Although the music you listen to on the hot30 countdown may be super cool and super hip and trendy, it contains a little thing called copyright and is someone’s “Intellectual property” . The Australian Copyright Council describes copyright as “a type of legal protection for people who produce things like writing, images, music and films. It is a legal right to prevent others from doing certain things (such as copying and making available online) without permission.”

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What that means, is anytime you want to use copyrighted work in your project, you must first seek approval from the copyright owner.

This isn’t an easy process; a lot of students give up due to the time it takes to get a response as well as the cost in using copyrighted material. Keeping in mind that copyright owners can decline access for you to use their material.

If you do decide you want to go down the path of gaining copyright clearance remember:

- They may say no.
- Your approval won’t last forever (You may be only approved for 12 months. They can also outline where you can use it. i.e Film festival only.
- It’s expensive. Expect to pay $200 up. (that would be student rates)

So what do I suggest? Contact small local bands. They are normally willing to let you use their material for free, as it gives them exposure. Look up independent bands on Myspace. Do you know someone in your school that can play the guitar really well? Record them! Maybe make your own music using software like garageband. WARNING: I know every Garageband loop and there is nothing more annoying than hearing it, so make something original! ( In saying that, I use a garageband musicbed for the podcast – its easy and does the job in my case! )

No matter what you do, leave plenty of time when trying to find the soundtrack for your production. You never can predict the hurdles you may have to jump over!

I have only touched on copyright. There is so much more to know. Check out http://www.copyright.org.au for more information.