by Wayde Salmon, WPICC, of D & W Entertainment Group
Did you know that the AVLA has changed it’s name to CONNECT Music Licensing?
I guess the first question is, what was AVLA, and why do I care that it has changed to CONNECT?
Well, good question; let’s start with the AVLA. For the purposes of this message, I’ll be speaking specifically about DJ’s.
The Audio-Video Licensing Agency (AVLA) provided licences to reproduce recorded music. For example, it gives DJ’s the legal right to play reproduced recorded music in Canada commercially, i.e. wedding or public function. The AVLA ensured that the producer of the music, i.e. writer, performer, musician, etc., received compensation for the music they created.
Without an AVLA license, a DJ performing commercially could be considered to be doing so illegally, and could be subject to fines and prosecution. This includes DJ’s using cassettes (yes, they exist) CD’s (sadly, they exist too), and laptops.
In 2014, the AVLA changed its name to CONNECT, commemorating the organization’s 30th anniversary.
Does everyone need a CONNECT license? Short answer, no. The DJ does not need a license if:
- they are using the original LP/cassette/CD that THEY purchased from a store or,
- they are using a LP/cassette/CD that is leased or loaned from the original copyright holder of the music, i.e. a promo CD.
Therefore, anyone who downloads music and burns to a CD or transfers to a desktop/harddrive, i.e. every DJ, should have a CONNECT license.
What does this mean to you as wedding coordinators? Well, protection for your clients, and most importantly, education for you. As well, it shows you and your clients that this person is a professional, and respects the rights and creators of the music that is the backbone of their business. As well, it helps to assure that the music they have is of the highest quality being used for the event, as the license restricts where music an be downloaded from..
If you would like more information on CONNECT, you may contact them here:
Connect Music Licensing
85 Mowat Avenue,
Toronto, Ontario M6K 3E3
Tel: (416) 922-8727 Ext. 127, Fax: (416) 967-9415
Hotline 1-800-668-8820
www.connectmusic.ca
Wayde Salmon, is the co-owner of D & W Entertainment Group with fellow WPICer, Devon John. D&W Entertainment Group is a premier entertainment service, providing Disc Jockeys (DJ), Masters of Ceremony (MC), Singers and other forms of live entertainment to the GTA & the surrounding areas.
I thought this fee was included in the cost of the venue rental?
Some venues build it into their fees, but the responsibility to pay is on the couple. The venue pays it on behalf of the couple.
Sorry in advance I’m replying to a post that’s almost 10 years old, but this is really great information to have regarding the legal compliances of this specific topic.
I was a semi-professional DJ for many years; at one time on university radio stations, then mostly in bars, as well as at small concerts and private parties (often at dubiously legitimate or illegal venues), and while I mostly used music that I had purchased legitimately on vinyl and CD, I would occasionally back that up with burned CD-Rs that were basically compilations of songs I had ripped to my computer with iTunes, or had downloaded from various sources (most of which not legitimate). As well, if a venue was not equipped or too small for me to set up my own equipment in—but really wanted me to “DJ” regardless—I would occasionally do it from a laptop. I honestly had no idea at all until a few years ago that you needed a license to do that. It only occurred to me when a friend who managed a university radio station told me that it was a challenge to enforce compliance among the individual radio show programmers during COVID when they had to record their shows at home remotely, because they had less certainty that no one was playing music that they did not have the legal license to play over the airwaves.
My question (and, yes I do have one) basically boils down to this: I have been asked by my friends to DJ at their wedding, which is being booked at a traditional “wedding venue.” I have not gotten together with them yet to discuss the specifics, but knowing what I know, I think I should be capable of pulling it off without a CONNECT license. What I am unclear of is how these rules may apply or be interpreted with regards to the use of legitimately released “compilation” albums on either vinyl or CD—i.e. “K-Tel” / “Time Life”-style “greatest hits” compilations from the 70s, 80s and 90s—where that music was all legitimately licensed by a major record label for a physical format compilation. In theory, it sounds like I should be able to play a song from one of those albums, but I am wondering if there are clauses in the legalese of the copyright information written on the releases themselves that negate the use of these releases for commercial use (i.e. playing Rupert Holmes “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” from a vinyl compilation album with a title like “Super Hits of the 80s”—or something to that extent—at my friends wedding).
Can you possibly weigh in on that? Because it will definitely alter my plans if I’m not able to use these as “sources” of legitimate material in my wedding set list.
Hi Shaun,
The Connect license is definitely for digital files, but I don’t want to give you incorrect information. I would contact CONNECT to make sure you have the best information, here is a link to their contact: https://connectmusic.ca/contact/