IANAL

But that doesn't stop me from having opinions and questions. Anyone out there want to weigh in on the legality of the following. (Identities are vague to protect the possibly guilty from the RIAA.)

Dance Instructor 1 made up some CDs of music to practice with and said that he had to give them away because it was OK to make the copies (for instructional purposes?) but illegal to sell them. Dance Instructor 2 made up some CDs of music to practice with and sold them to students for $5 each.

To my none legally trained mind, DI1's actions sound possibly legal - he wasn't making any money off the copies; DI2's action seem decidedly illegal - he was definitely making money off the deal. I didn't buy DI2's practice CD because $5 is a hell of a lot to charge for something that takes maybe 5 minutes to make with materials maybe a buck. I suppose the safest move, in terms of not violating copyright, would be to prepare a list of songs* appropriate for each dance for the students. But I've been wondering if either dance instructor's actions were legal or if one is "more" legal than the other. Anyone out there have a, legal or lay, opinion?



*Obviously non-comprehensive and it would most likely need to have album/performer info, too, since different recordings may change the rhythm and/or tempo.