APM Music Offers Five Ways For Collegiate Athletic Departments To Avoid A Twitter Takedown

A few weeks ago on National Signing Day, college football teams were sent into a tailspin when they discovered their Twitter accounts were suspended for violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA grants online service providers the right to remove unlicensed content on behalf of copyright owners and that is exactly what schools like Texas, USF, Missouri, and Georgia experienced that morning. Instead of maximizing fan engagement on the biggest social media day in college sports, these college football teams had to wait critical hours until their accounts were reinstated.

To avoid a situation like this, use music from a reputable production music library so your fans and the media can focus on your message and not the lack thereof. Production music companies (often referred to as “music libraries”) license music that is made specifically to support video. Licensing from a music library is significantly less expensive than licensing commercial music and eliminates the hassle of contacting multiple parties for permission (and the heartbreak of being denied if the artist rejects your request). Using commercial music without permission can result in the taking down of Twitter accounts as well as legal action that may require the music to be stripped out of your video and replaced or the video removed entirely. Stating a lack of knowledge about copyright laws will not protect you from the potential legal consequences that may follow.

Here are 5 tips from APM Music to help prevent a Twitter takedown and make the most of your social media content:

1. Work with a production music library that understands your needs and has assured you that using them will not result in any copyright infringement claims against your account.
2. Make sure your production music library is reputable, stands behind their music and offers indemnity to protect you.
3. Don’t disguise commercial music with crowd cheers and other effects to circumvent copyright detection technology.
4. Work with a production music library that creates value for you by allowing you to monetize your content.
5. Use production music to streamline your workflow, create your content once and distribute it across every platform.

To learn more about production music licensing for sports, visit www.apmmusic.com