What is music licensing and why is it important for my project?

Music licensing is a strategic creative partnership and legal agreement to add an existing piece of music to a media project or experience; typically advertising commercials, video games, social media content, TV shows, films, podcasts, experiential activations, live events, corporate websites + content, and many more.

But music licensing is more than just money and contracts. It is important because music tells your audience how to feel. The wrong piece of music, can give an inaccurate association with the brand or product. A poorly made or cheap piece of music can ruin brand reputation, loyalty, and brand validity. Your viewers and listeners won’t believe in your product if the marketing they receive is something they’ve seen many times, or if what they receive is clearly something thrown together with little-to-no value invested behind it. Sometimes a brand needs a “cool, hip factor” which music can provide.

Ultimately, music is the emotional connection between you (your story, your brand, your film, your experience) and the audience. Licensed music has been proven to elevate engagement, recall, attention, and brand validity. A popular song lends trust, loyalty, value, and emotional resonance that can move an audience to feel a desired emotion that the visuals can’t achieve on their own.

What are some of the common types of licenses that come into play for music, and how are they different?

Sync licensing is a general term to use an existing piece of music in media: TV show, film, commercial, etc.

Publishing Licensing Rights allow you to license and use the intellectual property / copyright of a composition – aka the “song” itself: the words, lyrics, chords as applicable.

Master Recording rights allow you to license and use a physical (or digital) version of a composition.

Sample clearance can occur when the master recording has embedded a different master recording and is using it in part of the new master recording. Most commonly used by DJ’s, hip-hop, and disco recordings, although it’s certainly not limited to these genres.

Union re-use fees can apply when certain recordings have talent that is register with or assigned to a union. When you “re-use” their recordings in a new medium (TV, film, video game, etc) as opposed to their original intended medium (commercial music release through a CD, cassette tape, vinyl record, digital download, digital stream) then a fee is owed to the talent. SAG-AFTRA handles union re-use fees for singers and vocalists. AFM handles union re-use fees for the musicians.

Grand rights can occur when you need to clear a composition or recording for a theatrical/staged work.

Do I need a license for instrumental or cover versions of a song I want to use?

Yes, when licensing an instrumental you still need to secure all necessary rights to the main song, even if only using the instrumental. The composers/songwriters involved may change.

Cover versions are a solution to look into different styles of an existing composition, can refresh a classic tune with a new audience if using a more relevant music artist, can adjust lyrics to the song to fit a product or brand, or can sometimes allow to keep costs low if you “re-record” or make a cover of a song.

Every time you make a cover recording you are required to get Publishing rights to the original composition and make it clear that you will be using a non-original artist recording. Also make sure they know if you plan to change the lyrics.

Can I use stock/royalty-free music instead of licensing popular songs?

Stock or “royalty-free” music is a cheap and fast solution to use music in any video project. However the quality of the material is usually not as good as an established music artist would be releasing. We encourage all our clients to consider the value in using a top-quality artist or instrumental recording to ensure the best return on the work they put into their content. In addition, popular songs have been proven by research to increase attention, engagement, and recall of commercial messaging for brands.

What’s the difference between public domain and copyright-protected music?

A composition or recording in the public domain means that the copyright is no longer owned by a person, company, corporation, or estate. It is available to be used without the need to license and pay for its use. Copyright-controlled music is “rights-owned”, and all interested parties need to be identified, contacted, and grant approval (usually for a fee) for its use.

What factors can affect the pricing of licensed music?

1. Popularity of the artist/song

2. Length of the music used

3. Where it will appear (TV, web, social, film, etc.)

4. Duration of license (one-time vs. ongoing)

5. Geographic region (local vs. global campaign)

The costs involved vary wildly based on what the song is, how popular it is (or was), who the artist is, who the owners are, what other licenses has the song secured in the past… and what other details may be on the table. Also, fees can increase if the use is not just a background use and will be used as a Main Title Theme, for example. If it is more high-profile to the project, it will be more expensive to license.

How long does the music clearance process take from start to finish?

A project can take a few hours on the short end, or up to a few days to confirm full ownership and to start the conversation and negotiations.

Often, clearance takes as little as 2-days, but it can be up to 2-weeks (or more) to successfully negotiate and license a standard song. There are many exceptions of course.

Paperwork review between all parties and final execution can go on for months, if not longer in some cases.

Can you rush the music clearance process for last-minute deadlines?

Sometimes we are hired for last-minute deadlines and can provide a solution as long as the request is reasonable, and the budget available for the song is considered fair. The more high-profile your project is, the rights holders will certainly keep it at the top of their list. If (just as a mock example) you are a very niche, new podcast with 3 listeners and a budget of $100… you probably won’t be clearing a well-known artist.

Is it cheaper to license an independent artist than a major record label song?

It can be cheaper to license an independent artist, but if the artist has had success placing their music before / has a sync history, then they can certainly be comparable prices to a major record label song. Also, just because a song may be owned by a major corporate publishing company or a record label, does not automatically mean it will be more expensive. As long as the approval parties see value in the project they are almost always happy to be flexible and find what does the trick. While we work often with all kinds of independent, unsigned music artists, we have found that some of them are not as familiar with the typical way licensing works and what the expected quotes/fees should look like.

What happens if I use music without getting proper clearance?

Without proper clearance you can have your project removed from the market, removed from its platforms, and worse — you may be sued for up to $150,000 per infringement. Using music without proper clearance is illegal as under the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17) and in nearly any other country or region. Many music companies are tightening the reins on when their music is licensed without authorization, and you can read about these infringements and lawsuits in the news more now than ever before.

Can I use a song for free if I simply give credit to the artist?

Sometimes this is possible if the artist owns everything and feels a free “gratis” license with a proper credit is a fair exchange for the licensing of their work. In almost every case however, a commercial work looking to license a song needs to offer some kind of payment.

How does a music supervisor help with finding and licensing songs?

Music Supervisors are highly skilled at being master music playlist makers. We’re “in-the-know” well ahead of the music blogs and platforms because the music publishers and labels send us upcoming music well in advance with the specific purpose to keep on tap for the perfect licensing opportunities. We can make music playlists that are efficient because we can look into who the rightsholders should be and have an idea if it's even possible to get the song we send you. We can also make it extra easy by sending playlists and folders of music that is “pre-cleared” or “pre-approved” to for your project, budget, media terms, etc upfront. No guesswork for all! Once we have the greenlight we can get ahead of gathering song credits, instrumentals and alt mixes for editors, high resolution audio files, confirming paperwork terms, and generating info for a music cue sheet. It’s much more than just sitting around and listening to music all day, trust us! ☺

Can you help me license music from big artists like Beyoncé or The Rolling Stones?

Yes! We’re experts at this, and thrive on getting our clients the popular “reach” or “temp” songs they really want.

Do I need a separate license for online streaming, YouTube, or social media content?

TikTok and Meta for example both offer commercial music libraries (collections of pre-cleared tracks safe for brand use) but those libraries rarely include the kinds of songs a brand or agency may want to use. A sync license is absolutely required when a brand or agency wants to use a song that is not part of the commercial music library. Organic social with a branded message must be licensed. UGC, paid media, paid influencer partnerships, sponsored challenges, etc., all must be licensed. If you happen to find a track you want to use in the commercial music library, it is essential that you use an Official Audio made available directly from the rights holders.

What information do I need to provide to start the clearance process?

We’ll need the following information to get started in finding you the most accurate costs for the song you want to use:

• Song Title + Artist / links to each specific music piece(s) you're interested in using.

• Are you looking to use the original artist recording, or create your own cover?

• Production Company: 
  - Project Synopsis: 
  - Total Project Budget (not disclosed to music rights owners)

• Total Music Budget Available (not disclosed to music rights owners)

• Title of Production

• Type of Production

• Link to view/download your project

• Link to the scenes with the temp music being featured

• Scene Descriptions Per Song/Scene

• Uses Vocal/Instrumental/Timings Per Song/Scene

• Media Rights Requested (what channels)

• Any in or out of context promo/trailer/marketing rights needed on any of these songs: 

• Paid media, Unpaid/Owned, if broadcast/Internet/Digital/Social/Experiential

• Territory (geographic coverage where song will be used)

• Term (how long it will be live from start to finish)

• Renewals/Steps Required

• Deadline for Song Selection and Clearances

What about “fair use,” or only using a few seconds of a song?

Can You Clear Me Now provides the solution when a music direction is in place. We do not provide legal consultation than an intellectual property attorney would. Whenever considering the effects or efficacy of fair use, parody, or duration of usage, our clients always have a legal review of their music plans first. While we can offer guidance and suggestions based on our education and experience, our guarantee is that our service is available to step in and take care of the rest once you get the green light from your legal team.

Got another question not on this list?

Shoot us a note, we’d be happy to answer your questions.