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I would like to know about the legal side of using guitar solo cuts inside a mobile app. The solos will be cut from commercial music of rock bands. The app will be free.

Can I use solos like that?

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No you can not do that. It is a violation of the musician's copyright on their music.

Also note you can not record that same music yourself and use that in your app- without paying royalties to the people who wrote the music.

To use someone else's property, you have to pay for the right to do so. And they may not allow you to use their property.

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Thanks. What is the best way to contact the representatives of artists in order to discuss this kind of thing? It's clearly not in official band sites, but there must be a way to contact them for that matter... – SirKnigget Apr 27 '12 at 16:55
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ASCAP should be able to help you with licensing agreements: ascap.com – JonnyBoats Apr 27 '12 at 17:05
What country are you in? The rules may vary depending on that info. Also note the bands have the right to prohibit your use of pieces of their songs. – Gary E♦ Apr 27 '12 at 21:22
Is this true even if the app is non-profit? – Ronald Apr 28 '12 at 20:33
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It is true for anyone or any business! You can no more use their songs than you can make copies of Windows and sell them to people! – Gary E♦ Apr 28 '12 at 22:06

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