[Icecast] streaming legal issues

[Dan Stowell]

On 05/05/05, ferran fabregas <ferranf at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi! anybody knows where can i find some info about the legality of do
> a streaming of copyrighted music? 

It depends which country you're in. If you tell us where you live,
perhaps someone from that country can advise...

My answers below are definitely correct for the UK, and are probably
not too far out for other European countries or for USA (?).


> can i make a audio stream with my
> legaly-brought music from my home to listen into my workplace?

No.

> can i
> open it to the world?

No.

> what are the legal terms that applies the thousands of internet radio
> broadcasts that exists on the net?

The legal ones (remember there are plenty which are illegal!) often
achieve legality by paying an ongoing fee to a society such as the
MCPS / PRS (these are the UK bodies) to be allowed to play most
commercially-available music.

An alternative way to stay legal is only to play music which is
licensed under (e.g.) Creative Commons licensing, which typically
allows broadcasting, or music for which you've secured the rights
individually.

Best,
Dan