What is licensing music

We know the right song can make or break your project. Hear for yourself. We've curated a playlist with some of our best music to license. We got you. From classical to hip hop to indie, our audio library contains thousands of outstanding tracks. Use one of our 13 filters or check out other curated playlists to find what you need in minutes. Never worry about sync licensing again. With Soundstripe, your membership covers the cost for every song license.

Just find the right track, download the file, and get a custom license. No channel or media-specific fees, no recurring royalties, ever. Go ahead, download as many songs as you want. This era defined many of the major movie genres, produced thousands of motion pictures with iconic stars, and established Hollywood as the filmmaking capital of the world. What, exactly, was so special about The Jazz Singer?

It was the first major motion picture to feature a synchronized recorded music score and lip-synced singing. For the first time, recorded music and sound worked in tandem with visuals to connect audiences to the story on the screen. More affordable equipment and the advent of online distribution has helped an entire industry of independent creators flourish.

A lot has changed since the Golden Age of Hollywood, but good music remains as important as ever. Back in the day, studios hired entire orchestras to score one film. This brings us to one of the looming problems for creators: How do you get the right music for your work? Song ownership is often fragmented among a number of parties, and licensing agreements are complex and expensive. Well, technically you could but it would be a bad idea. In , Youtube launched its Content ID algorithm, which automatically scans for copyrighted music and alerts the copyright holder.

At that point, the copyright holder can have your video removed at any time. YouTube works on a strike system, and each time they have to warn you, you get a strike. YouTube disintegrates your channel, just like Thanos. Or you could get sued like makeup artist and YouTube creator Michelle Phan.

Phan ran a channel with over 8 million subscribers, and during her rise to fame she continually used copyrighted music without permission. After all, it makes sense to assume most of the expense is wrapped up in royalties. A host of music licensing companies — like Soundstripe — have popped up over the years to address this need. So the term r oyalty free music refers to a song recording you can download and use in your work without having to pay royalty fees.

These songs are still copyrighted, but you have permission to use them because of your agreement typically a membership with a music licensing company.

Actual r oyalty free music is very rare. First things first: licensing is a critical part of the music industry. Musicians deserve to profit from their work, and the sale of licenses can be one of the main ways they do so. By definition, a license is a legally binding contract that gives someone permission to use intellectual property in this case a song for a set purpose over a specified period of time. To get a music license, you need permission from the artist or whoever owns any part of the copyright, which may include: songwriters, music publishers, artists, and record labels.

Thankfully, standards exist for various types of licensing agreements, which makes it somewhat simpler for all involved. Every song comes in two pieces: the song in its composition form the notes, the arrangement, the lyrics and a sound recording, i. Although they may not be able to help you with the specific rights that you need, they will have the contact information for the music publisher. To license a sound recording, you need to contact the label. Remember, the sound recording needs to be licensed separately from the music composition itself.

The label information is much more readily available than the publisher, and should be on the packaging of the physical product or online. You now know what you need and whom to contact. What are the specific rights that you should license? The rights you require will depend on how you plan to use the composition or sound recording.

There are a number of technical terms, which will be discussed below, but you should always consider three crucial terms: Media, Term , and Territory. Media refers to the specific forms of media for which the music is licensed, such as theatrical, home video, or internet streaming. Term refers to how long the music is licensed. Territory refers to the geographic area s in which the licensed music can be used. For example, you may notice that sometimes a home video release of a TV show or movie has different music than the original release — or that the streaming version sounds different from the original.

This is because the music rights were not originally licensed for home video or internet streaming. While this issue does not make a huge impact on the content, it is still always preferable to have your content retain its original form. Public Performance Right: This is the right to perform, transmit, communicate, or in any other way distribute the music to the public, such as over the radio.

This is why a radio station does not have to stop and license each song it plays. Note that a blanket license will not cover audio-visual works. For that, you need synchronization rights. Synchronization Rights: If you are producing audio-visual content, this is what you need. Adaptation Right: This right permits you to alter the music, such as slowing it down, speeding it up, and cutting it to fit the scene in your work.

This could be difficult if you are cutting a trailer since the music will be cut up. This solves the problem of cutting trailers with In Context music.

With Out of Context rights, you will be able to use the music differently than it is in the work. Not too complicated, but it can be tricky figuring out how to get in touch with those entities. Recording companies and music artists can have contact info that would not be too hard to find, especially if they have a website. There are also dedicated music licensing organizations that have a catalog you can choose from.

The important part is having written consent from both parties — that includes you — that let you use the song for whatever purposes you have in mind. Our guide covers how this works, what to do, what to look out for, and what type of royalty-free music might be best for your project. Create robust and customizable shot lists.

Upload images to make storyboards and slideshows. Previous Post. Next Post. A visual medium requires visual methods. Master the art of visual storytelling with our FREE video series on directing and filmmaking techniques. More and more people are flocking to the small screen to find daily entertainment. So how can you break put from the pack and get your idea onto the small screen?

Skip to content. What is Music Licensing? Music license definition Learning about music licenses is pretty easy once you clarify that there is more than one type of license e. Music license characteristics include: Music song or piece being used in a movie at any point for a notable amount of time.

Music used to sell a product in a commercial. Personal video projects using licensed music for creative purposes. Video games using licensed music for in-game entertainment. Record companies and artists licensing their music out. Music licensing companies offering songs for a fee. Music Licensing for Video Synchronization license A synchronization license is one of the most common types for music licensing for video.