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.