Pre-Production and the Music Supervisor

Pre-production starts May 1st on the latest film I’m working on entitled “Conflict of Interest.”  Starting this early is a good thing for a music supervisor.  I have the opportunity to be apart of the decision making process before other decisions are made.

I started my job on this film by reading the script, which I did this past weekend.  As I read, I broke down the script for potential source cues and underscore cues. I made detailed notes which I will use during my first meeting with the director.  Since I have yet to meet the director, this gives me time to conceptualize the overall music needs for the film and come up with more creative ideas.  As for the director, there are times when he/she has a very strong musical vision and times where they rely on the music supervisor to bring songs to the table.  Either way, there will be songs that need to be licensed.  The tough part is being able to keep that killer song that fits perfect in a particular scene.  When this is not possible, it’s the music supervisor’s job to find alternates for prohibitively expensive songs.

I’m meeting with Executive Producer, David Cuddy, this week.  In this meeting I plan to discuss topics such as who will be selected as the Director, the Music Editor, the Film Editor and the Composer.  I will discuss my level of input in the selection of the music editor and composer.  Two important items of discussion will be the music budget and the overall film budget.  A lot of this information (and more) will be necessary when it comes time to start clearing the songs that are selected.

One of the key contributions that a music supervisor can make in pre-production is giving the production team a piece of mind.  A good music supervisor takes on the responsibility of putting the music team together.  As mentioned above, finding the right composer and music editor is important.  Other team members are the songwriters, music publishers and record label licensing reps.  It may not seem like they are part of the production, but they are.  They can make or break your music budget.  A good music supervisor with great working relationships with the copyright holders can negotiate licensing fees that are more in-line with the music budget as well as getting the quotes back in a more timely manner.  The latter is extremely important when song selections are still an issue in post.

Other issues that can give the production staff more headaches are all of the administrative tasks.  Some of these tasks run through pre-production all the way to post.  Regardless of which stage of production you’re in, these tasks are inevitable.  Task  such as submitting the synch and master license request forms, drafting and issuing the synch and master licenses, reviewing license issued by publishers and record labels, creating and submitting an accurate music cue sheet, dealing with the legal issues brought up by the songwriters, publishers and record labels.

Regardless of which stage the music supervisor comes on board, it’s important to have an experienced person taking care of the music clearance and licensing.  The sooner the music supervisor comes on board, the better the musical workflow will end up.  Pre-production is the most ideal stage in the production proces to have a music supervisor on your team.

Music Clearance – Never Assume

It’s extremely important to do your due diligence when clearing the rights to any music you use in your film.  You should not assume anything regardless of what you have experience in the past.  Things can change over night in the world of music copyright ownership.  As a music supervisor, I can’t take chances and make any assumptions where music clearance is concerned.

If you are the person responsible for clearing the rights to any song used in the film you are working on, don’t take anyone’s word.  Use what they tell you as a starting point and then do your research to make sure you have all the facts.  Here’s a recent example of why this is important.

Back in 2004 our publishing company, Durgon Style Music, was the publishers on a song entitled, “Mirror On The Wall” written by Jim Disney and Buddy Lee.  At that time our publishing company retained the publishing rights for one year and we exercised a six month option.  After 18 months, the song reverted back to the two original songwriters.

Between May 2005 and last week, many things had changed.  Jim Disney started his own publishing company.  Buddy Lewis and his wife Cozy McGaugh made a few lyric changes and took 25% writers share each.  Buddy Lewis’ publishing company came on board and took 50% of the publishing.  To complicate things even more, Buddy Lee passed away in April 2007.  His daughter, Brandi Lee, now handles his estate.

Had I gone forward assuming things were still the way they were in 2005, I would have left out two songwriters, two publishing companies and the proper legal language in the license agreement required when dealing with the use of a deceased songwriter.

Needless to say, everything is in order and the song is still being used in the film with permission granted from all parties involved.

As many of my readers know, I’m totally against using music without clearing the rights.  Again, clearing the rights is basically getting permission from all copyright owners to use their song.

Again, this is very important as all of the new parties involved in “Mirror On The Wall” were very concerned about the use of their song and had many questions.  This was especially true for Buddy Lee’s daughter.  You don’t want to mess with the heir of a deceased songwriter.  They’ve been through enough not to have to deal with copyright infringement.

Never assume.  Do your due diligence and make sure you get it right or it may come back and bit you in the “end.”

It’s All About Relationships!

“What’s in it for me” some songwriters have asked.  “Why should I let you use my song in your film for nothing (or almost nothing)?”  There are times when there’s not much when you’re looking at short-term goals.  In the business of music licensing, looking long-term is the smart way to look at your songwriting career.  The hardest thing to do is get your foot in the door.  Building relationships with a music supervisor is the best way to accomplish this.  How is this accomplished?

You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.  You grant permission to use your song in this ultra low budget film; I’ll make sure I come to you when I have a decent budget to pay a fair licensing fee on the next film (that is, if the film/scene and your song make a good match).  The next film just might be the big budget film.

Many low budget film productions cannot afford to pay big licensing fees.  When I say low budget, I mean low.  Low in this case is less than $20,000 for the entire production.  If the music budget is thought about during the budget phase of pre-production, there should be at least $2,000 budgeted for music.  There really isn’t a rule of thumb for calculating the music budget but the 10% rule has been thrown around.

With a $20,000 production budget and $2,000 carved out for music, the filmmaker can provide the music supervisor with enough money to work with the songwriters.  This will allow for a very small amount depending on the number of songs being licensed.  The amount will most likely not be much, but it is more than nothing.  The upside is you’re on the cue sheet and you now have established a relationship with the music supervisor.

Music licensing is a business just as filmmaking and songwriting are.  Relationships between the songwriter and filmmaker are extremely important.  With the music supervisor in the middle, it’s just as important to keep the relationship cordial and avoid difficult or complicated licensing opportunities.

There are a lot of songs out there and there’s not just one song for one scene.  If a licensing deal starts to get too difficult or complicated, it’s time to move on to someone else that’s willing and ready to license their music.  They’ll get on the cue sheet and will always have the opportunity for performance royalties down the road.  As I stated before, you’ll have a long-term licensing deal to add to your resume and a relationship with a music supervisor that can last a career.

The Music Licensing Conundrum!

I start this week with a new film under my belt.  It’s still in pre-production and I’m off clearing the songs before filming starts.  Pre-clearing songs is very important to this film as some of the songs are scripted.  One of the main characters will be singing while driving her car.  If the licensing fees come back too high and the song has to be replaced, that means the script will have to be re-written.

Clearing songs that are written in the script puts the pressure on because you want the licensing fees to come in under budget and still have enough money for the other songs.  You want to avoid having to replace the song especially if the song fits the scene.

I must digress from the main point of this blog for just a second…

As I harp once again about those who do not respect the songwriters rights to their music, this situation is one where a song would end up in a film if the licensing fees exceed the music budget…if there was one.  I respect those who respect the copyright holder’s rights.  It’s a tough situation to be in when you do not have the money to license the song that has been written in the script.  This is something that should be considered during the script writing process.  Most screenwriters don’t think about this as it becomes the producer’s burden.

Okay, back to where I was.  I’ve already started the research and so far it looks like there are three publishers that control the copyright to this song.  It’s already looking bad as three publishers mean I’ll be dealing with the dreaded “Most Favored Nations” clause or MFN.  This means that all three publishers will try to get the highest fee possible even if their quote comes in the lowest.  Ultimately, I’ll have to do some serious negotiating to bring the fees down to a more favorable amount.

So far I’ve only been talking about the synch licenses (publishing).  If the producers decide not to use the original master recording, I don’t have to deal with clearing the rights to the master.  If they do choose to use the master, there’s going to be more MFN quotes and the budget will really be shot to hell!  If they choose to go into the studio, there will be cost to consider as far as musicians and singer.  The studio producing the film has a recording studio so there’s no additional cost there.  It’s all about money!!

While all that is going on with the first song, I’m preparing the license request forms for the other songs with a strong feeling that there’s not going to be enough money left in the music budget.  It really sucks, but I’ll push forward and get a final number on all the licensing fees.  The reality of music licensing is realized at this point.  It’s not cheap.

I do have an issue with some of the publishers and record labels when their quotes come in too high.  I appreciate the value of a copyright as long as it’s inline with the caliber of song and artist.  Throwing out high licensing fees just because the major players do is not right.  If the band hasn’t had a hit song since 1967 and the song never charted in the top 40, the licensing fee should not be five figures.  I digressed again!
Nonetheless, I have a phone meeting with the executive producer on Monday (04/07).  I plan to discuss the obvious budget issues and hope that there are still some funds available to allocate to the music budget.  We’ll see how this turns out.

I hope by next week I can write about how these licensing deals are coming along.  I know I will not have all the quotes in for all the songs, but I’ll have some progress to report about.  It’s a challenge that fuels me.

What’s in your wallet… I mean music budget?

Your script is in hand and it’s time to break it down so you can start preparing your production budget.  Your list of budget breakdown elements probably looks a bit like this:
•    cast members
•    extras
•    stunts
•    special effects
•    props
•    vehicles
•    animals
•    wardrobe
•    make up
•    sound effects
•    special equipment.

Take another look at the list again.  See anything missing?  Could it be….Music!!

Music is that budget line item that is either put in the budget with no dollars allocated to it or there’s too little.  A lot of the times the music budget is left out all together.  The kicker is, there’s always a need for music in the film.  In some rare cases you’ll find a film that has no music at all.  I know this because I’ve worked on films where this has happened.  I worked several months on the film clearing song just to find out that the director/producers didn’t have the money to license the songs.

Another issue is many times the songs that are selected recorded by high profile, upper tier artists.  It may be a great song, but the cost to license the song is most likely going to exceed the music budget and possibly your entire production budget.  This happens when the song is used as temp music.  It starts to grow on the editor and director that they decided to use the song anyway knowing that the fees will be out of reach.

Determining how much to budget for music can be a daunting task if you are not familiar with how publishers and record labels determine the licensing fees that they quote.  Even if you have experience with music clearance and licensing, there are still a lot of factors to consider in making the best estimate for your music budget.  When I say this, I mean creating a realistic music budget.  Not just throwing an amount on a spreadsheet.

Some factors that must be considered when estimating your music budget is:

•    Term: This is how long you want to retain the license.  Most terms are 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, or perpetually.  The longer the term, the higher the licensing fee.

•    Territory: Where you plan to screen or exhibit your film will affect the licensing fees.  Worldwide rights will generate a much higher fee than just in the US or Europe.  Specific regions such as France only or just in Texas will lower the fees.

•    Duration: The length of time the track will be used in your project will increase the fee as well.

•    Use: If the track will be used as a theme, featured music, credit music, or background music has will cause the fees to go up or down depending on how you use the song.

•    Media: How you plan to screen or exhibit your film is a big factor as well.  If you’re looking for just festival rights, the fees will be much lower than theatrical.  You can also request home video/DVD rights, paid cable TV rights, free cable TV rights, broadcast TV rights, VOD rights and any other media.  All of these can be bundled in to “All Media” where you will pay more or pick one or more to bring the fees down.

Any combination of rights will be factored in to generate the final licensing fees.  If the fees come in too high, you can remove some of the rights, find more money or find another song.  On just about every film I’ve worked on, I have had to deal with one situation or the other when there’s not enough money.

This was just a quick and dirty view of creating your music budget and what’s involved.  A real life situation can bring in more issues such as multiple publishers, Most Favored Nations (MFN) Clause, denial of rights all together.

The bottom line is, if you can here it, clear it and make sure you have enough in your music budget to pay for it!