How to make sure that you dont raise copyright concerns?

Product Development & Sourcing

Topic summary

Concern: scaling a dropshipping store while using music artists’ images or album covers on custom products, and how to avoid copyright issues; whether a lawyer is needed.

Key points:

  • Copyright protects creative works (e.g., album cover art and artist images); usage typically requires permission/licensing.
  • A participant (not a lawyer) warns music-related assets have strong usage rights and advises not to use content if ownership/rights are unclear.
  • Clear recommendation: consult a lawyer to review specific usage and obtain a definitive green light (or stop).

Seller update:

  • Already using artists’ images/album covers on products; selling for ~5 months with ~100+ orders/month.
  • Advertising only on Meta (Facebook/Instagram); ~10k website visits/month.
  • Wonders if limited reach is due to potential copyright issues.

Outcomes/Status:

  • No legal resolution or licensing pathway provided in-thread.
  • Action item: seek legal counsel; avoid using copyrighted material without explicit rights.
  • Discussion remains open; unanswered questions include whether current use is permissible and how to secure proper licensing.
Summarized with AI on January 2. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hi guys. I want to scale my dropshipping store and start maximizing potential sales, so I want to make sure that the products I sell do not raise copyright issues and if it is legal to use some images or album covers of music artists. What can you suggest? Do I need a lawyer?

2

I’m not a lawyer at all so can’t give you advice on that level but would be concerned for you if you somehow used a music artists album to sell your products, or use it as part of your product. I have worked for artists and music studios and thing things I made have very strong usage rights attached to both the audio and the designs.

Another good gut sense that if you’re asking, it’s usually the indicator that you don’t know who own the copyright - so don’t use it.

100% go get legal advice, so you can share the usage in detail, get the green light (or not) so you don’t get the bad kind of surprise later.

3

Hi Jayson,
thank you for the reply. I actually use artists images or album cover images on my products, so its a custom made product.. It is still 5 months I sell those products without any issue (about 100+ orders a month), but do you think because I dont reach to many people its because of that ?? (I advertise only on META and having 10k website visits each month)