Music rights

[rstar]

When using music on a web site, is obtaining the rights from the artist required. If so, who is liable for the music, the designer, or client?

Also is there a good resource for web law issues?

[Frets]

Your major legal concerns aren't the artist they are the publisher and the label.

The riaa likes suing individuals less then corporations. Individuals rarely have the fortitude to go thru long drawn out court proceedings, as well lack armies of lawyers.

Be smart.
You don't have to host riaa audio on a site. There are plenty of freeware, shareware and cc audio on the web. If your trying to secure online publishing/distribution rights. Good luck. You might want to check out bmi and ascap.

Frets