oudman71
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Copyrighted Arabic Music?
Hello everyone.
It's been a long time since I visited this forum. Much too long. Looking forward to getting caught up with everyone's posts.
Quick question for those in the know:
What is the status of copyright for Arabic Music. I perform Fairuz, MAW, Farid, etc. weekly in my community, and am long overdue for a CD of music to
sell at my gigs. Not sure about the royalty/rights situation. I was told at one point that, essentially there is no copyright on any of this music,
but that can sometimes change. For instance, during the Cold War, Shostakovich orchestral scores had no copyright in the West because we didn't
recognize the rights of Soviet artists (I guess.) ...Now they do.
So, curious to know about this. I can make a CD of strictly Qadim if I need to, but I'd like to include as much familiar music as I can. Many thanks
and looking forward to your replies!
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al-Halabi
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There is greater attention today to the protection of intellectual property in the Arab world than was the case in past years, so it's worthwhile
checking on the status of the music to make sure you are not violating any rights. Several years ago I had a book of mine published in Syria in an
Arabic translation without my knowledge or the knowledge of the university press that had published the original English edition. The translation was
rather poor, and a reputable Syrian publisher approached me and the press in the U.S. for permission to issue a professional Arabic translation. They
signed a contract and paid a fee for the translation rights. I worked closely with the translator and the press on preparing and reviewing the
translation. So practices vary, with laxity and piracy coexisting with respect for authors' and artists' rights.
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Brian Prunka
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Copyright varies from one country to another, so Farid and Abdel Wahab would generally fall under Egyptian copyright, which Fairuz would be under
Lebanese copyright. The compositions are mostly still under copyright, though not necessarily enforced. I forget the exact time limitations but to
my recollection there is little of the "Golden Age" music that would be public domain.
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oudman71
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Hey Brian,
Good to hear from you.
Do you know where I could find out about the copyright for Fairuz, Farid and MAW?
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Brian Prunka
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Searching Harry Fox turns up some things. Actual CDs generally include the relevant information. You
All their stuff is under copyright, definitely.
If you can't find the info, I believe you can file a notice with the US copyright office that you intend to pay royalties but were unable to discover
the entity to which you should do so.
More info:
https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ73.pdf
HFA has a list of foreign rights societies:
https://www.harryfox.com/license_music/foreign_rights_societies.html
Most of these seem to be administered by SACEM:
https://repertoire.sacem.fr/en/results?filters=parties&query=abd...
https://repertoire.sacem.fr/en/results?filters=parties&query=atr...
https://repertoire.sacem.fr/en/results?filters=parties&query=ass...
https://repertoire.sacem.fr/en/results?filters=parties&query=Phi...
Wikipedia has good general info about the copyright laws in Egypt:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_Egypt
Lebanon's copyright law is available from the Lebanese gov't:
http://www.economy.gov.lb/public/uploads/files/4600_3516_9524.pdf
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oudman71
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Wow!
Fantastic info, Brian. Very helpful. Thanks for the heads up.
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