Legal agreements for Music in Film

This past week I’ve spent most of my time drafting synch and master-use license agreements for the film “The Lights.”  There are 18 music cues currently set for use in this film and 14 have been placed already.  These 14 cues that have found a home in the film are the ones I’m focusing on right now.   This does not include all of the score cues performed by the composer.  I’ll talk about that in a later blog.

Some of the songwriters and bands that have granted permission to use their songs are Curtis Wayne (Killing Me), Ruth Ruth (Right About Now), The Lights (Calling), Shannon Hurley (Sunrise), Rockus Circus (Turn Away), Jim Disney & Buddy Lee (Mirror On The Wall), Erin Elder (Miserably Happy) and Navigators (Dying By Degrees).  Some have given permission to use more than one song, which has helped me fill in almost all of the scenes with music.  On this project, I used MySpace and iTunes to find some of these artists.  Some had already submitted their music to me months ago.

Just to put my work in perspective, I am currently working on about five different films right now with “The Lights” requiring most of my time.  The other films get my attention daily, however, we are trying to get the final sound mix done on this film in the next week or so.  While all this is going on, I’m constantly looking for more work.  There are a lot of films being produced and music will be used in all of them.

There are two sides to music supervision.  One is the creative side and the other is the administrative side.  Finding songs that fit scenes in a film is the creative part.  There are times when I have to do both the creative and administrative side.  This film is one example of doing both.  In other cases, the director or producers have already picked the songs and I’ll do the administrative side.

“The Lights” is a horror film with a bit of comedic elements.  This film has been somewhat of a challenge, as I was given no music budget to work with.  Despite not having a music budget, the process of clearing the rights to every song used is necessary regardless of how much money is in the music budget.

Clearing the rights is the process of obtaining permission from the copyright holders to use their song in a film or other production.

As soon as I find a song that I think will work, I start doing the research in order to insure that I have all of the copyright holders information.  I get most of this information by researching the performing rights organization’s websites (i.e., ASCAP, BMI & SESAC) for each song.  I also get some of the information directly from the songwriters.

Along the way, I contact each of the copyright owners to ask permission to use their song.  When I’m working with independent songwriters, I will send and e-mail that outlines how their song will be used in the film, compensation (if any) and details of the film.  This is more of an informal license request.  When I deal with a major publisher or record label, I send a more formal synch and master use license request form with the addition of the production and music budget.  In either case, the copyright owners will reply letting me know if the use is granted or not.  As for compensation, the independent, unsigned songwriters will grant permission if they agree with the rights being requested and the amount of the licensing fees (even if it’s nothing).  The majors will quote a licensing fee and open the door for negotiation.  Once the licensing fee is agreed upon, the licensing process will start.  If the indie songwriter says no or the major’s fees come in too high, it’s time to looking for a replacement song and you do not use their song.

Again I stress, verifying all of the copyright holders information is something that’s very important.  I never assume that the copyright owner will grant permission to use their songs.  In future blogs I’ll talk about how some filmmakers use songs despite the fact that the copyright owner has denied permission.

Most of the unsigned songwriters and artists do not have a clue as to how the administrative process works so I always facilitate this on their behalf.  When I’m dealing with a major publisher or record label, they’ll always use their own license agreement.

Once I have all the licensing agreements finalize I start getting the music cue sheet in order.  The music cue sheet is the long-term, financial lifeblood of the songwriter and publisher.  This is how the songwriters and publishers receive performance royalties.

With so many aspects of music clearance and licensing to cover, it’s very difficult to address them all, in detail, in one blog posting.  This opens the door for many more blog postings to come.