Can I play or sing the song that I don’t own? Is there any law related to the rights to play and sing a song when you are with friends or at home?
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1It may well depend on the laws in your country, which we can only guess. – Tim Jan 04 '23 at 11:53
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@Tim sorry, Iam Vietnamese and I am currently living in Việt Nam. :)) – Anh Nguyễn Thế Jan 04 '23 at 12:19
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5I’m voting to close this question because business and legal questions are off topic as outlined in the help center. – Todd Wilcox Jan 04 '23 at 13:54
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3Welcome! You can read about the [topics that are covered here](https://music.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic). In this case, even though it has to do with music, this is a question about law. You could try asking at https://law.stackexchange.com/ (though you should specify the context of Vietnam). Also, I think it might matter just how many "friends" there are, or if you charge admission, or if you record the music-making, etc. Being in your own house probably matters very little. – Andy Bonner Jan 04 '23 at 14:04
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@ToddWilcox Thank your for pointing the mistake in my question. – Anh Nguyễn Thế Jan 05 '23 at 04:18
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@AndyBonner Thank you very much for your answer. – Anh Nguyễn Thế Jan 05 '23 at 04:23
1 Answers
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You can play and sing any song you like. In case the piece is not considered PD but intellectual property of a (or multiple) person or legal entity you will need a license to publicly perform the work, publishing recordings the work, publish sheet music of the work and such. What you do in a private context is not regulated by copyright laws (although these depends on which jurisdiction you live in).
Lazy
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I'd still defer to the legal SE; my perception is it's not so much about public/private as about charging admission. A "house concert" that charges admission is not necessarily "anything goes." – Andy Bonner Jan 04 '23 at 14:01
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@AndyBonner Yes, if legal things get too involved this is definitely not something that can or should be acquired here. Of course with house concerts it is a bit of a grey zone, for when exactly is something not private anymore, but public? But as I understand the OP it is not about giving anything like a house concert. – Lazy Jan 04 '23 at 15:18
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idk how far this travels internationally [though UK & EU tend to be similar, idk outside that] You need no license to perform any song live. The **venue** needs a license, from which 'unreported revenue' is paid to writers, not based on logging the actual performances. Your home would not require any license. – Tetsujin Jan 04 '23 at 15:29
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@Tetsujin To be more exact, the organizer of the concert needs a license to have the piece publicly performed. The organizer can very well be the player. – Lazy Jan 04 '23 at 15:55
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@Lazy - not in the UK. The venue needs the license; it's on an annual basis. They don't advertise costs, you have to get a quote - https://pplprs.co.uk The actual piece[s] performed do not need to be reported. These are blanket licenses to cut down on admin. It used to be that every gig you played you had to fill in a sheet of exactly which songs were performed.. of course very very few ever bothered so the system didn't work. – Tetsujin Jan 04 '23 at 16:55
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@Tetsujin That’s an interesting approach. So if I rented a concert hall in the UK and organized a concert there then the hall owner would need to pay the fees? – Lazy Jan 04 '23 at 17:54
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The hall would already be licensed, yes, for the other 200 gigs they run this year. As a performer, it's not even really your job to check their license is in place - though there's a facility to report those who aren't. – Tetsujin Jan 04 '23 at 17:56
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@Lazy - it works, for a given definition of 'works'. The old system only worked for radio, who were compelled to send playlists [& so ended up working deals with publishers to play 'tracks they didn't need to report'] The structure collapsed long before this all could have been done far more easily by computerised systems. – Tetsujin Jan 04 '23 at 19:09