In this section we will delineate the differences between a “karaoke work” and a “karaoke performance”.  Many times these two are confused and are often referred to as one and the same, but there are important differences that need to be recognized.  In light of this statement, the first question that comes to mind would be is karaoke a “work”, a “performance” or both?

Work vs. Performance

Under Title 17 of the US Copyright Code, a work is defined as any number of intangible things such as literary works, musical compositions, audiovisual works, etc.  What all of these works share in common is that they are all ideas or rather an expression of ideas. 

A common misconception however is to confuse the material object in which a “work” is fixed as being the “work” itself.  A book for example in and of itself is not a work, but it is a material object by which the expression of ideas is fixed, namely a literary work.  Likewise, a page of sheet music expressing a musical composition is not a work but is also a material object by which a work is defined or expressed.  A CD (compact disc) is not a work but a material object which contains a sound recording of a musical work.

A musical work does not need to be performed or recorded to validate it as a work, no more than a book needs to be read to validate it as being a work.  It should be noted however, that in cases where a musical work is performed and fixed onto a sound recording, the sound recording itself becomes an expression of work and is eligible for copyright protection as a “derivative work” of the musical composition.

On the other hand, a performance is just as its name implies.  It is an expression of the work itself, be it of a musical work, or of a screen play, etc.  In cases of musical works, if the work is performed on stage, it is of course considered to be a live performance.  If a performance is recorded it is considered a sound recording (of a performance).  For purposes of discussion, the same would apply to literary works .  If it is performed on stage it is considered a “play”, if it is recorded on film with actors and scenery etc. it is considered a motion picture or an audiovisual work.

A performance in and of itself never redefines the type of underlying work that is used in the performance.  For example, if in a karaoke performance the singer used a sound recording without on-screen lyrics to sing the song, his performance does not magically turn the sound recording into an audiovisual work.  Likewise if this same singer sang this same song to a soundtrack of a motion picture, it does not change the motion picture into a sound recording.

As you can see that although a work and a performance may have a special relationship between themselves, they are two very different things.  For all intents and purposes, a work is an expression of an idea, whereas a performance is an expression of the work.

Karaoke Is A Performance

Being that karaoke is an activity centered on the act of singing, from both a practical, technical and legal perspective, karaoke falls under the category of a non-dramatic musical performance.  The background track that a karaoke singer uses is irrelevant in defining the term “karaoke” other than the fact that the background track must be void of a lead vocal track.  The one distinguishing aspect of a karaoke performance is that the song is performed to a pre-recorded background track without a lead vocal as opposed to a live orchestra.  From a legal perspective, a karaoke performance is not uniquely distinct or differentiated from other live non-dramatic musical performances under the US Copyright Code.

Karaoke Works

The term “karaoke” is not supported in the copyright act but is etymological in nature as it translates from its Japanese origins as meaning “empty orchestra”.  At first blush this might lead one to believe that it is referring to an actual sound recording when in essence it is actually referring to a performance using a sound recording without a lead vocal track. 

From a legal perspective, a “karaoke work” is not recognized under US Copyright Law (Title 17) as a separate work of any kind.  In fact there is no mention or any use of the word “karaoke” at all under the current code.

Adding to the confusion, there have been numerous court cases and litigation that has incorrectly referred to these sound recordings (of musical works that have been formatted with on-screen lyrics) as “karaoke works”.  Here again, one only needs to review the copyright code to realize that such works are nowhere to be found or referenced throughout the entire code.  Furthermore an on-screen lyric is not intrinsic to, or necessary for a karaoke performance.  The only thing that is required is a sound recording minus a lead vocal track

So one might ask, what kind of a work is used in a karaoke performance?  There are basically two types of works that can be used in karaoke performances and they are as follows:
   • Sound Recordings
          o Audio only (sound recordings minus a lead vocal track)
   • Audiovisual Works
          o Audio with on-screen lyrics (sound recordings works minus a lead vocal track)
          o Audio-visual works with song lyrics superimposed over a motion picture background minus a lead vocal tracks.

Hopefully this section has cleared up some of the confusion as to the various types of karaoke.  As you can see karaoke in and of itself is a type, and that being a type of performance.  Whether the performance is to an audio only sound recording, a sound recording with on-screen lyrics, or what has been commonly referred to as “laser karaoke”, it makes no difference.  There is no type distinction based on the accompanying background track being used.