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Podsafe Content: A Guide to Free & Legal Media for Podcasters

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 3 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

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About Podsafe Content

 

A guide to freely available audio and video content licensed specifically for use in podcast productions. Learn about the advantages of podsafe content, where to find it and how you can use it.

The podsafe ethos fosters a sense of fair play and mutual respect for the rights of all parties involved including the artists, composers, podcasters, listeners and viewers. It facilitates the distribution of recorded performances, music and video in a legally safe manner, supported by a vibrant and growing community of content creators and users.

Things you can do here 

  • Find legal music, audio and video content that is free to download, share and distribute.
  • Discover places to share your own creative works.
  • Get information about the legal issues surrounding digital content creation and distribution including public domain works, GPL and Creative Commons licenses.
  • Learn about Social Media and Open Content culture.
  • Watch videos that are topical and historically significant.

Copyright 

For a work to be considered podsafe, any licensing requirements must allow for the work's free use in a podcast or web broadcast. The licensor must have the legal right and authority to declare the work podsafe. 

There are many types of licensing agreements that allow material to be used in podcasts. Generally, podsafe works provide more flexible, pre-cleared usage rights in comparison with other works that use strongly enforced copyright restrictions and Digital Rights Management (DRM).

Content made podsafe in no way affects the rights of artists and performers to benefit commercially from their works in other ways. 

Copyleft 

Copyleft style licenses are widely used in the podcasting community and play an important role in the way people share, remix and distribute independent media. In particular Creative Commons' licensed content is generally podsafe providing use is consistent with the applicable license terms. Podcasts are known as "collective works" and are not considered to be derivative works (see Podcasting Legal Guide).

The use of CC licenses has enabled a more open approach to content creation and distribution. This movement is continually developing new avenues for promotion and revenue that purposefully take advantage of innovative digital technologies. As a consequence, DIY producers are gaining more exposure both locally and internationally.

Finding Podsafe Content 

Podsafe content can be found in many locations online including artists web sites, mp3 blogs, video blogs, open media communities, podcast directories, net labels, P2P networks, social networks and BitTorrent hosts. 

You can use the resources mentioned here to learn more about the availability of podsafe content and flexible licenses like Creative Commons. The main aim is to connect you with content creators willing to let you use their works for free in podcasts or web broadcasts.

Podsafe Search Engines 

Tip: To narrow your search for podsafe music try using the phrase "This music free to share under a Creative Commons Music" including the quotation marks. This phrase refers to the actual text used in the CC badge placed on websites. You can use this with any popular search engine, just remember even the same search engine may produce different results regionally ie America or Europe.
Creative Commons Search
Search for Creative Commons content using Google, Yahoo! Flickr, Blip.tv and Owl music search. Provides the option to find works for commercial purposes or works you can modify, adapt, or build upon.
Exploseek
Automates the process of searching the major search engines for media files. Use phrases and keywords like creative commons, podsafe, public domain, copyleft, etc to find open indexes of legal media files. Do not include quotation marks in searches or things like index of or parent directory.
Open Music Search - Google
A Google Custom Search Engine for finding legal media files and news about Copyleft, Creative Commons and Public Domain works. This tool takes you straight to the heart of the Open Music community. You can also add the search widget to your Google startpage and other Websites.
Podsafe Content Search Swiki
A search engine for finding podsafe resources and works. Use this when you're looking for general information and websites relating to podsafe material and topics. See the link below for adding the search box to your site.
Put a Podsafe Content Search Box on your Site
Add a Podsafe Content searchbox and buzzcloud to your webpage or blog.
Smacki
Allows you to search Google for indexes of mp3 files. Similar to Exploseek and useful for finding Creative Commons licensed works.

Sources of Podsafe Content 

Open Media Directory
A clearinghouse for legal, podsafe music and video sources, including Public Domain works, Creative Commons licensed material, Copyleft works and other forms of licensed content. An Ourmedia.org project, this is a good starting point for exploring the wealth of open content sources and grassroots media currently online. Anyone can republish the work under the terms of the CC license and with attrubution.

Podsafe Origins and Development 

Dave Winer's Neologism
"We're in need of some terminology for non-RIAA music, and yesterday I may have come up with one, which I arrived at this way. It's music that's safe to include in a podcast. Safe-to-podcast. Podcast-safe. Podsafe. Podsafe music. Voila?" - Dave's blog post in Scripting News - Saturday, November 13, 2004.
Wikipedia Podsafe Entry
"Podsafe is a term created in the podcasting community to refer to any work which, through its licensing, specifically allows the use of the work in podcasting, regardless of restrictions the same work might have in other realms. For example, a song may be legal to use in podcasts, but may need to be purchased or have royalties paid for over-the-air radio use, television use, and possibly even personal use." - Taken from the introduction - click on link for full entry.

Podsafe Blog Posts 

Tracking conversations about podsafe media.
Show Number 59 - Celtic Rock Revival
Yup - this show is actually a week late... I wanted to do it last Sunday, but was a little too poope...
Podsafe Music
The Free Sound Project; SoundSnap; Flash Kit - Sound FX; Podcast Bumper Music; fOUR bEES Free Media;...
Where to find PodSafe Music for Your Youtube Video Production
Podsafe music refers to music specifically for podcasters/youtubers. The music is licensed in such a...
Episode 13
Used courtesy of Podsafe Music Network. URL: http://www.eastofealing.co.uk/. 4. A Human Being by Val...

USB Turntables on Amazom 

Legal Information for Podcasters 

Podcasting Law
A Zimbio group portal focusing on copyright, trademark, publicity, media, defamation, and legal subjects relating to podcasting.
Tubetorial Videos
Offers a selection of video tutorials including copyright issues for bloggers, blogger law 101, trademark law and your blog domain name.

Video: A Fair(y) Use Tale 

"Professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University created this humorous, yet informative, review of copyright principles delivered through the words of the very folks we can thank for nearly endless copyright terms." source released under Creative Commons.

A Fair(y) Use Tale

Not made by me,found it online,available for download on website Disney Parody explanation of Copyright Law and Fair Use Synopsis: Professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University provides this humorous, yet informative, review of copyright principles delivered through the words of the very folks we can thank for nearly endless copyright terms. ***Description taken from website*** Video Found at http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/documentary-film-program/film/a-fair-y-use-tale

Runtime: 10:13
1744263 views
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Copyright Issues 

Getting Permission: How To License & Clear Copyrighted Materials Online & Off 2nd Edition

Advice and guidance for licensing content, transferring information and linking to other sites.

Amazon Price: (as of 10/11/2008)

About Copyright and Copyleft  

Useful links explaining the main principals and differences relating to copyright and copyleft ideals.
Bandfoundry - Copyright and Online Music
Online copyright information center explaining legal rights and practices within the US music industry.
Copyleft and Copyright
An interesting piece by David M. Berry, Marcus McCallion debating some of the issues surrounding the history of copyright, the public domain and copyleft potentials.
Wikipedia Copyright
Presents an overall picture of copyright, related topics and web links.
Wikipedia Copyleft
Presents an overall picture of copyleft principles, related topics and web links.
Wikipedia Richard Stallman
Founder of GNU Project and Free Software Foundation.

Music Marketing and Podsafe Content 

Beatnik Turtle: Indie Band Survival Guide
Research, articles, stories, and practical know-how about the music industry written from an independent band's perspective. Pretty much covers the whole field of DIY music business survival.
Disquiet: Free as in Netlabel
The proprietors of three established netlabels discuss the cost of free downloads, the online community of uploaders and the transition from physical distribution to virtual; by Marc Weidenbaum.
Download and spread our music for free
Marten Timan co-founder of Simuze and bass-player of We Vs Death, provides insight on why his band release and promote their music downloads using CC-licenses.
Marketing your Music Through Podcasting
Magnatune artist Chris Juergensen shares his tips on self-marketing your music to podcasters. The work may be reprinted with attribution and a link back to the page.
Netlabels and the Adoption of Creative Commons Licensing in the Online Electronic Music Community
The Creative Commons licensing model has enjoyed particularly high adoption rates in the online electronic music community. A growing number of netlabels publish original compositions for free online using Creative Commons' music sharing license. To understand this phenomenon, a history of the electronic music scene is presented that identifies motivating factors. The mechanics of running a netlabel are explained along with a detailed discussion of four reasons why a significant portion of the electronic music scene has aligned itself with the Creative Commons project (Abstract).

Video: A Future History of the Media 

Evolving Personalized Information Construct

In the year 2014, The New York Times has gone offline. The Fourth Estate's fortunes have waned. What happened to the news? A future history of the media by Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson: http://snarkmarket.com/ Music by Aaron McLeran: http://minuskelvin.com/ Source: http://www.robinsloan.com/epic/ Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

Runtime: 8:43
1901 views
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Book: Learn about Public Domain Works 

A road map to finding and using public domain works including songs, films, art and manuscripts.

The Public Domain: How to Find & Use Copyright-free Writings, Music, Art & More

Amazon Price: $24.25 (as of 10/11/2008)

Public Domain Information 

When U.S. Works Pass Into the Public Domain
A chart and definition by Lolly Gasaway, University of North Carolina. The chart may be freely duplicated or linked to for nonprofit purposes.
Wikipedia: GNU General Public License
Information and links for the widely-used free software license.
Wikipedia: Public Domain Films
Articles about post-1923 theatrical-released films that are in the public domain in the region of original release, the United States, and/or other English-speaking regions. Media may be available on Wikimedia Commons or other sites such as the Internet Archive.

Due to the Copyright Term Extension Act, no more films will automatically enter public domain in the United States until January 1, 2019, when films released in 1923 will be ineligible for copyright (and 1924 films in 2020, 1925 films in 2021, and so on).
Wikipedia: Public domain resources
Intended as a list of only true public domain text resources but provides links to related PD info and useful ways of searching using Google.

Book: Bound By Law? 

Bound By Law? (Tales from the Public Domain)

Amazon Price: $5.95 (as of 10/11/2008)

Video: Trusted Computing 

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Portable Media Gadgets 

Portable media players and audio/video devices.

#1

Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder

Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder

Pocketable Mic/recorder on Secure Digital (SD) med more...1 point

#2

Creative Zen Mozaic 4 GB MP3 Player (Black)

Creative Zen Mozaic 4 GB MP3 Player (Black)

Media player with Voice Recorder, 8 EQ settings, F more...1 point

#3

AKG Acoustics K26P Foldable Stereo Headphones

AKG Acoustics K26P Foldable Stereo Headphones

Foldable, closed-back phones with high ambient-noi more...1 point

#4

Behringer UB802 Eurorack UB802 Mixer (8 Inputs)

Behringer UB802 Eurorack UB802 Mixer (8 Inputs)

Features 2 MIC preamps, 6 balanced line inputs, 1 more...1 point

#5

M-Audio BX8a 8

M-Audio BX8a 8" BiAmplified Studio Monitor Speakers

Offers 8-inch low-frequency drivers and 1-inch hig more...1 point

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Video: Network Neutrality 

Net Neutrality

a video that explains why discrimination on the Internet is a problem and will continue to be as long as net neutrality rules are not enforced

Runtime: 2:50
375686 views
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What is Open Content? 

A Guide to Open Content Licences
Scientists, writers, designers, artists, musicians and others are increasingly interested in making their work available in 'the public domain'. This booklet is an overview of the ways in which this has been done and a guide to the growing area of Open Content Licenses through which people design and safeguard access to their work... more
Wikipedia Open Content
Open content, coined by analogy with "open source" describes any kind of creative work including articles, pictures, audio, and video that is published in a format that explicitly allows the copying of the information. Technically, it is share alike without any prohibitions or otherwise. Content can be either in the public domain or under a license like the Creative Commons License. The term is also used to emphasize content that can be modified by anyone; not exclusively by a closed organization, firm or individual... more

The Free Culture Movement 

Free Culture Manifesto
The mission of the Free Culture movement is to build a bottom-up, participatory structure to society and culture, rather than a top-down, closed, proprietary structure. Through the democratizing power of digital technology and the Internet, we can place the tools of creation and distribution, communication and collaboration, teaching and learning into the hands of the common person -- and with a truly active, connected, informed citizenry, injustice and oppression will slowly but surely vanish from the earth... more
Wikipedia: Free Culture Movement
The Free Culture movement is a social movement that promotes the free distribution of creative works on the Internet as well as other mediums, and objects to overly restrictive copyright laws, which members of the movement argue, hinder creativity. Closely associated with the free culture movement are organizations in the free software movement, such as the Free Software Foundation.

Another organization commonly associated with Free Culture is Creative Commons, founded by Lawrence Lessig. Lessig is a law professor at Stanford University and a prominent figure in the free software movement. He wrote a book called Free Culture, which provides many arguments in favour of the free culture movement... more

Introducing Creative Commons 

Creative Commons Info 

Learn all about Creative Commons licensing.
A Spectrum of Rights
A cartoon strip that helps to explain Creative Commons licensing in a clear and friendly way.
ccCreators
A collective for artists using Creative Commons licenses to share opinions, work and start collaborations. Members can use the group to meet other artists, designers, writers, podcasters, filmmakers etc.
Creative Commons
Main website for the nonprofit organization that offers flexible copyright licenses for creative works.
Creative Commons Licenses: Pros and Cons of Each
A guide by Lisa Rein, outlining some of the main points to consider when choosing and using CC licenses.
CcWiki Music Podcasts
A list of music podcasts featuring exclusively CC licensed music.
Content Curators
A list of curators of Creative Commons-licensed content.
Podcasting Legal Guide
Outlines some of the legal issues specific to podcasting and provides links to podcasting resources.

Video:: Creative Commons Discussion 

Prof. Lawrence Lessig Explains Creative Commons Licensing

J.D. Lasica interviews Stanford Law Professor Lawrence Lessig for an 8-minute video in regards to the future of copyright. Lessig, of course, is the leading light of the participatory culture movement, chairman and co-founder of Creative Commons, and a member of the Ourmedia Advisory Board. His books are "Code," "The Future of Ideas" and "Free Culture." Lessig is a Law Professor at Stanford Law School, he's also the Chairman of Creative Commons.

Runtime: 8:30
5697 views
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Video: The Corruptibles!  

The Corruptibles

Hollywood wants Congress to give it new super powers over your TV, radio, and computer. Find out more in this animation, and go to http://www.eff.org/corrupt/ to learn more, take action to stop these proposals, and download the animation. Like this? Digg it: http://tinyurl.com/jyo8d Creative Commons License BY-NC-SA http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/

Runtime: 2:12
1443651 views
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Book: Networked Information Economy 

The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom

"A magnificent achievement. Yochai Benkler shows us how the Internet enables new commons-based methods for producing goods, remaking culture, and participating in public life. The Wealth of Networks is an indispensable guide to the political economy of our digitally networked world."-Jack M. Balkin, Professor of Law and Director of the Information Society Project, Yale University

Amazon Price: $35.39 (as of 10/11/2008)

Free Content Browsers 

You can use these free browser tools to find, view and subscribe to audio/visual media.
Democracy Player
A free, open source video browser that lets you grab video from web pages and RSS feeds from sources worldwide. You can watch full screen videos from podcasts, video blogs, and BitTorrent feeds, back to back.
FireAnt
Browser and directory for discovering a range of media formats including videoblogs and podcasts.
FLV Player
A simple player for watching .flv format videos (YouTube).
ION
Find, subscribe, and play playlists, podcasts, video blogs, and Flickr feeds, all in one place. ION's integrated search tool also allows you to find syndicated media through services such as Mefeedia, Blip.tv, YouTube, Blogdigger, Yahoo! Video, Flickr, and WebJay.
Open Media Network
A free Internet TV viewer that lets you download, watch and listen to educational and public service programs. Provides thousands of programs in DVD-quality video.
Songbird Media Player
An open source cross-platform music browser that can play all the popular music formats including MPEG Audio (mpga), MPEG Layer 3 (mp3), MP4 Audio (mp4a), Ogg Vorbis, Speex, AAC, WMA, FLAC, LPCM, ADPCM, AMR. There's good support for Creative Commons media including ccMixter.

Open Media Blogs 

These blogs provide reviews and links to free media projects and CC licensed materials.
Britney - Starfrosch Blog
An aggregated feed of mp3 netaudio weblogs and netlabel sites.
Buckmans Magnatune Blog
Magnatune label founder John Buckman's blog focusing on Magnatune developments and open music topics.
Copyleft Music
Hand picked links to copyright free MP3 music and unsigned artists.
Indieish
Free daily music licensed under Creative Commons. Streaming audio, podcast feeds, reviews and interviews with leading content creators.
The Best Media in Life is Free
Carefully chosen links to e-books, audio books, mp3 music, public domain materials and Creative Commons licensed works.
What's New at the Internet Archive
Highlighted content from the collection team's blog.

Spread the Word: Podcasting is Selling Music and it's Legal 

Graphic provided by the UK Podcasting Association. You can get the larger original version here

Video: Negativland's Gimme the Mermaid  

More info at Negativland.com

Gimme the Mermaid

This piece was commissioned by the experimental sound collage group Negativland for the video compilation, "Our Favorite Things," soon to be released. The track had been cut by Negativland several years before, an audio document of their problems with copyright/trademark issues concerning their "U2" album. Many years and a painful settlement later, they had successfully transformed their experience into even more art, and a little activism besides. This little piece, made on Disney equipment after hours when no one was looking, remains quite popular. San Francisco experimental filmmaker Craig Baldwin has been kind enough to include it in "culture jamming" programs he has organized throughout the US and Europe. Several times has it been used in conferences and on panels about copyright for the legal profession. And it's fun, to boot. The statute of limitations has apparently run out on this piece, and it is now considered perfectly legal. What a relief!

Runtime: 4:49
125586 views
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Book: Convergence Culture 

Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide

Convergence Culture maps a new territory: where old and new media intersect, where grassroots and corporate media collide, where the power of the media producer and the power of the consumer interact in unpredictable ways.

Henry Jenkins, one of America's most respected media analysts, delves beneath the new media hype to uncover the important cultural transformations that are taking place as media converge.

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 10/11/2008)

Podsafe Related Lenses 

Podcasting Mics and Accesories 

Recommended equipment for podcasters. You can share this list on your own site by grabbing the widget code below.

#1

Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder

Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder

Pocketable Mic/recorder on Secure Digital (SD) med more...1 point

#2

R0DE Podcaster USB Microphone

R0DE Podcaster USB Microphone

Specifically designed for computer recording with more...0 points

#3

SE Electronics USB2200A Cardioid Condenser USB/XLR Mic

SE Electronics USB2200A Cardioid Condenser USB/XLR Mic

Records CD quality audio, low latency headphone mo more...0 points

#4

Samson CO1U USB Condenser Mic

Samson CO1U USB Condenser Mic

A low cost, quality studio condenser microphone th more...0 points

#5

Flash Mic DRM85

Flash Mic DRM85

Pro digital recording microphone combining a high- more...0 points

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Peer Platform 

Share your links and comments ...

rose08

my iPod still have huge memories:)
I also download may audio stories, like bible mp3s to listen, they're very good. It's always great relaxing time when sitting in a deck chair in the sunshinning afternoon, listenning to the stories with a cup of gree tea beside.
Thanks for the great resources.

Posted September 18, 2008

PricePiece_Marketing

Great and informative lens. 5 stars!

Thanks for the information.

Video Email Marketing

Posted March 19, 2008