Navigating the Music Licensing Landscape Music plays an important role in filmmaking from setting the tone to enhancing the emotion. For independent filmmakers, securing the right music can be a challenging and often expensive task. Music licensing requires knowledge, planning, and access to suitable resources. In this post, we will provide some useful tips and […]
Copyright in Chord Progressions
As a composer, you know that chords provide the backbone of a song. They provide the harmonic foundation that supports the melody and lyrics. But what you may not realize is that even simple chord progressions can be subject to copyright protection. Whether or not they can be copyrighted is a complex subject and depends […]
Copyright in Music Soundalikes
Using music soundalikes can be much less costly than using the real thing. A sound-alike or Pastiche is a long used technique used by composers. For example, using the original James Bond theme in your project would be very expensive, but using a track that sounds like it will be much more cost-effective. For example, […]
Why Can’t You Make a Song with Royalty-Free Music?
People often ask whether they can sing over a track and sell it as their own. There is a lot of incorrect information out there regarding this. This article covers the facts and the reasons that you cannot use royalty-free music, stock music or library music as your backing track. Why do people want to […]
Sampling & Permission Explained
What is sampling? In music technology, sampling is the technique of digitally encoding music or sound and reusing it as part of a composition or recording. This started to become popular in the 1980’s but synthesisers and samplers were limited by the ability of the technology of the day and early samplers would only be […]
The Vague Origins of Wheels on the Bus
A lot of nursery rhymes are considered to be in the public domain, however, The Wheels on the Bus is not so clear. It is derived from Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush and Buffalo Gals, both written in 1800s. The composers identity is unknown, however, using the copyright rule of thumb of 70 years […]
How to Play Music in Your Business Without Paying PROs such as PRS, ASCAP, BMI
For many years now we have had regular inquiries from business owners who are surprised to be contacted by PRS and other PROs (Performance Rights Organizations) regarding the music they are playing in their shop, restaurant, cafe, gym, medical practice etc. These are not all new businesses, sometimes they have just not been contacted previously […]
Is the Composer / Artist Losing Out If I Don’t Pay PRS, ASCAP or BMI?
While many businesses understand that music creates a certain atmosphere in their restaurant, bar, or shop, many businesses are still not happy to pay for using music, as they don’t understand where the money goes. What happens if you don’t pay? Mainstream Music If you are playing mainstream music in your business and not paying […]
Cue Sheet Royalties for Sound Effects
This is something that seems to crop up a lot. With some broadcasters, there is an assumption that everything has to be added to the cue sheet. While this is true for music that is registered with royalty collection societies the same can’t be applied to sound effects due to the very nature of their […]
The Cost of Singing Happy Birthday
Due to music licensing, it usually costs money to use or perform a musical work that someone owns the copyright on. The exception to this is when a piece of music is in the public domain. This is basically when the copyright expires (copyright rules differ for different parts of the world so I won’t get […]
