Can I Play This Song in my Podcast?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions about podcasting. I hear things like: But I'm a small show My podcast doesn't make any money I'm only playing (X amount of time) I bought the CD The reality is, it doesn't matter. You need permission from the songwriter, the performer, and whoever owns the mechanical rights (typically a record label). The problem is podcasts are downloadable. If they were streaming only, but because their not they don't fall under the same situation where a soundscape account could make you legal. Then throw on top of it that podcastin is global so what is legal in the US might be different in another country.  My friend Steve Stewart for a takedown notice from Spotify. (see tweet). These episodes from 2012-2014 and he just now getting notices.  The authors of the book Reclaiming Fair Use: How to Put Balance Back in Copyright might say it is fine as he didn't gave away the full song. However, when you use it as a bed (think soundtrack), things get murky. What I've seen people do is have a musician listen to the song they like and make one very similar to the original, and use it for their show.  There are places such as Music Radio Creative, Fiverr where you can hire people to write your own jingle. It won't be $5, but if you buy a logo at some place like Audio Jungle, it is often under $20 and then you can hire someone to do just a voice-over and put them together yourself. In the end, I would just stay away from playing unlicensed music (fair use or not). READY TO START YOUR PODCAST? When you join the School of Podcasting you get: Step-by-step tutorials A private podcast mastermind filled with brilliant podcasters Unlimited one-on-one consulting (not a typo) A 30-day money-back guarantee Join today at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/ypc  Mentioned in this episode:Ready To Grow Your Podcast?Starting August 19th (So sign up now) a cohort class at the School of Podcasting will lead members through the process and steps of growing your audience. You will receive feedback, and action steps to take to make your show in downloads, reach, and influence. Use the coupon code listener to save when you sign upSchool of PodcastingPodcasting in Six Weeks - Free CourseWe are bringing back Podcasting in Six Weeks and this time we are running an experiment and that is IT's FREE. Meeting weekly and go step by step and launch your podcast (it's designed for someone who does have a podcast, but wants one). Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeksPodcasting in Six WeeksThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy