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Getting the rights to popular music

Hey everyone!

I have some songs in mind that I could use in a film I'm making. They're popular songs, however, which I would need the rights to put in my film. I was wondering if anyone knew how I could get those royalties (and save myself from doing a ton of work?)?

Thank you,
Drew.
 
You need to contact the entities that hold the copyrights, publishing rights, etc.

It's probably not worth it as you most probably don't have the budget. A project on which I worked wanted to use "The Middle" by Jimmy Eats World. They wanted $100,000 plus points.
 
First of all, I agree with Alcove -- your best bet is probably to get music from an indie band.

However, if you NEED a specific song, there's always the possibility of getting a musician friend to record a cover of that song. You'd still have to pay royalties to the writer, but that would be less than having to pay royalties to both the writer and the performer. Still might be crazy expensive, but maybe not. :huh:
 
However, if you NEED a specific song, there's always the possibility of getting a musician friend to record a cover of that song. You'd still have to pay royalties to the writer, but that would be less than having to pay royalties to both the writer and the performer. Still might be crazy expensive, but maybe not. :huh:

I have to respectfully disagree with this. Your musician friend will have to do the cover better than the original artist for this to work, otherwise it's gonna be a sure-fire letdown for the audience. The film will have 2nd-RATE written all over it.
 
I have to respectfully disagree with this. Your musician friend will have to do the cover better than the original artist for this to work, otherwise it's gonna be a sure-fire letdown for the audience. The film will have 2nd-RATE written all over it.

"Better" is in the ears of the listener. The technical and artistic quality of the recording and the performance may be top quality, yet some may hate it just because it is different.
 
I wouldn't waste my time...money aside you probably wouldn't get the rights anyway. I went through Sony for an old song...It was actually a jazz piece from the 40's. There were two owners involved and I forgot how it played out. Finding the family who owned the rights wasn't difficult and I emailed them. They were okay with me using it without any payment on my part however Sony Music owned rights to it also. I had to go through some online jibberish to apply for a request to use part of the music. They wanted to know all the details and so I filled out this online form. Less than a full day later I was emailed with a REJECTED notice. No explanation. Just rejected.

So don't waste your time, energy and money on it. Go with someone new. Royalty free. I realized there is just as good out there and I don't have to beg to use it.
 
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