Licensing and Permissions

Music Licensing, Unions, and Professional Organizations

How much money can you make?

 

1)      What permission needs to be granted?  2)   How large will the payment and fees be?  3)  To whom the money will be paid and how (up front fee, royalty checks over a long period of time)  

Mechanical License and Purpose

Mechanical License:  Grants permission to reproduce a sound recording that will be available for private use and for commercial reasons.  Generally these are negotiated a couple of different ways.  Royalty rates might be a bit lower and the payments are assessed quarterly rather than monthly.   You'd want to use a mechanical license if you wanted to record someone else's song for your own album.  

Synchronization License

Synch Licenses: The right to use music in conjunction with visual images (especially with film) or something on the screen.   Synch refers to synchronization with the visual image.  This is an interesting situation.  Next we'll look at what factors influence using this sort of license.   

Using Music for a Soundtrack

1)   Royalty Rate (How much they will make per copy and/or any up front fees)  2)   Suggested Retail List Price of the movie once completed 3)   Paying an advance  4)   Territory of the film (Domestic or International)  5)    How Many Tracks are Used   6)    Methods of Sale  7)    EDC (Estimated Date of Completion)

What info the film company provides...

 

1)      Type of Use (Visual, vocal, background, instrumental etc…)  2)      Territory  3)      Length of use 4)      Scene Description  5)      Terms

Possible Scenarios

1)   Frequently most composers work on a work-for-hire basis and often surrender their copyrights to the film producer…who agrees to pay them a fee in exchange for their talent.  2)    Some producers will hire composers as an independent contractor (1099 Form) and negotiate publishing rights.  Still must attain a synch license if the composer owns the rights.   3)    Producer will negotiate a synch fee with the publisher and/or record label for a previously recorded song.  (Fees can vary wildly)   4)    Producer wants to try and gain a synch license that is broad enough to include the many types of media that their film could be displayed in…and that it is granted in as wide an area as possible.  5)    Most TV licenses are granted under the “blanket license” made possible by ASCAP etc…

AFTRA

AFTRA Agreement:  An agreement with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Musicians Union to contract singers.   1)      The contract covers soloists, choirs, background singers, featured artists.  2)      Addresses both the pay wage (scale) and additional fees for overdubbing parts.

AFTRA represents the session singers, actors, dancers and broadcasters in the music industry.

NARAS stands for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.   Musicians, producers, and engineers comprise the "Academy" which is responsible for the Grammy Awards.

Audio Engineering Society represents the audio engineers and isn't a union, but an appropriate professional organization.