Getting Permission to Synchronize Music-Part 3


When Getting Permission to Synchronize Music, there are several key pieces of information that need to be included in your request to a publisher or music licensing department. Failure to include any of this information is likely to delay their response and add additional steps to the process. By including the following information you can decrease the time it takes for a publisher to get back to you, and give them some confidence that you know what you are doing:

Song Title: This may seem obvious, but accuracy is important here. Large music publishers can have hundreds of thousands of songs in their catalog. Incorrect spellings or errors in the song title can delay the process.

Songwriter/Composer: Once again, accuracy is very important.

Artist: The name of the artist who recorded the song you would like to use. In some cases the song may have been recorded by multiple times by different artists.

Licensee: This is the name of your production company, or the company who you are working for.

Project Name: If you have not settled on a permanent title for your project, give them temporary working name.

Description of your Project: The licensing department will want to know if you are requesting the music for a video game, documentary, feature film, etc. Don't bore them with your artistic vision. Just give them the pertinent details about the type of production and a one or two sentence description of the subject matter.

How you intend to use the music: This is possibly the most important piece of information that a publisher will consider. Will you be using the song as a theme, or in the background? What will be happening visually while the song plays? Is this promoting a product, or is it used to help tell a story. Be precise with your explanation, as licenses are granted and denied over this information.

Length of use: This is the length of time you intend to have the music run in your production. If you plan on using the song multiple times, give specifics for each instance.

Territory: Where will your production be distributed or displayed? It is always safer to go after a broader area than to have to come back to the publisher later to add a territory. With the world getting smaller, and the internet getting bigger, "Worldwide Licenses" are becoming a very common request.

Length of Term: Depending on the type of production you are working on, your need for the music could be as little as a few days, to an ongoing license that never expires.

Media: This is where you explain what type of media your product will be seen on or distributed on. Will it be in theatres, on DVD, packaged with Software, viewed on the internet? All of these options may affect the price you are quoted. Just like Worldwide Licenses above, "All Media" licenses are becoming common as well. It pays to think ahead on this one, and once again, go after a bit broader rights than you think you might need. If you project is successful, you may find it takes you places you never expected.

Now that you know what to include in your request, you need to give some thought to how soon to make your request. If your production has a hard release date or due date, you don't want to find yourself waiting on a music licensing department who does not hold the same sense of urgency that you do. Plan ahead and give yourself plenty of time. With any luck, you will hear back within a reasonable amount of time. If you don't hear anything after a couple of weeks, there is nothing wrong with a follow up call and a polite reminder.

-continued in part 4