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Music for promotional video

ajedproduction

ajedproduction

I'm aware of general copyright rules,but how come I seem to see a lot of promotional videos for small companies or events that feature commercial songs? I highly doubt some of them have payed for the license for some of these songs. For example, here's one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKJLLtEmWwU I highly doubt they purchased the license to use the theme tune from the Godfather for their video...

Is it simply the case that although these people are breaching copyright, the companies that own the music simply don't care?

I am creating a promotional video for a small Cafe, the video will most likely be uploaded to Youtube or Vimeo and posted on their website and facebook. I'd really like to use the song Mr Sandman by the Chordettes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDXT7wC9jrc but a cover version of the song. I know I'd still have to get the writes from whoever wrote the song. Is there a website to find out how to go about getting the license for certain songs? I probably won't be able to afford paying for the license but I'm just curious to see how much they would charge.

I could just use the song without the license as Youtube wouldn't block it since it's a cover version. But is this something that could come back and haunt me in the future? I've seen a lot of videographers on vimeo using commercial songs that I'm pretty sure they haven't got the rights for. Is it something you can get away with???

I may end up just getting an unsigned artists music..
 
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ajedproduction said:
I could just use the song without the license as Youtube wouldn't block it since it's a cover version. But is this something that could come back and haunt me in the future? I've seen a lot of videographers on vimeo using commercial songs that I'm pretty sure they haven't got the rights for. Is it something you can get away with???

I may end up just getting an unsigned artists music..
Click to expand...

It is something that can come back to haunt you. It may be able to skirt around YouTube's technology that disables audio on videos using protected songs, but that doesn't mean using a cover version is any less illegal if it's an unlicensed cover version and it isn't paying any royalties. Besides that, it is just unprofessional for a business to use a song it doesn't have rights to use in promoting itself.

The cost to obtain a license to put a popular song to film can be quite high, but it depends on the popularity and importance of the song. According to Donald S. Passman, in the 6th edition of "Everything you need to know about the Music Business," the cost of licensing a song for a commercial may be $6,000 to $25,000. This is for work in the "new media" category, which, at the time of writing, includes the internet. This copy of the book is older, so it could be much different (more expensive) by now.

The way to find out is to figure out who owns the copyright for the song you want to use and go from there, if you are serious about it.
 
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ajedproduction said:
I'm aware of general copyright rules,but how come I seem to see a lot of promotional videos for small companies or events that feature commercial songs? I highly doubt some of them have payed for the license for some of these songs. For example, here's one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKJLLtEmWwU I highly doubt they purchased the license to use the theme tune from the Godfather for their video...

Is it simply the case that although these people are breaching copyright, the companies that own the music simply don't care?

I am creating a promotional video for a small Cafe, the video will most likely be uploaded to Youtube or Vimeo and posted on their website and facebook. I'd really like to use the song Mr Sandman by the Chordettes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDXT7wC9jrc but a cover version of the song. I know I'd still have to get the writes from whoever wrote the song. Is there a website to find out how to go about getting the license for certain songs? I probably won't be able to afford paying for the license but I'm just curious to see how much they would charge.

I could just use the song without the license as Youtube wouldn't block it since it's a cover version. But is this something that could come back and haunt me in the future? I've seen a lot of videographers on vimeo using commercial songs that I'm pretty sure they haven't got the rights for. Is it something you can get away with???

I may end up just getting an unsigned artists music..
Click to expand...

It's not worth the risk of doing it without going through the proper channels..nor would it be ethical.
If you want to use a cover version of the song, it may not actually be that expensive. To use a version by the original artist will likely be very expensive. If you are serious, then contact a PRO such as ASCAP or BMI (USA), APRA ( Australasia), PRS or PPL (UK). They will be able to give you the details and license costs to use the song.
However, it would be much cheaper to use music by an unsigned artist ( as you suggested) but there are still potential pitfalls there, or use Royalty-free music, which would keep you out of copyright troubles and have no ongoing costs.
You may find this article helpful:
Choosing and Using Music for film and Video
 
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Hey, guys. I'm new to the forum world, for the last couple of years i've been locked in my room making beats/instrumetnals. When i try to shop them to artists/ rappers, they say they are very dramatic and scoring-type. Originally I was trying to sell my beats, but I found it more important to get recognition. I wouldn't mind leasing (lending) a beat (royalty free) for a few projects. Check out my work. www.souloeddie.com
There might be somthing that you might like there.
 
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