Permits for Music in Videos

L

LuckyProducer

Well-known member
Hey guys, I have been doing a lot of birthday party videos and wedding videos. I was wondering about the music. If I want to use a song, how would I be able to get permission to use it and sell my wedding/birthday video? Is it usually expensive? I really don't know what to do about this so can someone please let me know? My business is growing more and more and I don't want to mess anything up. I usually do it for family, but I am starting to do it for strangers and I don't want to get in trouble for anything. Can someone please let me know what I should do? Thanks!

P.S. This one company that filmed and edited my high school's prom asked them to make a list of songs they would like in the video. I'm guessing he didn't get any permission for the songs, but do you guys have an idea of what he did?
 
This is nearly the exact thing I hopped on here to post today

I'm interested in someone's response as well. Regarding making a film like a montage or something, using 'pop' music... I don't want to break the law, but it's hard when you dont know the law regarding the specifics of what you can/can't do.
 
You will have to get at least two permissions: the song's writer, and the song's publisher.
Yes it can be expensive, but it also might be a lot of [leg]work.

If you want to sell something and be legit, you will have to settle for royalty free music or go to mp3.com and ask an unknown band for permission.
 
I am no means an expert on this subject, as it doesn't ever really apply to me, but I'll throw in my two cents:

From what I've read you might as well forget about the idea of using any music even remotely recognizable unless your budget has lots of zeros in it. Every time anyone asks this question anyplace I've read, the answer they always seem to get is to use royalty free music, or write their own.

Don't use any copyrighted music in your productions, no matter how small, without getting the proper license. Remember that even if you film an event for your own internal family use, you can't legally use copyrighted music. If you don't want to be sued, get a license.
 
Well this thread has definitely helped--

I've come across some sites that say you (we) need what is called "synch" rights...

From: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=441&invol=1

[ Footnote 23 ] The "synch" right is the right to record a copyrighted song in synchronization with the film or videotape, and is obtained separately from the right to perform the music. It is the latter which is controlled by ASCAP and BMI. See CBS, Inc. v. ASCAP, 400 F. Supp., at 743.
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Here's another good link I just found:
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Music/musiclaw2.html
 
More!

Sychronization licenses are negotiated between the copyright owner and the production company for the film/video. The negotiated topics include: the license fee; the number of master films that will be made for distribution to movie theaters; Re-use fees (film released to theaters and later released as a video-DVD and/or broadcast of film on television);....

...All of the above is for sychronization of music; sound design (effects) - specifically all audio that is not voice, which is licensed with the actors. Also keep in mind that sychronization licenses are applied to not only film and video - but also to any recorded visual that includes music/sound/design - video games; powerpoint presentations etc.
Licensing of a song is where income is generated. If you are interested in additional information read "THE ART OF LICENSING MUSIC" by Al Kohn and Bob Kohn - published by Prentice Hall Law & Business - nearly 1000 pages of information about music licensing.
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Have you ever suddenly been struck by the realization that a scene in your film just had to be set to a particular song? Maybe it was the Tom Waits cut that served as the soundtrack to your adolescence; or a Moby track that someone in your crew was playing during production; or a piece of classical music that would do for your movie what Mahler’s Fifth Symphony did for Visconti’s “Death in Venice.” The right piece of prerecorded music can make a vast difference in how a scene plays. The problem is figuring out how to get permission to use it without draining your budget. Learning about how to acquire the rights to prerecorded music on an independent filmmaker’s budget can be discouraging–more than a few low-budget filmmakers have discovered that music licensing, particularly of songs recorded by current, well-known artists, can be both costly and time-consuming. But if you are determined to use a specific piece of music, and want to take the legal steps to ensure that you won’t wind up in litigation after your film becomes the next indie sensation, you’d better cast off the bliss of the innocent.
First of all, determine which licenses you need. The most important ones for use in films are “synchronization licenses” and “master recording licenses.” Synchronization, or “sync,” licenses pertain to the synchronization of a piece of music to any visual medium, from TV to film to Web broadcasting. When you obtain sync rights to, say, Blondie’s “One Way or Another,” you may legally use a rerecorded version of the song in your film. To use Blondie’s version, however, you will need to obtain a master recording, or “master,” license. It is important to understand and be aware of this distinction, because the owner(s) of the copyright of the composition may differ from the owner(s) of the copyright of the recording you want to use.
Conduct Thorough Research
Your goal is to determine both who owns the copyright of the song you want to use, and with whom you will need to negotiate to obtain the necessary licenses. There are several avenues where you can find this information (see sidebar), but try starting with BMI and ASCAP, the two performing artists’ rights organizations that, between them, represent nearly every songwriter and composer working today. BMI and ASCAP do not issue the licenses you will need, but they each have a vast database that contains reliable information on the publishing of the artists they represent.
BMI or ASCAP will refer you to either the publishing company itself, or to an agency that represents the publishing company. These agencies, the best-known of which is the Harry Fox Agency, negotiate licensing agreements on behalf of the publishers of the song. If the song you want is shared by more than one publishing company (which is nearly always the case), such an agency often represents the interests of all the publishers involved.
If neither BMI nor ASCAP gives you the information you need, call the artist’s record company and request contact information for the artist’s publishing company. However, depending on who answers the phone at the record label, you may be speaking with someone who doesn’t have a complete understanding of the publishing scenario for the song you want. Copyright ownership is often complex and convoluted. To cover all your bases, try to get contact information for the artist’s attorney as well, and make sure that the attorney’s depiction of the publishing scenario matches the record label’s.
After you successfully contact the song’s publisher, or the agency that represents the publisher, the publisher or agency will communicate your interest in the song to the copyright owner. The copyright owner will then determine a fee for the license agreement, and the publisher or agency will make you an offer. Licensing fees are not standardized and vary widely. If you want a song by Prince or the Rolling Stones, you might expect to pay tens of thousands of dollars, or more. If you are interested in a distinctive but lesser-known artist, you might pay a fraction of that amount.
When Your Name Isn’t Spielberg
Some independent filmmakers have taught themselves the basics of music licensing by trial and error. Mark Osborne, writer-director of the popular IFILM short “More” and the feature film “Dropping Out,” which will screen at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, was inspired to make the six-and-a-half-minute “More” by the New Order song, “Elegia.” Osborne analyzed the song’s structure and wrote the animated film to respond to the musical twists and turns of the song. So, of course, by the time he had completed the film, no other music would have suited his needs, and he went about trying to license the song.
Osborne contacted New Order’s management, and after three months, the band agreed to grant him permission to use the song. Unfortunately, their permission turned out to be relatively unimportant–Warner Brothers and other interests own publishing rights to the song as well.
“I thought I was free and clear,” Osborne says. “But months later their manager said, ‘Oh, you never contacted the label?’” Osborne went on to contact Warner Brothers and after six more months of making phone calls and writing letters he was able to license the sync rights to the song, as well as worldwide perpetuity rights, which entitle him to use the song in the film forever.
The struggle to get permission to use “Elegia” highlighted Osborne’s relative lack of clout as an independent filmmaker. “It can be a difficult process to navigate,” he says. “If you blindly go to the tables, you might have trouble.” For “Dropping Out,” Osborne contacted a music clearance consultant, Greg Dawson, to help with licensing. It is a step he would recommend to other filmmakers whose budget can sustain the extra cost. “It was great to just hand him a list and let him do the work,” he says.
If you have the extra financial padding, there are music clearance companies out there that will make your music licensing experience relatively painless. When you retain the services of a company such as Dawson Music or Signature Sound, their employees will determine which rights you need, conduct all the necessary copyright research, obtain license fee quotes, negotiate the most favorable terms for your agreement, review the agreement and deliver the licenses to you, ready for execution. The costs will be significantly higher than if you were going it alone, but if you have 20 songs to license, as Osborne did for “Dropping Out,” and you can afford to hire someone to do it for you, then by all means, do it.
Otherwise, get ready to start making those phone calls.
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Nik Nerburn said:
Well, in a situation such as yours, i wouldnt worry about it. I can think of skateboarding and rollerblading videos that sell hundreds of thousands of copies with copyrighted music. You probably should get the permission, but nothing will really happen to you if you dont.
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Please don't advise anyone to do anything illegal here. Even if he's no likely to get caught (which is probably true), it's still not a good idea. More importantly, by giving someone advice such as that, you put this forum at risk of being targeted for a lawsuit, which doesn't take much these days. Yes, I know the forum rules say that the website isn't resposbile for the comments of its users, but one never wants to get the reputation of being a place to find info on how to circumvent the law. I used to frequent VideoHelp.com, and that place was always dealing with issues related to people recommending warez, bootleg movies, etc. Let's not let that happen here.
 
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