If you have read my last few posts about the problems of blogging in Germany, then you will probably not be surprised to learn that making a video or an audio podcast to put online is not easy.

Let’s start with the easy part: filming something and then publishing the film, is basically no different to the situation with a photo.

But with audio, things get even more complicated.  As you might imagine, you cannot just record something and then use it.  If I record an interview for a podcast then I either get written permission to use the recording, or – if the interview is conducted by telephone – ask the interviewee to confirm their agreement once the “record” button has been pressed. (more…)

GEMA stands for Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte.

The GEMA is responsible for managing the rights of composers, songwriters and music publishers.  As such, it is responsible for collecting the royalties from users of music and re-distributing them to its members, similar to the Performing Right Society (PRS) in the UK.

Using music that is GEMA-registered, eg. at an event or on a website, requires the usage to be registered and paid for.  This is usually straight forward for “traditional” events, however some circumstances are more complicated, as we found out last year in the Monday Podcast.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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