How to Obtain a Music License for Facebook
When you want to incorporate music into Facebook, whether you embed it in your profile, make music a part of an advertisement or a custom Facebook application, you are required to obtain proper music licensing. To secure licensing you can use one, or all, of the three United States performing rights societies; American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC), contact the copyright owner of the music directly or purchase royalty-free music. Obtaining a license from the performing rights societies or purchasing royalty-free music will supply you with access to the broadest selection of music.
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Things You'll Need
- Name of the Artist(s)
- Song Title(s)
- Name of the Music Publisher(s)
- Facebook Account
- ASCAP, BMI, SESAC license(s)
Instructions
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Where To Begin
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Develop a list containing all the songs and artists you would want to integrate into Facebook.
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Visit the ASCAP, BMI and SESAC websites (see resources) to explore the societies online repertoire databases. Cross reference your music selections against all the society's databases. Make note of each society that contains music within their repertoire that you want to play on Facebook.
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Contact the appropriate performing rights societies whose repertoire contains music you want to broadcast on Facebook. All three performing rights societies have their own fee schedule and licensing procedures for Internet and New Media.
Music Licenses
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ASCAP offers two "Internet Music Licenses": "Non-Interactive" and "Interactive. Licensing fees are calculated with a formula that includes sponsor revenue, user revenue and the number of service sessions. Both licenses require a minimum annual fee, $288 for "Non-Interactive" and $340 for "Interactive."
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BMI offers three "Web Site Music Performance Agreements" for licensing: "Website Music Performance," "Corporate Image" and "Not-For-Profit". Licensing fees are calculated with a formula that includes "Page Impressions" and "Music Page Impressions." All three licenses require a minimum annual fee of $299.
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SESAC offers a single Internet music license where the fees are calculated through formulas that contain a percentage of revenue and total listening hours. The license requires a minimum annual fee of $388.
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Another option is Royalty-Free music, also known as library music and stock music. Royalty-Free music can be purchased from sites, such as http://www.musicbakery.com, http://www.stockmusicsite.com and http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com. The music provided by these sites can be purchased and broadcast for a one-time fee, without recurring licensing fees or royalties.
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Tips & Warnings
By not obtaining the correct music licensing to play music on Facebook you may be subject to fines and legal suits.
