looking for a distributor...music issues

P

Paunch

Well-known member
So i'm looking around for a distributor and have all of my rights cleared for everything but have one song in my soundtrack with limited use rights. My contract is for 500 dvds, anything over 500 means i have to pay 1.2 cents/copy and there is nothing in the contract about tv play etc....i'd have to get another license for that.

so my question is, if I get a distributor how do i sort this mess out and who will be responsible for taking care of the music rights if i give the distrib an exclusive deal?

This song cost me 1000 bucks just for basic use rights and i'm guessing that they'll want to rape me in the ass if i need something like a blanket license or whatever it is to cover me in perpetuity for every angle.
 
The responsibility will fall with you as producer/production company. I'm not sure what your basic rights cover...film festivals? Theatrical Release? A print-run of 500 DVDs/Downloads? Television Rights? - Get prices for everything you'd need and sit down with the distributor and be prepared to pay these as and when is necessary. Also, maybe have an alternative track with all the rights cleared just in case. I think it would be wise to show the distributor that you are covering all the possibilities. A distributor will get very nervy if the chain of title isn't 100% complete.

Good luck!
 
I've heard different things but I've heard that it's not a financially wise idea to pay for ALL rights for everything (like stock footage, music, etc.) unless it's fairly inexpensive, because you don't yet know what your distributor will do. In other words, if you sign with a straight-to-DVD distributor in the U.S. only, you don't need cable TV rights, theatrical rights, etc. Why pay for them? Better to pay for festival rights first, then pay for the rights you need when you need them.

The exception to that I think is when you know the rights are going to cost a fortune for anything more than festivals, thus basically assuring the distributor is going to be ticked off that your film now has to change music and you may lose your deal.

In your situation, yes, it will be your responsibility. Everything related to rights and clearances is the responsibility of the production company and producer of the film, Huck is right.
 
i'm very prepared to ditch the track in order to get all rights covered, so I will have to see what the record company says. Makes sense though, I'll jump that hurdle when it arrives. My rights cover me for festivals for 2 years, and DVD sales world wide.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top