how do I get permission to use song?

[loyd_christmas]

could somebody tell me how to go about getting permission to use a song in a short or action sport video from a big label . my guess is it is not as hard as some may think, every surf , skate ,and snowboard video I have ever seen has music from big labels in them and I would think for small projects like that they would not be able to spend thousands to use even just one song ?

[DVX100Shooter]

good luck! it is harder than you think. I have not tried it before but *if what your producing looks or seems like it will do good as far as sales then THEY the labels are going to want a cut of the money just because you used their song in your production. You might be able to write up a contract that will counteract that but I will doubt they will go for it.

If your project is NOT going to be sale, then you can use copyrighted music. I edited one project on my demo reel to a Linkin Park song and to be safe I listed the group and the song in the credits and highlighted that the song was used for the demo only. Now if I attempted to sell my project in the stores and the label found out about it then I could be sued for using a song without permission.

Try contacting someone at ASCAP...do a google search for the website.

[Barry_Green]

There is more written on this subject than just about any other on the web.

The first place to start is the Harry Fox agency www.harryfox.com. They are a "clearinghouse" 1-stop licensing shop for music. After that, find out which group (ASCAP, BMI) the artist is on and contact them directly.

[John C Lyons]

Yeah, I wanted to use a Nine Inch Nails song for my movie I made in 2001. *I got as far as to speak with one of his lawyers at Nothing Records by phone. *He asked me to fax to their office a description of the film and scene I wanted to use the song in and they would get back to me.

Today is May 6th, 2004. *I'm still waiting. *So yeah, if you don't have $ behind you, good luck!

[MichaelP]

You can also start here:
http://www.clearance.com/

Michael

[10s]

You might also consider hiring a song writer and band to come up with a similair type song.

There are a million musician/artist and they're in the same boat as you & me. They want to get somewhere and they need that something to help them out. So you might consider this.

Just think, it might be even better than what you imagine. In fact you can try both approaches at once so if the big boys don't pull through then the little guys might.

yeah, yeah, yeah,....their music might stink....but that's what others might say about our movies too. WE HAVE TO TAKE THE RISK.

[Zoomforce]

I actually had very good results finding indipendant musicians on the now defunct mp3.com that where willing to give sync and master rights for as little as a credit, although I usually offered a small token $ to make it a little more legit. For big bands on big labels though, you are going to have a hard time unless you can do some talking or know someone.

[loyd_christmas]

I was watching a skateboard video the other day that looked like it was made on $11 and it had a mettalica song in it , I see stuff like that all the time, cant figure it out . Im gonna just give it a shot , thanks for all the ideas , I will let you guys know if I have any luck

[Zoomforce]

some of those little skateboard videos are actually made by pretty big $$ companies.

[Barry_Green]

And I'm sure some of 'em are made by do-it-yourselfers who just put in whatever music they wanted...