I have a question that I think I know the answer to.

A buddy of mine and I have recorded a jazzy arrangement of a Beatles song.
In a few months I plan to professionally produce an album with 12 original
songs on it. I will not be charging money for the album -- i'll be giving
it away for free.

My question is, what would be involved in including the Beatles song on the
album? Since the album will be free, do the laws change as far as paying
royalties to the owner of the song? Do I still need permission to use it if
I will not be profiting off it? If I host the song for download on my
website, will I be threatened with a lawsuit? If I do try to obtain
permission, who do I send a request to? ASCAP?

I understand I probably won't get permission to use the song, but I just
thought I'd check here first to see if there is a provision for distributing
free music...


--
*·.¸_¸.·'¨¨)
¸.·'
(_¸.·' Jonathan

JUST UPDATED (5-19-04) with FIVE new songs!
Go to http://www.guestroomproject.com/ to
hear some music from my upcoming solo album,
the Guestroom Project. I play all the instruments.