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.