Question about wedding music songs for media player weddings

Actrs12B

My fiance and I had asked a friend of ours who has a great voice (and a very outgoing personality) to sing at our wedding, but last time I talked to her, she said she would think about it so we started looking into second choice options. We already picked out our definite play lists; including the special songs (we did that before looking for the entertainment). After doing research on all possible forms of entertainment (bands, deejays, various media players), we decided that if our friend decideds not to perform, we will go the route of some form of media player (ipod, mp3 player, etc.) and have a friend or family member announce the special events (most likely somebody in the wedding party). However, one thing I have been wondering is how to go about playing the music at the wedding. What I mean by that is do you need to find out who owns the copyright to the songs you want to play and get the permission to play it at your wedding? If so, how would I go about finding getting the permission to play the song?

naomikb

If your friend agrees to sing at your wedding, would she sing all the songs you picked out and be your band/entertainmet for the night?  Does she have a backup band or would she need instrumental tracks to sing to?  Or is she just singing one or two special songs?

The copyright issues vary by where you live.  In Canada we pay a SOCAN fee, which is usually $50 - $100 per event depending on the size of the party and if there is dancing or not.  As long as you have paid that fee and have purchased the music legally (own the CDs, paid for on iTunes etc.) then it is legal and no copyright issues.  I'm not sure if there is a similar fee in the US though - sorry!

Actrs12B

Thank you for answering what you know about the question. If the friend sings, she would be singing some of the songs we picked out, but would be the entertainment. We were always going to have some of the songs played by some media player so it will either be a combination of our friend and a media player or all media player. If it is all media players, we will assign somebody to make the special announcements. I do live in the US myself. I guess I can always do searches to find out who owns the copyrights to the songs we want to play and ask them just to be on the safe side. I figure it is better to ask permission when it is not needed than to not ask permission when you're supposed to.  

naomikb

I think the easiest way to answer this question (if none of the other US brides get back to you here) is to ask your venue.  Our venue automatically tacks the $75 SOCAN music fee onto our venue rental.  If your venue says you don't need anything I'm sure you're fine.

Realistically you will probably have 80-100+ songs at your reception, and it would be unrealistic/impossible for you to have to contact each record label or artist to get permission.

I expect that as long as you obtained the music legally and pay any fee issued by the venue to play music you'll be fine.

Sorry I can't be of more help!

ETA: Just did a quick google search... the US equivalent is ASCAP:  http://www.ascap.com/ 

Actrs12B

Thank you again naomikb. Some of the songs we want we already have on CD (I do not currently own an ipod or mp3 player, my Dad and my fiance both do and I should get one for our business anyway since part of our business is teaching people how to use different equipment. LOL) and I'm pretty sure it's pretty easy to legally get the music on an ipod, mp3 player, or any other media devices. I saved the information for http://www.ascap.com to my favorite places. You have been very helpful. Thank you again.