What is Licensing Rights in Music

Every song created by an author must be protected by copyright. That is why composers get the rights to their own tracks as soon as a new piece of music is born. In order for other people or companies to use the authors’ tunes in any project, you need to obtain a license. Such a document guarantees the legitimate use of the material and receipt of payment in accordance with the terms.

How Music Licensing Works

The licensing process involves granting the right to use copyrighted tracks to other parties. To do so, you need to sign a relevant document that provides guarantees and obligations, as well as determines the cost of such use of the tracks. In addition, the geographical features of the use and the length of the track to be used are taken into account. If everything is done correctly and in compliance with these conditions, the license buyer may not worry and have the right to use the track in his project, but only within the terms and conditions stipulated in the signed document.

Types of Music Licensing

There are special companies that grant licenses depending on their type. That is, if someone wants to take a specific track and make it background music in an advertisement, this is one type of permission called “synchronization”. If you need to get permission for several songs to become a soundtrack for a movie, this also belongs to the previous type. The same applies to publishing tracks on physical media, this type is called “mechanical”.

Who Owns the Rights to a Song

When a track is created, the rights to it are initially owned by the author. But he or she can sell them to a company, or grant these rights for use. There is also a way for the author to retain ownership of the song, but transfer some of them to a certain company for further use. Of course, all conditions are approved in the relevant document.

How to Get Song Licensing

To obtain such permission, you need to contact the track owner or special companies. By the way, each of these firms may have its own area of expertise in terms of licensing. If you need permission for a movie, you should contact one company, if you need to use the track for radio, you should contact another company, and so on.

Music Licensing for Online Content Creators

Today, content makers have a high demand for music to use in blog posts, especially for video blogs. Every composer should be protected by law in order to receive their rightful payments for the use of their tracks by bloggers and other people. For this purpose, there are even special platforms that help content makers find the right music. And some of them have built-in capabilities to access licensed tracks. Such services help to comply with the law regarding the use of tracks and provide a license. All this is necessary to avoid receiving a complaint about the illegal use of tracks in content.

How Much Does it Cost to License Music?

It all depends on how the track will be used, and this means choosing the appropriate type of resolution. The area in which the track is going to be used also plays an important role in setting the price. And, of course, the fact that a certain song can be a number one hit in the world plays a role. In this case, the cost will be higher. Some types of licenses have a fixed price, while others require a separate conversation to take into account additional details. Remember that the length of the track that will be used in the project also affects the cost.

How to Buy a License for Music

If you need to get the right to use a track in your project, you need to contact the person who owns the rights to this track. It can be an agency or a publisher. There are also specialized websites that allow you to simplify the process of obtaining the right to use a track. As a rule, you also need to provide information on how you plan to use the track.

Where to Buy the Rights of Music

If you need to own the rights to a track, you should write to the artist or companies and inform them of your intention to purchase the rights to the track. If you buy the rights to a track from a company, the price may be higher because they have also bought the rights before and are simply reselling them. An individual composer can set a low price, especially if their song is not well known. We’d also like to remind you that there are websites on the market that offer to purchase tracks and obtain rights to them. We’ll talk about this in more detail below.

Where to Buy Music License for Commercial Use

Such a license requirement involves an algorithm similar to the previous ones. To obtain such permission, you need to write a letter to a special agency requesting a license to use the track in a commercial project. Since these companies represent the authors of the tracks, it simplifies the whole procedure, and therefore everything will be legal, and the author is guaranteed to receive the appropriate funds.

If you need music for commercial use, but don’t want to waste time getting a license, use our service where you can get music with commercial rights created by ghost producers. You don’t have to worry about licensing, buy ghost production music in our store and become the rightful owner of exclusive tracks.

Does a DJ Need a License to Play Music

As a rule, when a DJ plays music in a club, at a concert venue or at a festival, he needs to have a permit to play his tracks in public. If we’re talking about a territory that is not public, i.e. a private party in your own home or something like that, the need for any permits is irrelevant. Live performances are considered professional activities, so they require official rights, while a regular party, birthday or wedding can be equated to a private recreation.

What Music Can I Play Without a License

The short answer to this question is that if the public use of a track does not require a special right to do so, then the track can be used in this way. But it all depends on the law of a particular country. We described a similar situation in the previous paragraph. To play music at a concert, you need to have the appropriate rights. If you play a track in your car or at a friend’s house, you don’t need to get additional permission.

What About Royalties in Music Licensing?

If a special license is granted that provides for certain use on certain sites, the author must be guaranteed to receive appropriate payments for this. There are specific companies that collect such data and monitor compliance with the terms. They guarantee song owners that every listen or use of a track will be paid for in accordance with the terms.

We would like to say a few more words about rights clearing. It means that every person involved in the creation of a work should receive their share of monetary compensation when the track is used in a certain way. This means that there is no single person who owns the track. This is because the melody was created by the first person. A second person wrote the lyrics. A third person recorded the vocals. And so on. Everyone has their share of rights and should receive their legitimate monetary proceeds accordingly. Therefore, cooperation with lawyers and other specialists plays an important role in such complex relationships.

The classic way for an author to obtain a license involves many different communications with specific firms and agencies, which can be time-consuming and energy-consuming. In addition, it requires a certain level of competence. Today, the industry offers modern and convenient tools for working with rights, permissions, and distribution of compositions. This greatly simplifies the work for creative people and guarantees them legal security and payment for the results of their creative activity. Therefore, modern artists, DJs, and producers should pay more attention to exploring new and modern opportunities to make their work easier and more efficient.

Thanks to services that allow you to listen to music online, track licensing has an international status. Since the conditions for each country are different, there is a certain level of cooperation between different industry representatives, which makes it possible to create certain agreements to simplify the system of remuneration for authors from different countries.

Modern music listening platforms provide an opportunity to access any track around the world for a small subscription fee. This is made possible by agreements between labels and these same music streaming services. For example, social networks play a significant role for musicians in gaining new fans and increasing revenues, as they allow them to add tracks to stories with a link to the artist’s profile on the music service.

A few additional words about copyright

Although the system of granting rights and permissions regulates the proper use of tracks, the problem of copyright infringement is constantly present. Such infringements regularly prompt authors to file lawsuits to recover money they did not receive as a result of improper use of their tracks. If everyone involved is conscious and conscientious about copyright and respects the work of composers and musicians, the industry will have a favorable ecosystem where everyone is happy.