Introduction to Music Licensing

By Brent McCrossen, Audiosocket

Most of my career I've seen the great aversion bands and musicians have toward "Music Licensing". It would appear that many of them find the subject too complicated to grasp. It's not. They only need to spend the necessary time developing their knowledge of this amazing tool. It will push the exposure of their art and drive revenue from the music they make. It's impossible to cover the entirety of the subject in this article. However, this will dispel some of the fears and act as a quick tutorial.

You've seen the drastic changes that have happened in the music business over the past few years, right? People are buying less and less music. File sharing has impacted artist's ability to make a single dime off of their work. We're not here to debate the good and the bad of that. We're here to discuss a remaining channel of revenue and one that can really blow your band's profile into the mainstream. That channel is music licensing.

In following shows like The O.C, Grey's Anatomy, The Sopranos and Entourage it's easy to see the impact they've had on emerging artists. With commercial radio's reputation on the decline people are seeking new avenues to discover cutting edge, quality music. More often people are finding that new band while watching TV or hearing some killer track on a web site. It's the new way. It presents great opportunity for the artists that know how to meet it.

With the price of gas being what it is, touring is expensive. Still worth while but costly. IF you've got a record deal, in most cases, you need to sell enough records to "recoup" the cost in making and promoting that record. Then, and ONLY then, do you get 10-12% of the records sale price. At that rate you could sell 100,000 records and only make 0-$8,000.

Now imagine this. You own the rights to your music, or have a good publishing deal and a TV show wants to license your hit song. They can pay a lot of money for this. For example, let's say they make you an offer of $25,000 to use your song in the background during a car chase on CSI Miami, most of that $25,000 is going straight into your pocket. IF you're an indie artist that owns the rights to the music and has no agent, 100% of that money is going in your pocket. How much would you have to tour to make that? How many records would you have to sell?

Consider this equation.

1. You wrote a great song that gets licensed
2. You get paid for it
3. There is no three. There is no maze for you to traverse between you and the cash. It's not necessarily that simple but it really isn't that hard.

Let me explain a few more details.

Every show, commercial, website, DVD or video game that has a song or melody in it required a license to use it for that specific production. The process to secure the license is called "Music Clearance". This license allows that user to feature the music in their project for a certain amount of time, in a certain area and for a certain feature. This is called the "Use". The type of use often helps determine the price of the license. If your music is in the background and barely heard it won't make as much as say being in the opening credits.

Music Supervisors are the people in charge of selecting music for any one project. These experts work closely with the producer and director to make sure that every scene requiring music is enhanced by its presence. To date music supervisors are becoming the tastemakers for today's audience. They can't be underestimated. In many cases they have more influence over a bands growing popularity then the DJ's of yesterday. One placement on a popular TV show, while paying potentially over $50,000, can help bring your music to the limelight and slam you through the door of success. Music supervisors are one of the gatekeepers.

There are a number of technical terms that one needs to know about music licensing. The most crucial components pertain to the licenses themselves. In order for music to be cleared music supervisors needs to secure two separate licenses, the "Master" and "Synchronization". A Master License pertains to the actual recording of a song. It doesn't manner who wrote it, this license applies to the recording of the track. The Synchronization License or "sync" license allows the user to reproduce a musical composition "in connection with" or "in timed relation with" a visual image, e.g., motion picture, video, advertising commercial. Read it again. Let it "sync" in. You'll get it.

There is a lot to know about music licensing but that shouldn't shy you away from the education. If you've got some great songs, trust me, people need them. There are 100's of 1,000's of films, TV shows, video games and websites in production everyday. One reliable way to gain access to this opportunity is to work with a Licensing agent. Licensing Agents represent bands, musicians and composers for placement in film, TV, Video games and all media. There are a number of licensing agents like me out there. Take the time to do the research and see if you can turn the head of one or two of them. A good licensing agent is another gatekeeper. Their alliance and contacts with the nations top music supervisors can provide a lot of benefits. In most cases they take a % of the licensing fee for their work. Others take a % of the royalties you receive when your song airs on a show etc. It's still wise to arm yourself with information so you know when you have a "good" agent. The more you know the more likely you are to succeed.

Keep writing great songs, studying the industry and playing music. With a little effort and knowledge you're sure to succeed.