The business of music licensing:
With the increase of streamed TV channels, YouTube, and
other social media platforms, the need for licensable original music is on the
rise. Anyone that has ever become
familiar with media companies and the way they operate will also know that
advertisements pay for the company’s sustainability. Therefore, since the media world has turned
into a web-based platform for a huge portion of the industry, advertisers have
turned to the web and social media in order to increase the company’s market
reach.
A quick background on music licensing...the idea behind music
licensing is that someone pays a music composer/writer for the use of his or
her music. This essentially comes in
various forms. However, in a commercial
use, any music synched with visuals should fall in the category of a sync license. The thing to remember is that whether the
license is called “sync” or not, a music license is just: permission to use a particular
music for a fee.
It is pretty hard to imagine a YouTube (or traditional TV)
commercial without background music appropriate for it. Although there are great songs that will come
in very appropriate for certain ads, it may not be in the best interest of the
advertiser to use this music. Why? Usually seasoned, established music, and
their creators, will not permit use (license) for a small fee. Therefore, companies like Toyota, GM, Tide,
etc., have been known to look and license outside/independent music. This allows for two things, one on the
business side and the other on the creative side:
1.
The advertiser will save on the license fees.
2.
The artistic appeal of an independent artist
composing for a specific company may be better suited from an artistic
perspective.
A great website that answers many questions in this matter
of music licensing is located in Sarah
Gavigan’s webpage.
Ms. Gavigan is a seasoned music supervisor located in
Nashville, full of great advises on the topic of music licensing and the independent
artist. She has a blog to which one
could subscribe!
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