalties for it?

ALSO I heard somewhere, too, that if you cut a certain number of songs from it and the dialogue that you don't have to pay royalties. Is that true?

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 10/17/10 at 5:34pm

No matter what, you have to pay for the licensing. Otherwise, you'll have a lawsuit on your hands. You'll get an even bigger lawsuit if you cut and/or change things. go to mtishows.com to get the rights to perform. The cost will depend on a number of things, including number of seats in the theater, price of admission, and number of performances. They can probably give you an estimate before you get the rights.

It may seem like a lot just to perform a show, but it is very important that you do this. If you're still hesitant about this, send MTI an email explaining your situation. You'd have to contact them anyway to get the script and score.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 10/17/10 at 6:25pm

I think the rule is that you can do up to 3 songs from a show without having to pay any royalties. Like Danny said, you should contact mti directly and tell them exactly what you want to do. They can help you from there.

[Jon]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 2:35pm

Jason Robert Brown is VERY SERIOUS about making sure no one performs his work without obtaining the rights. Any attempt to perform THE LAST FIVE YEARS without obtaining rights from MTI will bring down the wrath of JRB lie you won't believe.

You may perform up to three songs from a show as part of a concert/revue/benefit/whatever - IF you have an ASCAP license for the event. In my personal experience, a license to perform a revue of songs in a small venue comes to about $50 per performance.

Bars/clubs that regularly feature live entertainment usually have a year-round ASCAP license to cover singers/bands who perform there.

[pinkyboy]

Posted: 10/21/10 at 10:56am

If a school does a play/show, can they use songs without paying licensing?

(Sorry, I know its not exactly on topic, but it's still about royalties and I didn't want to start a new thread :S)

[grandpianoalex]

Posted: 10/22/10 at 9:07am

Not legally, no.

[pinkyboy]

Posted: 10/22/10 at 12:05pm

Shame, most if my group aren't set on the musical idea anyway but still :)

[pinkyboy]

Posted: 10/22/10 at 12:05pm

Shame, most if my group aren't set on the musical idea anyway but still :)

[Jon]

Posted: 10/24/10 at 2:26pm

If you are doing a non-musical play and want to use songs (recoded or live) as background or between-scenes music, you are SUPPOSED to get permission.

I sincerely doubt that most non-professional theatres (high school, college, community, etc.) actually get permission.