Chances are you’ve heard of music licensing, but you may not know exactly what it means or what it entails.
The truth is that anything to do with music rights can be complex as there are usually several parties involved. But music licensing is a key part of the music industry and it’s worth taking the time to understand what it’s all about in order to protect your music career.
With that in mind, we’re going to delve into the world of music licensing, from understanding the different types of licenses to navigating the licensing procedure, in order to make sure you know everything you need to know about the process.
1. What is music licensing?
Simply put, music licensing refers to the process whereby a music rights holder grants another party permission to use their music in exchange for compensation. It’s basically a temporary authorization that allows someone to use music that doesn’t belong to them and distribute it publicly.
It’s not a purchase, but more like a rental. Imagine that you own a house or a flat and you decide to rent it out for a limited time and under certain conditions while retaining ownership of the house. Music licenses are similar, but we’re talking about intellectual property, not physical property.
This means that playing music in public without proper authorization is considered theft and a license must be obtained every time a song is played in public for general consumption, which could mean in a TV program, a film, an advert, a trailer, a radio station, but also in restaurants, bars, shopping centers… as well as if someone wants to perform a song in public.
So let’s say you’re a consumer and not an artist and you want to use music in a project, you need to make sure you’ve got the necessary permissions from all the parties involved because if you don’t, you risk infringing copyright, which could then lead to potential legal problems and even fines.
This is why music licensing is a key part of the music industry, as it ensures that artists, composers, and publishers are fairly compensated for their work. As an artist, this is an excellent thing because it can generate passive income and lead to greater creative freedom.
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2. Who are the key parties involved in music licensing?
The first actor is the artist, whether a songwriter or composer. So let’s say you’re an artist who has just written a song. Copyright protection for a song is automatically granted as long as the work is original, fixed in a tangible medium, and has human authorship. But you may want to register the copyright with the appropriate copyright office to get a bit more protection.
There are two main types of copyright:
- Copyright in the composition itself, i.e. the lyrics and composition you created.
- Copyright on the sound recording. If you have signed with a major record company, you may have assigned them the rights to the master recording (the sound recording). If this is the case, the licensee (i.e. the person trying to obtain a license to use the music in their projects) will also need to obtain a license from them.
If you want, you can sell the rights to your songs, but as we saw earlier, that would no longer be covered by music licensing. So let’s suppose that you have retained all the rights to your tracks.
What you can do in this case is go through a music publisher whose job it is to manage these rights.
This may involve negotiating the terms of the music license, such as duration, location, and distribution channels, as well as collecting and distributing royalties.
Then there are what are known as performing rights organizations, or PROs for short. The main ones you may have heard of are ASCAP and BMI. They are responsible for collecting royalties (one-off payments or ongoing fees) on behalf of rights holders, such as songwriters and music publishers, every time a song is played in a public space (restaurant, bar, TV show…). Business owners and broadcasting networks pay royalties to these organizations instead of paying them individually to the artists so PROs are therefore intermediaries that help artists to be fairly remunerated when their music is played in public.
Music licensing companies are another key player. They also act as intermediaries, enabling license holders to access copyright-protected music without having to pay royalties. For example, they sell what is known as a blanket license, which allows someone to pay a one-off fee to use more than a million songs.
3. The various types of licenses
There are different types of music licenses that apply depending on the intended use of the music and anyone seeking a music license should ensure that they have the appropriate license for the end use.
- A synchronization license: this is one of the most widely used licenses and essentially covers the right to synchronize a copyrighted song with visual media, so it is necessary when music is used in conjunction with visual media, such as films, TV shows, adverts, and video games. So if someone wants to use one of your songs for the soundtrack of their short film, they have to pay for a synchronization license, and fees for these licenses vary greatly depending on the song used.
- A master license: this license authorizes the use of a recorded version of a specific song, as opposed to the composition itself. For this reason, it is often used in conjunction with a synchronization license. For example, if a small part of your song is played during a single scene in a film, both types of licenses will be required.
- A public performance license: this type of license is needed when someone wants to perform the music publicly, for example at a live event or in a public space. This applies whether the performance is live or recorded. For example, any type of public venue, radio stations and even streaming services need performance licenses to play music without risking copyright infringement.
- A mechanical license: this is the license needed to reproduce and distribute a piece of music in physical formats and even in digital formats (such as downloads and streaming). So let’s say you want to release a covers album and you want to be able to sell CDs or even vinyl discs of the album, you’ll need to obtain a mechanical license.
- A printing license: this license allows you to reproduce musical compositions in the form of sheet music. So if you go to your favorite music shop and there’s a book of sheet music for all Adele’s best songs, the publisher of that book first had to obtain a printing license.
A question that often comes up when someone is looking to license music is “Do I really need a license? “. This may be the case, for example, if they plan to use a very short extract of the song. There’s something called the fair use doctrine, and you can use it if someone tells you you’re infringing their license. But it’s more of a defense because it won’t absolve you of your responsibility.
4. How much does it cost and are there other options available?
As we briefly mentioned above, the cost of music licenses can vary enormously depending on a number of factors, and fees can range from a few hundred dollars for little-known songs to tens of thousands of dollars for well-known hits.
As well as the general popularity of the song, other factors that affect the cost include the intended use, the size of the audience, and the duration of the license (again, this is about renting the rights, not buying them).
As this can be quite expensive and not everyone can afford a music license, there are alternatives available that are worth mentioning.
- Royalty-free or copyright-free music: the truth is that most of the music out there is protected by copyright and you have to pay royalties to use it. But there is some music that can be used without paying royalties.
- Creative Commons music: some artists release their music under Creative Commons licenses, which allow you to use their work for free, as long as you respect the specific conditions of the license, such as attribution or use of the music for non-commercial purposes only.
- Stock music libraries: there are many online libraries where you can buy pre-licensed music. These libraries often offer a wide choice of genres and styles, and the quality of production has improved considerably in recent times.
- Commissioning original music: some people, particularly in the film industry, hire a composer or musician to create a custom score. Think of John Williams’ contribution to Star Wars or James Horner’s music for Titanic.
To conclude, music licensing is necessary because music, like a house or a flat, is someone’s property and cannot and should not be used for free. It is an important aspect of the music industry, as many songwriters, composers, session musicians, and producers make their living from music licensing.
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