Podsafe Music

What is podsafe music and why should I, as an artist, care?

According to Wikipedia:

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.

According to the Podsafe Music Network:

Podsafe music is described as a work that meets all of the following conditions: Works submitted to the Podsafe Music Network are the property of the artist, and all rights to these works, including lyrics and music, are the property of the artist. AND All works contain no recordings, lyrics, copyrights, or other elements that are the copyright of any other artist, except under the limited provisions of the Creative Commons License Agreement (http://www.creativecommons.org). AND Despite any recording contracts with RIAA, ASCAP, or BMI, or other recording industry entity, the artist retains ownership of the works, and is free to distribute, broadcast, license or sell these works at the artist's discretion.

The basic idea is that the owner of the music allows the podcaster to use it in exchange for the exposure the artist will gain from this use. This has proven to be a mutually beneficial arrangement for thousands of podcasters and thousands of artists.

A simple way for artists to make music podsafe and available to podcasters is for them to post it to the Podsafe Music Network (PMN). This service provides a pre-packaged license for the artist and the podcasters setting forth what is allowed and what is not. It also provides an opportunity for the music to be sold online at 99 cents a song with no DRM, although this aspect of the PMN is optional.

While the PMN is by no means the only avenue for the distribution of podsafe music, it is often the simplest with the least overhead for the artist.