Is recording a book in my own voice on mp3 illegal as long as not for sale

[Guest]

Is recording a book on an mp3 and then putting it on my website illegal even if it is not for sale?

 

[buwish]

This topic has been moved from the section Storage to section Applications by Buwish

 

[Ijack]

If the book is still copyright then I suspect the answer is "Yes".

 

[aford10]

If you're not distributing it or selling it, I don't see how it would be.

 

[Ijack]

Public performance without permission is frowned upon under the copyright laws of most countries.

 

[aford10]

Ah, I didn't see the posting on the website part. That would probably qualify as distribution.

Check out the laws for Fair Use, and Public Domain, and see if your book falls in the yes, or no category.

 

[brandoncatz]

I've recorded a few cover songs (the originals being copyrighted, of course, by their respective artists) and posted them on Facebook and Myspace (with listening and dl'ing free). How would that be any different from this? Is it due to the type of media (book vs music) or am I, and all the other folks doing that, posting them illegally?

Oh, nevermind... guess this answers it... most agree that a recording of anyone's material requires permission from the owner.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-business/475821-illegal-cover-songs-give-them-away.html

 

[Ijack]

am I, and all the other folks doing that, posting them illegally?

Almost certainly, Yes.

Whether the copyright owners choose to take action is another matter.

 

[brandoncatz]

Right. I'm sure that, for the most part, it's one of those unspoken rules that they don't go after people unless they're profiting off of the material.

 

[beechtree]

Is the book still in copyright? If it's no longer in copyright, you could record yourself reading it. This is what LibriVox is about.