Over the past twenty years one of the largest revenue streams for independent artists, and freelance composers is the use of their music in various TV shows, Films, and Games. In the ever-increasing opportunities for modern musicians, lies the debate between licensing vs selling the rights of their compositions.

WHAT IS LICENSING?

HOW DOES LICENSING WORK?

When you license your music for use in a TV Show or a Movie, the licensee has to pay a ‘Sync Fee’. That is an amount of money that is paid to you to attain the license for use. Sync fees are purely negotiable and are not regulated by statute; they are strictly contractual and vary significantly in amount depending on the usage, subjective importance of the song and production, and medium used.

1. One-time Use

   This type of license is used for synchronization of your music to only one other media. E.g. Your song was selected to be played in a specific episode of a TV show and is not the central motif of the show.  

2. Broad Spectrum

   This license is used for synchronization of your music to another media, and it’s different iterations. E.g. Your music is selected to be a part of a movie and is so vital to it that it is also used for the trailers and other short edits of the same film.  

3. Master Use

   This license is provided with exclusive rights. E.g. The song that you composed can now be only used by the licensee in perpetuity or as long as the license is issued for. You are still the copyright owner of the composition but cannot use it in any other shape or form.

HOW DO I RECEIVE THE ROYALTIES?

After the license has been granted, you are then going to collect performance royalties for your compositions every-time the Movie/TV Show is aired and the number of times your music is played in that duration. With the help of a PRO (Performance Rights Organization) that you sign to as a writer/publisher, this amount is calculated and is forwarded to you.

WHAT DOES SELLING RIGHTS MEAN?

WINDING UP

“Artists today have many more options then they had years ago. The goal for any artist or producer is to create a large body of compositions and then register them and exploit them for the myrid of uses that are out there. These uses include Game Scores, Movies, TV shows, and other performance based uses. The goal for any composer today should be centered around exclusive compositions and creating a library of stock compositions that can be licensed to various end users. All of this can focus around both Licensing of existing compositions, non-exclusive uses, and exclusive compositions. Overall if you can get your foot in the door with a music supervisor or production company, this could be one of the largest revenue streams in an independent artist’s revenue pie” - Steffen Franz, President/Founder, Independent Distribution Collective and Senior Music Business Instructor, Pyramind