One of the most frustrating features social media today is being unable to share your belly dance performance videos! With global copyright protections in play, it can make a dancer feel like a third class citizen behind musicians. As dancers, we use and respond to music, we interpret the music, and share that music with our audience. George Balanchine once said, “Dance is Music Made Visible,” and yet we are constantly being thwarted when we attempt to upload clips of our performances.
Over the past few months, and a fair bit of research and experimentation, here are some strategies to try when selecting your music to raise the odds of getting your video online.
Choose Copyright Free Music: This may sound simplistic, but sometimes doing the work ahead of time will save you tons of frustration. YouTube has a very easy to use Music Copyright search that allows video creators to check to see if the music they are hoping to use is available. In order to use this powerful tool, you will need to log into your YouTube account to access this address: https://www.youtube.com/music_policies
Dance to a live band: When you’re contemplating which performances to book to share on social media, investigate your local live music options. Live music cuts will pass muster on a copyright search. Like this performance clip I posted to Instagram of Bay Area belly dancer Shalimar wearing a costume I made.
Use Classic or Folk Songs: There are many titles that are now “out of print” and looking into some classic recordings might be the way to find a piece that are available for use and distribution online. Many vintage recordings might be available, so pull out your old vinyl and hit the floor. Here, Bay Area dancer Natika dances to the classic Turkish Rompi-Rompi.
Ask Permission: There are some wonderfully talented local bands who make and sell their CD’s at events. A great example is the Sacramento based band Pangia, who made the first cut that Natika performed to in the clip above.
In our current era of video proliferation, it’s important for all visual artists to have the power to share their work on their websites and in social media. A video is essential to facilitate booking gigs, advertising for students, or simply to share their art. So before you book your next performance for video, do a little research beforehand to raise your chances of having your clips past social media muster!
Now, I’m off to find some copyright free music to use as the background of a sewing demo. The struggle is real!
Happy Dancing!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Wednesday, November 8, 2017