Music Copyright: Can I Use a Song in my Podcast?

08/19/20 • 8 min

1 Listener

At-a-Glance: Can I Use Copyrighted Music in a Podcast?

Possibly. But it's complicated, and often, expensive.
For starters – who actually owns the song? Ownership in music is complex.
And even if you did spend time and money getting the rights to a song, your show may be removed from Spotify – the 2nd biggest podcast directory in the world.
“Fair Use” is a defence you can try to use, if you get in trouble, whilst “only 7 seconds” is a bit of a myth.
It also doesn't matter if you're not making money with your show.
The good news is that there are plenty ways to get great music for your podcast – even for free
Read on to find out more...

It's one of the most frequently asked questions in the medium; “Can I use copyrighted music in my podcast?”. The short answer is “No”. But, as is usually the case in podcasting, there's a little bit of “it depends”.

It's important to stress that we are not lawyers. I can advise here, based on experience and info I've learned over the years. But ultimately, you should work with a legal professional if you're looking to go down the route of using copyrighted music in your podcast.

We have an interview with Entertainment Lawyer Gordon Firemark on Podcraft titled Podcasting Law: Stay Legal, & Protect Your Brand. It's well worth a listen if you want a deep dive into the ins and outs of the legal process.

Can I Play Copyrighted Music in a Podcast?

Alright so the short answer isn't quite “No”. It's closer to “Don't”.

Sure, it's not impossible. But you'd need the permission of everyone who owns the music.

Music rights are complicated. There are things called “mechanical rights” and “performance rights”, for starters.

Let's say your pal writes a song, then her friend's band play and record the song. Then, they're signed by a record label, and the song features on their new album.

You want to use this song on your podcast. Who do you approach? Who do you pay?

The first person you'd pay is a lawyer, to help you figure out who else needs to be paid.

Then, the owners of the song will want answers to questions like, “how many times will it be played?”, and “where will it be available?” As you can imagine, these questions are virtually impossible to answer in the case of podcasting.

I Only Want to Play Part of a Song

You'll often hear things like “it's alright, so long as you use 7 seconds or less”. This is a bit of a myth. If you play 5 or 6 seconds of a copyrighted song as your podcast theme song, you're in breach of copyright.

What About “Fair Use”?

Fair use is a defence you can use if you get in bother for playing copyrighted music in a podcast. It also seems to differ a little, depending on what country you're in.

Where a fair use defence might stand up, is if you play a segment of a song for educational, criticism, or commentary purposes. It's much less likely to be valid if you're pulled up for playing copyrighted music as your podcast theme tune.

I'm Not Making Any Money With My Podcast

Music copyright laws are no different for not-for-profit podcasts and shows that don't monetise. This one isn't a valid defence I'm afraid.

I've Already Bought the Music Commercially

Another defence that's been touted in the past is, “but I bought the CD!”.

When you buy copyrighted music commercially, you're paying for the right to play it for your own entertainment, at home, in the car, etc. If you still own a CD, take a look at the small print on the sleeve. I guarantee there'll be something around how you can't play it “in public”.

Bottom line is, without an additional license, you wouldn't be allowed to play it in a small shop, let alone stick it on a podcast episode.

What About Copyrighted Music Recorded in the Background?

There's an Incidental Inclusion defence for when you've accidentally recorded some music in the background of your podcast. Say you're recording an interview in a coffee shop or outside a music venue and you capture part of a song as actuality – you'll likely be excused as you aren't setting out to record it specifically for personal gain via your podcast.

That said, you can't use that as an excuse when you play the first 20 seconds of Yellow Submarine at the beginning and end of every episode.
Will Podcasts Playing Copyrighted Music Have Limited Audiences?<...

At-a-Glance: Can I Use Copyrighted Music in a Podcast?

Possibly. But it's complicated, and often, expensive.
For starters – who actually owns the song? Ownership in music is complex.
And even if you did spend time and money getting the rights to a song, your show may be removed from Spotify – the 2nd biggest podcast directory in the world.
“Fair Use” is a defence you can try to use, if you get in trouble, whilst “only 7 seconds” is a bit of a myth.
It also doesn't matter if you're not making money with your show.
The good news is that there are plenty ways to get great music for your podcast – even for free
Read on to find out more...

Can I Play Copyrighted Music in a Podcast?

Alright so the short answer isn't quite “No”. It's closer to “Don't”.

Sure, it's not impossible. But you'd need the permission of everyone who owns the music.

Music rights are complicated. There are things called “mechanical rights” and “performance rights”, for starters.

Let's say your pal writes a song, then her friend's band play and record the song. Then, they're signed by a record label, and the song features on their new album.

You want to use this song on your podcast. Who do you approach? Who do you pay?

The first person you'd pay is a lawyer, to help you figure out who else needs to be paid.

I Only Want to Play Part of a Song

What About “Fair Use”?

Fair use is a defence you can use if you get in bother for playing copyrighted music in a podcast. It also seems to differ a little, depending on what country you're in.

I'm Not Making Any Money With My Podcast

Music copyright laws are no different for not-for-profit podcasts and shows that don't monetise. This one isn't a valid defence I'm afraid.

I've Already Bought the Music Commercially

Another defence that's been touted in the past is, “but I bought the CD!”.

Bottom line is, without an additional license, you wouldn't be allowed to play it in a small shop, let alone stick it on a podcast episode.

What About Copyrighted Music Recorded in the Background?

Previous Episode

Podcast Intro & Outro Tips: Introducing and Ending Your Episode

Read the article at ThePodcastHost.com

On the surface, the most important part of your episode is the main content; where you discuss or address what was promised in the title. The podcast intro, though, is what gets your listener to that content. And the outro helps keep them listening to more episodes.

With your podcast intro, you've got the very important task of setting the scene for your listeners. Some may have heard every episode you've ever released before, but for a few, this'll be their very first impression of your show.

These new listeners have absolutely no loyalty or obligation to you or your content in the opening minutes. They'll likely have a playlist of other shows already downloaded and ready to listen to.

They're giving you a chance – but you don't have long. In fact, a recent survey found that 27.5% of listeners will only give a new podcast 5 minutes to “hook” them.

Just like if they've picked up a book, or switched on a TV show, there's a few questions subconsciously running through their head. Does this seem interesting? Does it seem well-made? Do I know what's going on? What's in this for me?

This is where your podcast intro needs to do its job.

What Makes a Good Podcast Intro?

Put yourself in the shoes (or earbuds) of a brand new listener – someone that you'd consider to be in your target audience. They've downloaded your latest episode and hit play.

As I've said already, they've no loyalty to you. They've probably never heard of you, and – at this moment – aren't interested in you personally.

They've downloaded this episode for their own benefit. They want something from it. And whether that's to learn something, or to be entertained, they want to know as early as possible that you're going to deliver.

What Should I Include in my Podcast Intro?

I don't want you to think that there are extremely restrictive “rules” with podcast intros and outros, because there's still an immense amount of creative freedom. Podcasting wouldn't be very interesting if every single show sounded the same.

Nevertheless, there are some things I'd suggest you always include in your podcast intro.

Your name. Doesn't need to be your full name, could even be a nickname. Just let your listener put a name to the voice as early as possible.
What is the podcast called? You might assume they already know this, but they might be working through a huge playlist of new podcasts they're trying out.
Who is the podcast for? If your show is aimed at people who want to learn how to speak Spanish, make that clear early on. If someone who is listening doesn't want to learn Spanish, there's no benefit to anyone for them to keep listening. On the other hand, the person who does thinks “this is exactly what I've been looking for”.
What is the overall theme of the podcast? What's the show about?
- What problem is the podcast series here to solve?
- What problem does this particular episode solve?

Presenting a Problem – & Solution

Being clear on laying out your subject matter is great, but making your listener relate to it by mentioning something they're struggling with will really pull them in.

So, for example, on our show Podcraft, our target audience are people who want to learn how to podcast. Some of their big struggles are learning about microphones and audio equipment, learning about editing and mixing digital audio, growing their audience and monetising their show.

The overall struggle they have is that they want to learn how to podcast, and our major solution is that we can help them to do that.

Each episode deals with a specific subtopic of its own though, which provides a solution that helps them work towards their overall goal. We want to mention this in our podcast intro so the listener knows they've come to the right place.

So, on an episode about media hosting, we could present the problem “Have you ever wondered how you upload a podcast online, and make it available in iTunes?”

Then we offer the solution “Well, on this episode that's exactly what you'll find out. We're going to walk you step by step through the process, and by the end of it you'll be able to submit your show to iTunes quickly, and easily.”

Set your episode up by mentioning the overall problem your podcast is here to help them with (eg; learning how to podcast), and then the particular problem you'll be dealing with in this episode (eg; getting your podcast in iTunes).

“Hello and welcome to the ___ podcast...

Next Episode

What is a Podcast? An Explanation in Plain English

Simply put: a podcast is an audio programme, just like Talk Radio, but you subscribe to it on your smartphone and listen to it whenever you like.

In a little more detail, a podcast is a series of spoken word, audio episodes, all focused on a particular topic or theme, like cycling or startups. You can subscribe to the show with an app on your phone and listen to episodes whenever you like on your headphones, in the car or through speakers.

Read more of our Listener's Guide to Podcasting

What's an Example of a Popular Podcast?

If you're new to this, it can make it a little easier to see how radio stations are turning their shows into podcasts. But, remember, Podcasts have gone way beyond radio – you'll find out more about that in a minute!

First, though, BBC Radio 4 have run a radio show called ‘More or Less: Behind the Stats’, all about interesting economics and number facts. That show is on at the same time every week, and you have to tune in on your radio to listen. But... to make it easier to listen to, the BBC publish every episode as a part of the ‘More or Less Podcast', too. Each podcast episode is a recording of a ‘More or Less’ radio episode, and they’re all organised into one podcast series.

So, if you’re a fan of the radio show, you can subscribe to the More or Less podcast and episodes are delivered to you each week. That means you can listen to them any time, rather than be stuck to the radio at the same time each week.
Podcasts are Far More than Repurposed Radio

The example above might give you a picture of what a podcast is like, but it isn't a full answer to What is a podcast!

The vast vast majority of shows tend to be completely original content, not just repurposing the radio.

Many escape the shackles of traditional radio formats to explore brilliantly original approaches and completely niche subjects. For example:

They can be any length, from a 1 minute news snippet, to a 3 hour in-depth interview.
They can be any frequency, from daily to monthly
They can be any format, from simple solo shows up to mammoth, multi-person audio dramas
They can cover ANY topic, many of which would never make it onto radio

No matter what you’re into, you’ll find a show that suits the topics you love and the time you have.

Are Podcasts Audio or Video?

Most Podcasts today are audio only, even though video podcasts do exist. Podcasting has really grown out of a need for background content. That means something that can entertain you, educate you or inspire you in the background of other boring or rote activities.

For example, one of the most common ways people listen is in the car. You can’t watch video there, of course, so audio content is great. In the same way, podcasts are great for listening at the gym, while you’re mowing the lawn, or on your journey to work. Any moment of wasted time can be a moment for audio!

Of course, that means you need something to listen on, so you might need to get yourself a set of headphones to connect to your smartphone. Otherwise, connect up to your car via Bluetooth, or start listening on Echo or another smart speaker!

Need a recommendation for good headphones? Click here

What do Podcasts Usually Sound Like?

When you listen to a podcast, you'll discover that many of them are quite familiar. You'll have heard similar types of content over the years, from the radio to a TV talk show. On the other hand, you'll also hear podcasts that are completely new and entirely different to the norm, thanks to the freedom that podcasting allows.

Most podcasts will be themed around one particular topic. The host or hosts will talk about that topic on every episode. Sometimes it's really specific, like triathlon racing or dog training, and other times it's more general, like how to lead a happy life.

Next, each episode of that podcast will talk about something specific within that topic – nutrition tips for taking part in a triathlon, or how to stop your dog fighting with other dogs.

Each episode is normally run by one or two regular pres...