Fansite copyright question.?

Question

Ok so I have a fansite (this American band is not really famous, but they have a huge fanbase in the UK)

And I put some songs of them on my fansite.

Like live-footage, acoustics, rare songs.

I actually didn't put their album on it, but I did put their EP on it BUT I asked one of bandmembers if I'm able to put it on the website, and he gave me permission to do it.

So my question is, is this illegal or...I'm not talking about the EP but about the other songs, should I ask permission again?

Is this copyright infringement?

It's just really confusing me

Answer 1

Assuming you didn't take the footage or record the songs yourself, you don't own the copyright. Who knows who actually owns it (band, label, or someone else) but the songs are the intellectual property of the band. They could belong to the publisher but if the band gave permission for the EP, they probably don't have a publisher. Ask permission from the band again. The upside is you get to build a relationship with the band and they'll probably check the site out themselves.

Answer 2

You need WRITTEN permission from whoever holds the copyright.  This may or may not be the band members themselves, and it particularly might not be the band member you spoke to.

For instance (just an example us old farts will recognize): Ringo Starr could not verbally give me the right to post Beatles songs, since he does not control the copyright.  EMI holds certain rights, Apple Corp holds others, Lennon/McCartney hold others, etc.