I was led to believe as long as you make no money and note in your film that the music used within is property of the "respective" legal owners it's not illegal, go on youtube, search your favourite song...hundreds of pages of uploaded music...none of it gets removed
There is a big difference between hundreds of violations on Youtube not
being removed and the practice being legal. It is not legal to copy anyones
material without their permission. The right to copy belongs to the copyright
owner and is not contingent on how the material will be used, if credit is
given or if a profit will be made. Copyright is simply the right to copy.
Many, many people violate that right of artists, writers, musicians and
filmmakers all the time. And many, many people do it without being sued
or stopped.
Miles, what you were led to believe is incorrect. Simply giving credit is still,
technically, illegal.
Regarding using copyrighted music in a college application portfolio. Dr. Thunder,
it technically violates the right of the musicians - and prospective students do
it all the time. If you want to stand out, don't do it. Either get permission or
(better yet, in my opinion) get permission from an smaller - maybe unsigned -
band in your area. Not using a well known song can actually make your portfolio
stand out. There is a very real possibility that the admissions people hear the
same, popular songs over and over and over. The songs are popular because
a LOT of people like them and a LOT of filmmakers use songs they like.