Many poets feel hilarious when their works are set to music. From this “connection,” many songs were born, becoming favorites of many audiences. However, before musicians put music into poems, do they need the approval of the author of the poem, and do they have to pay them royalties? Please read VCD’s article for more information.
1. What is a song set to music from poetry? Is it a derivative work?
Vietnamese literature is rich in musicality with melody sounds, so hidden in poetry is music. The types of rhymes in our country’s literature such as six-eight, song-that-six-eight, and spoken-song are all coupled with recitation and chanting. Folk songs such as lullabies and chants often borrow folk songs as lyrics.
Therefore, music composition is the art of writing music based on the words and ideas of a poem. Based on poetry, with artistic vibes, musicians constantly create vitality for music. It is easy to see that the musicians are quite faithful to the original, the poem’s name is also the song’s name. Musicians often capture the soul of poetry, not taking the prototype of every sentence and every word, but choosing to use sentences and paragraphs that suit their ideas.
According to Clause 8, Article 4 of the Intellectual Property Law, “Derivative works are works translated from one language to another, works adapted, adapted, adapted, compiled, annotated, selected.”
Therefore, a musical work set to poetry is a derivative work and is protected under the provisions of law if and only if the setting of music to poetry does not harm the copyright of the original work.
2. Do I have to ask permission and pay the poet to put music into poetry?
According to the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law, individuals, when exploiting and using one, some, or all of the property rights and the right to publish the work or allow others to publish the work, must apply for permission and pay money. royalties, remunerations, and other material benefits for copyright owners.
Property rights specified in Article 20 of the Intellectual Property Law include:
- Making derivative works;
- Performing works in public;
- Copying works;
- Distributing or importing originals or copies of works;
- Communicate works to the public by wire, wireless, electronic information networks, or any other technical means;
- Rent originals or copies of cinematographic works and computer programs
Therefore, adding music to poetry to create a new work requires the consent of the owner of the original work to be done, and at the same time, royalties, remuneration, and other material benefits must be paid to the owner. the copyright owner of the poem.
Above is the article “Does a musician who composes a song set to music from a poem have to ask for permission and pay royalties to the poem’s author?“. We hope this article is useful to you.
