I'm doing a low budget film for some festivals and I need some specific music. An artist I've seen a few times, met a few times, is the artist I'd like to get his music. How do I go about getting permission to use his music? The two albums I want to use music from that he did was when he was with the record label Vanguard Records, should I contact them or him? I believe I actually have his personal email somewhere, I just have to find the password to my old email accounts. If it makes any difference the artist's name is Mark Selby. (Not to be confused with the pool player) Any help would be appreciated!
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Getting Permission
- Thread starter Beatlesfan1225
- Start date
If the record label still exists they probably own the rights to the recordings. I'd start thinking about a plan B right now. It's worth pursuing, especially if you know the artist, but on a "low budget" project, the odds of getting the rights at a price you can pay are VERY slim.
You can always ask. Sometimes the Artist will still own some of the songs. I tell them I can give credit and contact info.
It never hurts to ask; there is always a chance that you will be pleasantly surprised. The best place to start is with the artists management, they can ask the artist if s/he has any objections. If there are no objections you then negotiate the various usage rights agreements. This can get complicated; for example, the artist may own the publishing rights but they may not own the mechanical rights (they own the copyright of the song but not the copyright of the specific recording).
Thanks, I actually have the artist's personal email, I'll shoot him an email and ask about who owns the rights to his songs, and how he feels about using his content. I'll post back when I'm done to let people know how it went.
On a similar topic...
I'm in the same sort of situation. There are a few specific songs that I really want to use for upcoming projects. But I don't have a clue who to get in contact with or how. When you want to use music, but you have no contact info for the artist, how do you go about getting such a thing?
I'm in the same sort of situation. There are a few specific songs that I really want to use for upcoming projects. But I don't have a clue who to get in contact with or how. When you want to use music, but you have no contact info for the artist, how do you go about getting such a thing?
There is no average price. Each owner makes up their own
price based on their own personal criteria and how the song
will be used. If the artist is dead the publishing rights are
most likely under the ownership of the publisher.
Contact ASCAP and the National Music Publishers' Association.
price based on their own personal criteria and how the song
will be used. If the artist is dead the publishing rights are
most likely under the ownership of the publisher.
Contact ASCAP and the National Music Publishers' Association.
Sometimes when artists split from their label they rerecord their songs so that they can make royalties off of them. Usually the songs had to be very popular to justify rerecording them.
Another option is to contact a music supervision & licensing clearance agency that specialises on indie film work. There's a few of us around (both in the states and the UK) and we're more than willing to go through the issues in detail on smaller budget projects.
We also have very good connections with record labels and publishers - this is our day-to-day job so know what questions to ask and how to get a good deal for all sides. Labels and publishers tend to sift licensing enquiries by how much they think they're worth - i.e. focus on the high paying budgets.
... by getting the help of a sync agency / music sup you'll normally find you get much better terms and a quicker response. It's all about perception!
Cheers
We also have very good connections with record labels and publishers - this is our day-to-day job so know what questions to ask and how to get a good deal for all sides. Labels and publishers tend to sift licensing enquiries by how much they think they're worth - i.e. focus on the high paying budgets.
... by getting the help of a sync agency / music sup you'll normally find you get much better terms and a quicker response. It's all about perception!
Cheers
Remember - you always need TWO sets of rights...
1. The right to the performance and exact recording - which is usually owned by a record company.
2. The right to the intellectual property that is the sheet music - which is owned by a publishing company (which is usually the artist themselves).
ASCAP and BMI are the clearing houses and have the necessary contact info for most songs that way.
1. The right to the performance and exact recording - which is usually owned by a record company.
2. The right to the intellectual property that is the sheet music - which is owned by a publishing company (which is usually the artist themselves).
ASCAP and BMI are the clearing houses and have the necessary contact info for most songs that way.
I know this thread is a little old, but thought I'd share a recent experience for future reference.
Just recently I contacted the publisher for CCR to get an idea of the fee associated with using one of their tracks in a feature.
I was honestly bracing for a fairly high figure (It's Creedence Clearwater Revival, afterall), but secretly hoping that my budget, where the song would be used, and how much of it would play (things which the publisher generally requires to give a price) would factor into a more reasonable figure. (Suffice it to say, it's out of range for me.)
These things vary widely, but the $1,000 / year festival license seems pretty common.
Just recently I contacted the publisher for CCR to get an idea of the fee associated with using one of their tracks in a feature.
I was honestly bracing for a fairly high figure (It's Creedence Clearwater Revival, afterall), but secretly hoping that my budget, where the song would be used, and how much of it would play (things which the publisher generally requires to give a price) would factor into a more reasonable figure. (Suffice it to say, it's out of range for me.)
These things vary widely, but the $1,000 / year festival license seems pretty common.
That's good info, Frank. I have never asked about festival rights.