Contents 04 Foreward 06 Introduction 08 Creative 09 What Kind Of Music Gets Licensed? 11 How Do You Find Out Who Is Looking For Tracks? 12 How Should Submissions Be Sent? 13 The CD 13 Internet Delivery 14 The Mailer 15 Cover Letter and Contact Information 17 Who Makes Decisions? 19 Promotion 20 Who Should I Send My Music To? 21 Tips On Getting Noticed 23 Why People Won t License Your Music 25 Songwriting For Film and TV 27 Music Libraries 28 Music Brokers 30 Using The Internet 32 Business 33 Does A Film Own Your Music If You Let Them Use It? 34 34 What Rights And Terms Do You Need To Know About? Master Use Right
34 Synchronization Right 36 Do You Own The Master and Song? 39 Performing Rights 40 Deal Memos 41 Long Form Agreement 43 Deal Points 44 General 45 Term 46 Perpetuity 46 Territory 47 Media 49 Festival Rights 50 Trailers 51 Videogram Buyout 52 New Technologies 53 Most Favoured Nations 54 Credit 55 Money 58 Limitations 58 Soundtracks 60 Music Cue Sheets 61 What s A Typical Negotiation Like? 66 Final Comments 67 About The Author
Foreward entertainment industry. I m sure you don t need to be told that the music business has changed so drastically that most models for success have simply evaporated. It has been said that music supervisors are the new A&R people, and I say this is at least partially companies are up for sale. Meanwhile, retail is no longer selling much music product, physical discs are on their last legs, radio no longer can be counted on to break artists, YouTube has risen, MySpace has both risen and become somewhat of an old maid in the digital space, Facebook has come out of nowhere to become the largest site on the net, social media is on everyone s lips, a new sheriff may be around the corner, and on and on. With all these changes taking place, the idea of gaining exposure and revenue from music licensing now seems to be front and center in people s minds. It continues to be one of the few areas of the music industry that people can count on not to change. Or can we? In fact, I ve seen more change in the last 5 years than in the last 15, and much of it comes down to two things...the internet and a general sophistication from all players in the business of licensing. First, the internet. Before 2005 the internet was often buggy, slow, things broke, and many people lived impatient lives (not us!). But recently the promise of streamed content easy today because of MySpace and YouTube - and the ability to move, catalogue, share, the population have learned to embrace the idea. how to license your music into movies and television 04
The other big change has to do with sophistication. Whether one is an artist or a TV need to negotiate a better deal, the desire to automate, the desire to aggregate, and more. All of this has led to some big changes in the music licensing business. Relative to all of this, I have taken a pencil (ever owned one of them?) to some of the ideas in this guide to provide a current state analysis for the reader. It s 2010, and the change we are seeing in all things music licensing shows no sign of abetting... neither soon, much less ever. Yes, time seems to move ever faster, and change is part of the engine. Now, having said all of the above, the basic building blocks of music licensing are static. The content of this guide continues to respond to the question of how to license, how to deal with the terms, how does it get done, the jargon, et al. Rest assured this is solid knowledge that anyone wishing to operate within the space requires. TV shows etc. I hope you will enjoy the way the style of the guide, but more importantly, I hope you learn what you are looking for from what I write. My only interest is to communicate and to share with you the information you are interested in knowing more about. Onwards, upwards, and here we go. Ron Proulx how to license your music into movies and television 05
Introduction I want to give you money. I want to help you get noticed by the global entertainment community. I want to help you build your career. I am interested in you and your music, because without you there would be no music in movies and television. And without you I wouldn t have a job. I am a Music Supervisor for Film, Television and All Media. I like my job, and I like the people that I come into contact with. What could be better than talking to Musical Artists and Filmmakers all day long? This is a fun business. Yes, it can also be very stressful, but at the end of the day, it s also a gas. And for you, part of the fun can be the part about making money, letting people use your music in music. need to be explored by people who make and market music, and at the to help you do this within this guide. You are about to learn some practical things, which you can tell your friends about if you like, or keep to yourself as your own little edge. I have been a Music Supervisor since 1994. I have worked for shows that have aired on MTV, NBC, CBS, ABC, HBO, BBC, CBC, and many more. I ve dealt with big and small producers. I ve been involved with Feature Films, Cable Movies, Television Series, and Documentaries. I ve dealt with people from rockstars to nobodies, from lounge singers in Las Vegas to Latin rap groups in Chicago. how to license your music into movies and television 06
I ve done deals for some great productions, and I ve done deals for the worst shows you would never watch. I ve dealt with the largest Record Companies and Music Publishers in the world, and I ve done deals with the smallest self-managed artists you ve never heard of. I ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on licensing a single track, and I ve licensed for free. I deal regularly with Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Toronto, Australia, and South America. I happen to be based both in Toronto and Los Angeles, but in this day and age I could easily be based anywhere people are making movies and television. As it turns out, Toronto has been going through a boom time in its entertainment production community for many years, and the weather in California is awesome. But the rules are the same around the world, so everything you read and learn here holds true no matter where you live or who you deal with. which you are not familiar with bear with me, as everything will be discussed before the guide is complete. For this reason, I would advise you to read this at least twice in order for everything to make sense. without you there would be no music how to license your music into movies and television 07
Creative how to license your music into movies and television 08
What Kind Of Music Gets Licensed? in the wild west, then we re not going to hear metal or reggae music in the picture. Yes, there are exceptions, but you catch my drift, right? It s surprising what you will hear when you really start to go through the on the street, a calypso song in a bar, a wedding reception with songs being performed by a singer and trio, and a more sober selection of plaintive ballads at a funeral. I like to say I m always on the lookout for a good yodeler! In all seriousness, a well-produced track, with great singing and an interesting trying to enhance the feeling of a scene rather than trying to illustrate it. more likely a lyric that speaks of a mixed up life will do better than one which says outright she stole a chocolate bar from the store. Regarding styles - in my experience - it is more likely that slightly dark sounding rock tracks get licensed more often than other types, with electronica-esque sounds having been more popular in the last several years. But, reggae, country, and blues are often used in bar scenes where a particular CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE ENTIRE GUIDE how to license your music into movies and television 09