I’m Not The Music Licensing Police!

I am a member of many film and music groups and forums. If frequent several Yahoo groups such as Music Supervision for Film & TV, The Budgeting Group, Doculink and Film Finance & Investing. Other forums that I’m a member of are the Composer’s Forum, filmmaking.net, and ReelGrok where I am a Tutor/Consultant.

I reply to a lot of post about music clearance and situations that pertain to music in films. I find it very interesting how I rarely get a reply or have other members join in the discussion. It appears to me that once I chime in, no one wants to discuss the subject as I might call them on their music use.

It’s the same thing that happens when a state trooper pulls onto the interstate and everyone slows down and follows all of the driving laws. Some drivers exit because their inspection sticker has expired or they have no insurance. They want to avoid any chance for the officer to pull them over with probable cause.

I know there’s a lot of probable cause going on in the film industry. I’m not going to pull anyone over, if you will, if I find out that they have not cleared the music in their film. I just point out the fact that they are supposed to clear and license the music and offer a few words to help them understand what needs to be done. I inform them that music is property owned by someone and it’s not free to use without permission.

I’ve taken it one step further and offer consulting services for those who just need an hour or so of my time to consult them in the right direction. I can also be hired as the music supervisor to do the music clearance and licensing for the project as well as all of the administrative task that most filmmakers are not aware of. This is a very important service and can be invaluable. Getting the job done right from the start will alleviate a lot of headaches and frustration down the road.

When I hear people talk about how they don’t think they have to pay to use music, I have to turn the table on them. I ask how they would feel if they found out that someone use footage from their film and didn’t bother to clear it with them first. They don’t like it and they say it’s different when it comes to music. People think music is free because you can record it off the radio or the Internet. It’s readily available. What they don’t understand is these radio stations have to pay ASCAP, BMI and SESAC an annual license fee to legally broadcast the music you hear. This is the same for any business that play music to the public. Internet use has to be cleared also.

I have a lot of publishing and record label contacts that I work with everyday. I don’t need to tell them that their music is being used with out their permission. They already know. They have a team of attorneys that take care of this.

I want to hear from anyone about their music clearance needs. I’m not going to report anyone. I’m just going to help. I’m a music supervisor not a police.