music rights

[nho]

I have some questions, pardon my naiveness in advance.

What is the process involved with getting rights to music for movies? What if it's just a short film for a film festival? Are there 'common' prices in how much it costs to use a certain artist's music? Any information regarding music rights is greatly appreciated

 

[capitalP]

I know if you want to use copyrighted music, you need to contact the Record Label. As for prices, it varies. That's it really.

Now if it's just a short film for a film festival, you would need to do the same thing, or just submit it without obtaining the rights, then the festival might not show your movie.

 

[Ted Spencer]

The copyright holder of the composition would be the artist and/or music publishing company, which may or may not be related to the record company. Many recording artists are self-published - they own their own publishing companies. Use of the actual recording itself would require the consent of the record company as well.

So the record company would be a good place to start the clearance process if the original recording is involved. If not, then the publishing company or artist/publisher would.