How to License a Song for Advertising
Music easily sets the mood, enhances memorability of advertisements, and quickly conveys information you are advertising. This is why the advertising industry has joined with the media to create a lucrative market for music licensing. When you want to use a song for advertising your product, you must get the proper music license from the publisher and/or the record company.
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Instructions
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Choose the song you want to use in your advertisement by finding the exact title and the writer of that particular song.
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Contact the music publisher and record company of the song you intend to use for your advertisement. The easiest way to do this is to go through performing rights societies such as ASCAP, BMI SESAC etc.
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Get permission from the music publisher and/or record company. When you are using a version of a song that is already recorded, you must get permission from both the record company and the publisher. But when you create a new version of a song, you only get permission from the music publisher. You may also be required to get permission from the artist of the song especially when using the song to advertise on radio or television.
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Obtain from the publisher, a mechanical license if you are using the song for a commercial release or a synchronization license if you will use it for a commercial, television show or a film advertisement.
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Pay the publisher the required licensing fees. The fees vary according to the type of media used; whether it is TV, Internet or radio. For instance, according to ASCAP, the fee to be paid to a publisher in 2011 ranged from $10,000 for a local campaign to $1,000,000 per year for a major campaign.
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Tips & Warnings
• Check the label on the CD to see which performing rights society represents the writer of the song.
• Check if a song is owned by more than one publisher and if it is, then get permission from all of them.
• You can hire a lawyer to help you with the licensing.
References
- “Kohn on Music Licensing”; Al Kohn et al.; 2010
- Dreamsteep: Using Copyrighted Music for Commercial Purposes
- Copyright kids: Getting Permission
- “Getting Permission: How to License & Clear Copyrighted Materials Online & Off”; Richard Stim; 2010
- ASCAP; Licensing Hit Songs for Advertising Commercials; Todd Brabec et al
