On Tue, 2007-07-31 at 06:36 +0100, Deepak Naidu wrote: > I think we need to pay for the later, but I am not sure if we need to > pay for the inbuilt asterisk(freepbx) on hold music.
I'm no lawyer, but here's what I understand. (Please consult with an attorney in your area, and don't consider this legal advice.) The hold music that comes with Asterisk is provided by Digium under license from Freeplay Music Corporation for use in conjunction with the Asterisk software only. It's my understanding that you don't have to pay any kind of royalties to use it, as long as you're using it with Asterisk. You *do* have to pay royalties on music (or MP3 files) by commercial artists. These royalties vary by country. Using commercial music as hold music is considered broadcasting the music, which requires different licensing arrangements with the copyright holder. In the United States, you can buy a license from ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) to be able to broadcast music from the major record labels. There are also several other places you can get royalty-free music for hold music. I've had good luck looking online, especially at sites like MagnaTune. -- Jared Smith Community Relations Manager Digium, Inc. _______________________________________________ --Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com-- asterisk-users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
