Whenever you see a film or a television show where music is playing under a scene (nearly all of them), the music has been “cleared” or “licensed” for use in that scene. In many cases the music is scored by a composer who is under contract for that particular production, but many times the music is licensed from a third party. It could be a popular song that you have heard on the radio, an indie artist who is not so main-stream, or the music could be provided by a music library. (Insert shameless plug here) A music library like MoonLab Music.
We’ll focus on third parties for now and examine the components.
Regarding a song where clearance is concerned, the song has two “sides.” There’s the publishing side (aka “synchronization” or “sync”). Those who own the publishing side, control the creative content of a song. Think of the song’s publishing side as intellectual property.
Then there is the master side, which is the physical recording such as the CD or any digital file of that particular performance by an artist. For most pop artists for example, the master is owned by their record company. Confused yet?
Here’s how the two sides work. The songwriter of the song you want to clear might have a contract with a publisher of their music. The publisher manages the songwriter’s copyright of the material. On the master side, usually the record company manages the recorded version of the song. Not all artists have publishers and record companies, but understanding who these two players are for music clearance will help you have smarter conversations when you start looking for who does control the two sides of a piece of recorded music.
We’ve established that you must get permission from both the publisher and the record company in order to use a song with any kind of picture for broadcast.
Here’s an illustration of the difference between the two sides of a song.
Pull up any song in itunes. What you see in your playlist is a recorded master. What you hear when you play the song is the composition or the intellectual property that is copyrighted by the composer/songwriter.
If someone else covered that song, creating a new version, they would be creating a new master recording of it. However, the song’s publishing remains the same. If you want to license that new version, you would need to seek permission from the owner of the new master recording, as well as the original publisher.
So again, when you seek clearance of a song, both the publisher and the controllers of the master recording need to be contacted for pricing quotes.
To get permission from the publisher you are requesting to synchronize the composition to picture. This publishing clearance is commonly known as the sync license.
The permission from the owners of the master recording is just that: permission to use their master recording of the composition.
Who do you contact first? Call a professional music clearance person. If you don’t hire a pro, I would suggest having an entertainment lawyer look over the documentation. But if you are new to clearing music I would highly suggest you use someone with experience.
Prices are usually determined by the first entity contacted as an MFN (most favored nation) meaning the fee set by one entity is usually matched by the other. Most of the time the fees for each side of the clearance are the same. For example, if a quote is $35,000 a side, you can expect to pay $70,000 to clear the song because each side would be paid the 35k.
There are many variables to music clearance. A professional clearance person can get the best prices for you based on your clearance criteria. In addition, they have long-term relationships with representatives on both sides of the clearance process. Their knowledge and contacts could both help get the cost lower and ensure that the music is properly cleared the first time around. It can be very pricey to go back to these players for additional clearance, so being thorough the first time is crucial.
Contact MoonLab Music for more information regarding music clearance or any music questions or needs.
moonlab@sent.com
AIM: moonlabm
