music licensing estimates for 1 song.

P

Paunch

Well-known member
I have a song in my film, for 1k I have rights to use it on DVD for up to 500 copies, festivals for 2 years and 1.2 cents per copy thereafter....

now i'm shopping my film around to a distributor and of course they will want all rights cleared. Before I go and start asking the label/publishing company about this I'd like to have an idea of what to expect for 100% cleared rights cuz of course the distrib might want to go to tv etc with the film.

how much do you think they'll rape me for if i request universal use rights in perpetuity for dvds/tv?
 
Wasn't this exact question already asked and answered? IIRC, the answer was that it depends on what the distributor thinks they can do with it, THEN go and get a quote on rights for THAT.
 
Look, people can GUESS. Heck, maybe even a few folks have paid licensing fees for songs before and could tell you what they paid. But it doesn't make any difference. Only the people who OWN the rights to the specific song YOU want can set the price for THAT song.

It's like me asking, "I saw this really cool painting at an art gallery the other day. How much do you guys think it would cost me?" Prices will vary. Only the gallery knows how much they will charge.

Nobody knows what the owner of the copyright of this song will want to charge you except the owner. And you're never going to find out unless you ask them.
 
I think Paunch is just looking for an idea of what to expect in regards to the scale.
Is it $1k-ish, $5k-ish... $20k-ish???

I'm sure he's well aware that he can jsut ask. That is a completely unhelpful response.
 
I had a song in my film that based on the types I wanted to purchase spanned from $5K - $80K. The fact that it was over the end credits made it even more expensive (same for titles). The $5K was for North American broadcast rights, the $80K for worldwide, all rights. Needless to say, I did not use the song based on my needing to protect for worldwide sales.

The answer for you lies somewhere in there - and no one deal is the same based on song, rights needed, placement in film, where the program will be seen, number of seconds of song used, etc. You also do not give us any idea as to what song, etc.

Michael
 
If it's any help, the fees NBC paid to license the Rolling Stone's "Satisfaction" for Conan's broadcast last week, plus re-broadcast rights, plus rights to post the clips from the show on the internet, reportedly ran approximately $1.5 million.

Addendum ... Tom Hanks walk-on song in the last show, the Beatles "Lovely Rita", set 'em back half a million for the broadcast rights.
 
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yeah I was just really looking for any guess of what it could run, i promised the band a few dvd's but i'm not in a big hurry since i dropped a g-note on the song....so i'm just putting off asking them for the time being.

but it sounds like this could be a costly mistake on my end, now i know for next time.
 
So just take the 500-copy price and multiply it by 10. Or 20. or 50. As good a guess as rolling a dice or throwing a dart. And equally valid.

Even if you had provided the relevant details (which you did not), nobody knows what the rights owner (or their agent) would quote.
 
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everything is negotiable we just got a guy who for instance writes stuff for national commericals and also several American Television shows. They payed him $75,000 for one piece of music. We negotiated a $1500 deal. He liked the movie and made us a deal. So the lesson is everything can be negotiable.
good luck
 
thanks. it really depends on if i can get my film picked up....if it's gonna be only dvd and Video on demand then I don't see it as being too pricey. If I can get a distrib who wants all rights cleared then I may get raped on the deal. The record label was cool, it was the publishing company that set the price and the record company got the same deal under the favored nations clause.
 
Since you are in Canada, your laws are different for music in film/video (called a "sync license" in the US, but maybe they have a different term in Canada?) Last time I checked, there was an online service that sells "sync rights" for Canadian producers. Much like the HFA website in the US where we can buy "mechanical" licenses for audio-only recordings. The answer to your question is much more straightforward in Canada.

You have been hearing responses from those of us in the US where this is a completely open-ended question. Without a LOT more details you question is impossible to even GUESS. You need to do some better research on music licensing in YOUR country, and I believe you will discover that the process is much easier, AND the prices are significantly lower than here in the USA.

If you want a shot in the dark single guess, I'll say $20,000. But it could easily be $200 or $2,000,000
 
We nearly used a song by a gospel artist (ended up getting all indie music) but the cost was going to be around $3000. That should give you an idea of the lower end of the spectrum.
 
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