Staging Musical (Licencing)

[dbuckley]

Out local performance rights agency (APRA New Zealand) has some very helpful information on this topic, which will almost certainly be the same anywhere else in the world. They first note, however, that they are generally not able to licence "grand rights" musicals stuff, for this you need to go to the rights holder for the musical's repertoire.

 

Q: HOW MANY SONGS FROM ANY ONE MUSICAL AM I ABLE TO DO?

A: Show tunes are a popular addition to many stage plays. Most show-tunes require permission from local and overseas publishers before they can be included in a stage production. Theoretically, there is no limit to the number of show tunes that can be included in a production, as long as they are not performed with the same visual and dramatic representation as in the original grand right musical. In practice, however, publishers are reluctant to allow more than three songs from any one musical.

 

Q: I WANT TO SING “PHANTOM OF THE OPERA” AS PART OF A CABARET SHOW AND I WANT TO WEAR THE PHANTOM MASK AND CAPE. IS THIS OK?

A: Probably not. A grand right may be infringed if you perform a song from a grand right musical, with the same visual and dramatic representation as in the original grand right musical. This applies even if you are doing only one song. If in doubt, contact the copyright owner of the grand right. This will usually be a publisher and they will advise how far you can go before the grand right is infringed.

[paulears]

I wanted to do some Disney numbers when I was working in college, and approached them for clearances and the upshot was pretty much the same as above. Dramatic-musical is just not on - for anything. Concert performance can be licensed, but lighting, makeup and costume is out.

[Bobbsy]

Back when I lived in the UK I used to sometimes do sound for a group that would do a "compilation" show once a year as a way of saving money on rights. They'd write their own script that somehow involved dream or fantasy sequences using well known music from other shows.

 

They'd carefully researched this and even taken formal legal advice...it turned out that they could get away with it if they only used extracts from any one song/show (I think 2 minutes was the limit but this was 15 years ago and I was sound, not on the legal side) and the music couldn't be in the context of the original show. As I say, the songs tended to be things like dream or fantasy sequences from a totally different plot with no reference to the shows they're from.

 

Based on that, I'd say 25 minutes is WAY too much. However, there apparently ARE ways to use snippets of popular show music without going broke. However, do check the details of what I've said. Laws change and it was a long time ago.