Music Performance Licenses
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) has blanket agreements with Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the Society of European Songwriters, Artists and Composers (SESAC).
CU Boulder pays an annual fee to cover public performances of music on its campus, as well as certain types of off-campus functions.
You must check the individual music catalogs to determine if the music you want to play or perform is covered by one or more of the agreements. The music may be covered by more than one license.This page provides general information on the rights licensed from each of the organizations.
If your intended use is outside the scope of the licenses, or you want to use music not in any of the catalogs, you may need to obtain permission before you proceed.
You may also wish to consult, as an additional resource, the American Council on Education's "Use of Copyrighted Music on College and University Campuses." (PDF)
ASCAP
The ASCAP License grants permission for CU Boulder faculty, staff, students, and alumni while performing under the auspices of CU Boulder, to perform or play any music in the ASCAP catalog.
Check the ASCAP Catalog to see if the music you want to play or perform is covered by this license.
Coverage
- University of Colorado Boulder faculty, staff, students, alumni, and entities (departments, colleges, programs, units, etc.)
- Student Groups affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder
- Fraternities & Sororities affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder
- Campus cable television stations
- Streaming performances, including webcasts of CU Boulder operated Radio Stations and Cable Television Stations
- Campus music-on-hold telephone systems
Locations
- All on campus locations
- Off-campus locations where CU Boulder entities, groups, or affiliates such as bands or choruses perform as part of their non-profit, community outreach and educational activities
Exclusions
- Events sponsored by or promoted by a third-party whether on campus or include participation from campus groups, including events co-sponsored or co-promoted
- Dramatic rights associated with dramatico-musical works, such as a musical comedy, opera, play with music, revue or ballet
- Transmissions to persons outside the premises via broadcasting, telecasting or transmission by wire or otherwise, except as previously stated.
- Playing music via a jukebox
BMI
The BMI license grants permission for CU Boulder to publicly perform or play music in the BMI catalog.
Check the BMI Catalog to see if the music you want to play or perform is covered by this license.
Coverage
- University of Colorado Boulder faculty, staff, students, and entities (departments, colleges, programs, units, etc.)
- Student Groups affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder
- Fraternities & Sororities affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder
- Campus radio broadcasting stations
- Campus cable television stations, for Locally Originated Programming only
- Streaming performances, including webcasts of CU Boulder operated Radio Stations and Cable Television Stations
- Campus music-on-hold telephone systems
- Performance of music via the intranet accessible only to faculty, staff, students, and other members of the campus community who authenticate through secure means
Locations
- All on campus locations
- Off-campus locations where college groups such as bands or choruses perform as part of their non-profit, community outreach and educational activities
Exclusions
- Events sponsored by or promoted by a third-party whether on campus or include participation from campus groups, including events co-sponsored or co-promoted
- Televised transmissions (broadcast, cable, satellite or other), except as previously stated
- Dramatic rights associated with dramatico-musical works, such as a musical comedy, opera, play with music, revue or ballet
- Playing music via a jukebox
- Commercial radio broadcasts
Global Music Rights
Negotiations are underway with Global Music Rights (GMR), but there is no agreement in place.
At this time there are no public performance rights covering music from the GMR catalog. You may need to obtain permission to perform or play music to which GMR has rights.
SESAC
The SESAC license grants permission to CU Boulder to publicly perform or play (by live or recorded means) any music in the SESAC catalog.
Check the SESAC Catalog to see if the music you want to play or perform is covered by this license.
Coverage
- University of Colorado Boulder faculty, staff, students, alumni, and entities (departments, colleges, programs, units, etc.)
- Student Groups affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder
- Fraternities & Sororities affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder
- Campus cable television stations, for Locally Originated Programming only
- Streaming performances from CU Boulder websites, including webcasts of CU Boulder owned and operated Radio Stations and Cable Television Stations
- Campus music-on-hold telephone systems
- Performance of music via the intranet accessible only to faculty, staff, students, and other members of the campus community who authenticate through secure means
Locations
- All on campus locations
- Off-campus locations where college groups such as bands or choruses perform as part of their non-profit, community outreach and educational activities
Exclusions
- Any events or activity in which there is a commercial interest where the primary purpose is unrelated to the educational mission or community outreach of CU Boulder
- Events or activities sponsored by or promoted by a third-party whether on campus or include participation from campus groups
- Cable Television System shall exclude free over-the-air broadcast television
- Broadcast, televise, or other forms of transmission
- Recording, filming, videotaping or otherwise capturing and reproducing performances
- Dramatic rights associated with dramatico-musical works, such as a musical comedy, opera, play with music, revue or ballet
- Playing music via a jukebox
Questions?
For help, email copyright@colorado.edu.
The University of Colorado Boulder is legally required to establish policy stating that faculty, staff, students, and community members must obey all state and federal laws respecting the copyrights and trademarks of others.
The university encourages the fair use of copyrighted materials in support of its academic and research mission and strives to provide clear guidance to faculty, students and staff who wish to use copyrighted materials in their teaching and research.