Is it allowed to add my own melody to a track from the Proud Music Library?

Background music for your own recordings

From time to time we get requests from interested people to add their own composed melody to a track from the Proud Music Library. That means, that the own melody is added as an overlay to the existing music. Some people also want to use an instrumental track as background music and then sing their own melody over it.

Allowed? Not allowed?

The use of a track for the above described use is allowed if the merged work is only used privately. Private means “in your own four walls”. Private publication is not possible. Anything that is published is no longer private. This also applies if you upload a video to e.g. Youtube or Vimeo and a) offer it there for public viewing or b) not list the video. Anyone who knows the link can pass it on or link to it, in short: distribute it. Therefore, lit. b) is strictly speaking also public and therefore not allowed for the time being.

Merged work (Music+New melody)

Now you could get the idea to buy a license and then it would be allowed to publish the merged work (track from the library + own melody). Unfortunately this is not so easy, because the Proud Music Library is not allowed to grant the right to do so. The permission for this is always given by the authors (creators) of the respective track or music title themselves. For this purpose, a separate contract must be concluded with the authors, since the new merged work is a new work, since the melody now has its own copyright, so that in connection with the music a co-authorship of the new work has arisen.

However, the solo must have a so-called creation level, otherwise “merely” a performance protection right has arisen. But also here you need the permission of the authors (creators) for the case you want to publish the new track.

In contrast: Composite work

With film works it is different. Here Proud Music grants a sync right. Here, permission is granted to combine the work [FILM] with the work [MUSIC] (more precisely: sound recording) in order to produce a new work (FILM plus MUSIC).

If you have any questions about licensing via Proud Music Library, just give us a call: +49 6132 43 088 30

Questions about commissioned production? Studio equipment or facilities? Quality?

What are composers?

Those are the people responsible for bringing music to life from its origins for our enjoyment. They create and experiment with compositions for the theater, television, radio, or film industries, among the various areas, some of which become masterpieces, such as John Williams’ score for the Star Wars films.

Nevertheless, a number of well-known appealing works need not be as lengthy or modern; they may be as simple and memorable as Alan Silvestri’s Forrest Gump’s theme Feather. A composer’s work is protected by copyright laws which state that the music is his property, unless he states otherwise in writing.

The national copyright collecting societies

Here you can find a list of the different copyright collecting societies of our composers and the corresponding links:

Germany: GEMA “Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte” (musical recordings and performances)

Link to the GEMA

Austria: AKM “Autoren, Komponisten, Musikverleger” (lyricists, composers and music publishers)

Switzerland: SUISA (Swiss Association for composers rights)

UK: MCPS-PRS

MCPS “Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society” , PRS “Performing Right Society”

USA: SESAC “Society of European Stage Authors & Composers”, ASCAP “American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers”, BMI ” Broadcast Music Incorporated”

Canada: SOCAN “Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers”

France: SACEM “Société des auteurs compositeurs et éditeurs de musique”

Norway: TONO (Copyright collective for authors and composers of musical works)

Italy: SIAE “Società Italiani degli Autori ed Editori”

Ireland: IMRO ” Irish Music Rights Organisation”

New Zealand, Australia: APRA “Australasian Performing Right Association “

Poland: ZAIKS “ZwiÄ�zek Autorów i Kompozytorów Scenicznych” (Vereinigung der Bühnenautoren und -komponisten)

Spain: SGAE “Sociedad General de Autores y Editores”

Denmark: KODA (copyrights for composers, songwriters and music publishers)