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The Secret to Licensing Your Music

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Categories: Uncategorized, Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By: Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.

This article was previously published on Synchtank.com.

Licensing music is one of the more lucrative areas of the music business and I often get asked how one can encourage productions to license one’s music. 

There are many factors that go into choosing a piece of music to license.  For example, some creative factors include the song itself, the genre, the artist who recorded the particular song, the time period from which the music is from, the nature of the scene or commercial that is using the music, the product, the mood that the producers want to evoke, and other factors.  From a legal perspective, factors that can influence whether a piece of music is licensed include the territory in which the music is available to be licensed, the length of time the music will be used, in which media the music will be used, whether promotional uses are allowed and what type, and more.

However, there is one factor that when all other things remain equal could win the license for one piece of music over another.

Without further ado, the secret to getting music licensed is…

Make the music easy to license!

Note that just because one’s music is easy to license does not guarantee someone will license it.  However, what it does mean is that if a production is interested in licensing a particular piece of music that proves difficult and time-consuming to license, the production will very often abandon efforts to try to license the difficult piece of music and re-direct its efforts to another piece of music that is easier to license.  This means that the owner of the piece of music that is difficult to license will lose that license and the income generated from it, and another rights’ owner now has an opportunity to get that license, and the income from it.

Here are some examples I’ve encountered where the music was not easy to license:

In one example, a new artist wanted a synchronization license for his cover version of a particular song.  There were two writers of the composition, and two publishers from whom to seek a license.  One publisher (“Publisher 1”), a major publisher, was responsive and regularly communicated in regard to approval status.  The other publisher (“Publisher 2”), a lesser-known indie publisher who actually has a catalogue of some substantial songs, was completely non-responsive.  This publisher ignored multiple emails and voicemails with the license request, including ignoring communication from Publisher 1, its co-publisher. 

I am a big fan of publishers in general, and especially those that do their job well.  However, in this case, Publisher 2 was actually losing a license for its writer by completely ignoring the license requests.  It stands to reason that if Publisher 2 ignored the request in this example, it is very likely that Publisher 2 has ignored other requests as well.  This means that Publisher 2 is actively losing money for its writer, and also creating a reputation whereby potential licensees will purposely avoid using songs administered by Publisher 2 because of Publisher 2’s difficulty.  This, in turn, will lose even more future licenses and money for both Publisher 2 and its writer. 

In another example, a successful podcast wanted to license a particular song for its intro and outro music.  The publisher responded quickly with a reasonable quote.  The master owner was in Europe and I contacted the office in the appropriate country.  That office advised me to contact and obtain the license through a particular society.  This procedure didn’t sound correct to me, but I contacted the society per the label’s request.  After several attempts at obtaining a response from this particular society, the society informed me that the society only licenses for its particular country, and only for a podcaster’s own website, not for the major podcast distribution channels like iTunes.  As this confirmed my appraisal of the situation, I contacted the label again with this information.  As of the date of this writing, the label has not responded.

A third example involves clearing music for a video game on a past project.  One particular composition was identified as being owned by a particular company.  After contacting the company several times and the company initially confirming it could issue the license, the company then said it could not issue a worldwide license, as it turns out it was only the sub-publisher for a particular territory.  Our team then asked this company to direct us to the company that could issue the worldwide license.  The sub-publisher’s response was “we don’t know.”  A sub-publisher is responsible for accounting to the rights’ owner that is the main publisher, who in this case would be the company able to issue the worldwide license.  The sub-publisher seemingly did not know who they were representing or to which company they were accounting!  Thankfully, there was a happy ending as we independently found the worldwide licensor and licensed the song.

In order to avoid making the same mistakes as the rights’ owners described above, here are a few tips to make music easy (or easier) to license:

  1. Make sure the registration data is correct in all places where someone would seek information for the licensing contact.
  2. Have a one-stop license, if possible.   A one-stop availability means a person or company owns or has the right to license both the composition and master.  This is not always possible, especially with major releases, so in that case, see #3.
  3. Know who the proper licensing parties are (including co-owners) and be able to assist in the process, if needed.
  4. Respond to license requests!

While the four steps outlined above cannot ensure a particular piece of music will be chosen from a creative standpoint, they will assist in the licensing process when the creative interest is already present.  Licensing is a very active area and it is possible to stay in and win at the licensing game if you play it correctly.

Note: This article does not constitute legal advice.

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The Most Common Music Publishing Agreements Explained!

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Categories: Articles, Music Contracts, Music Industry, Music Publishing, Royalties, Videos, Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

All music starts with a composition, which is one of the reasons why I love the area of music publishing. Despite the low streaming rates, there is still a lot of activity and money to be made on the publishing side of music. Whether you are a writer signing with a music publisher, or you self-publish your own music, here are the some typical music publishing contracts:

Songwriter Agreement

A Songwriter Agreement usually involves a writer transferring 100% of the copyrights to the song(s) in your catalogue and/or written during the term to a music publisher and a 50/50 income split between the publisher and the writer. While these were some of the most common agreements 60 years ago and are still used today, they aren’t entered into as often because many writers value owning their content more in today’s music market.

Co-Publishing Agreement

A Co-Publishing Agreement is very common today and involves a writer transferring 50% of the copyrights to the song(s) to the music publishers and an income split of 75/25 where 75% goes to the writer and 25% goes to the publisher.

Administration Agreement

An Administration Agreement is also very popular today and involves no copyright transfer—the publisher administers (handles licenses, tracks royalties, etc.) without owning copyright. This agreement includes a 90/10 income split where 90% goes to the writer and 10% goes to the publisher as a fee for doing the administration.

Songwriter Split Agreement

A Songwriter Split Agreement is something that always needs to be completed when co-writing songs with others. It is essential to minimize disputes between co-writers, but is also usually required by publishing companies, whether you are your own publisher, administer for co-writers or other unrelated writers, or are signed as a writer to a music publishing company.  A Songwriter Split Agreement can be custom drafted, or one can use a template from Indie Artist Resource.

Licensing/Placement Agreement

Many “placement houses” or “pitching companies” that have traditionally just focused on pitching music for placement in TV and film are now getting into the publishing game. The copyright transfer and income splits tend to vary on these deals, and I have seen a lot of them called “Co-Publishing Agreements” that really do not follow the traditional co-publishing model. These can get tricky because of term variations as well as retitling and other practices.   Music publishing is one of the most complicated areas of the music business and as you may have gleaned from this article, the associated agreements and principles can get extremely complicated. Any artists/writers should have an experienced music attorney draft their music publishing agreements agreements for them if they are administering their own publishing or publishing for others. An experienced music attorney is also invaluable to review and negotiate any publishing agreements or licenses presented writers, as an experienced music attorney knows what the terms and custom and practice should be, as well as has the training to catch problems or unfair clauses that writers may miss. I regularly draft, review, and negotiate all of these types of agreements, so please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can handle one or more of these agreements on your behalf. Protecting and Profiting from Your Original Music - Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. (Indie Artist Resource) If you are interested in starting your own music publishing company and administering your own publishing or publishing for other writers, download Erin’s video on Protecting and Profiting from Your Original Music where she explains:
  • how to set-up your own music publishing company for your original music
  • the basics of running your publishing company
  • the different royalty streams and publishing contracts you need to know
  • what agreements you NEED to have in place
  • how to protect your music the RIGHT way
  • requirements for collecting your royalty payments
  • the different ways of exploiting your music to earn money from it
Click here to download the video now.   Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. The content contained in this article is not legal advice or a legal opinion on any specific matter or matters. This article does not constitute or create an attorney-client relationship between Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. and you or any other user. The law may vary based on the facts or particular circumstances or the law in your state. You should not rely on, act, or fail to act, upon this information without seeking the professional counsel of an attorney licensed in your state. Advertisement.

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Ways The Music Industry Can Change For The Better

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Categories: Articles, Music Industry, Music Publishing, Royalties, Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By:  Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com.

2016 saw a lot of lawsuits and lobbying in regards to changes in the music industry. Here are a few major issues that need to be resolved in 2017 and beyond to help sustain the music business.

Higher rates for streaming and YouTube views

The rates creators and rights owners earn from streaming and views are currently fractions of pennies. A songwriter or rights owner needs to see millions of streams/views to make any substantial income from this revenue stream. Streaming services and YouTube are the biggest platforms for consumers to listen to music, but those that make music are not able to make a sustainable living solely off income from those sources. The rates need to be higher so that those who create music for a living are actually able to earn a living.

Music publishers need to be paid more

In a similar vein, music publishers earn less than record labels from YouTube, Spotify, and other streaming and digital services. There is no music – and no recordings to be made of music — without the creation of a musical composition first. When music publishers are paid less than record labels, not only are music publishers earning less, but the songwriters signed to those companies are earning less. If songwriters cannot make a living writing songs, then songwriting will become a hobby instead of a career.

Even though labels are making more than music publishers, the amount that the artists make is still substantially small due to the contractual terms with the labels. Again, the artists bringing songs to life are not making sufficient money based on their performances and interpretations of songs, and they will not be able to sustain a career that is financially inadequate. Creators need to be properly compensated and this should be recognized by anyone who values music in their life.

Support for fractional licensing within the music industry

The music industry has always operated on a fractional licensing basis where each writer or that writer’s representative controls the respective shares of the songs that writer has written. This model was threatened in 2016 by the Department of Justice that mandated performance rights organizations ASCAP and BMI move to a 100% licensing model, thereby potentially making millions of songs unlicenseable. BMI sued the DOJ and won, but the DOJ has appealed the decision and the outcome is pending. An upheaval of the fractional licensing model would wreak havoc on the music industry and cause creators and creators’ representatives, both within the US and abroad, to be compensated even less than they are now, or make their works unlicensable. This is an unacceptable solution and would be a massive blow to not only creators, but to the music business as a whole.

Cooperation between the law and the internet

When the copyright law was last written in 1976, the internet was not used by the public let alone as a way to consume music. Therefore all user-generated content websites, including YouTube, etc. are operating in a way not contemplated by the law when it was first written. The law needs to be updated to address how works can be licensed in a way that cooperates with the digital world while fairly compensating those who create the works being used. There also needs to be a better way to deal with online infringements. Most online infringements are dealt with via DMCA (another area of law needing reform) takedown notices, although YouTube is now allowing content owners to share in revenue from infringing videos through their content management system. Again, the amount of money shared in this scenarios is so small that it is not a sustainable model and goes back to the need for increased rates.

Consumers need to learn to value music

On a daily basis I am confronted with people who want to use music but don’t want to pay for it. They argue that they should be able to use the music for free because the writer or artist will make money on the backend from sales or promotion. However, that backend money is usually never earned as promised and results in the artist or writer allowing the use of his/her music for free. Companies want to pay less and keep the lion’s share of income for themselves, which again creates a problem for creators trying to live off making music.

Internet companies and radio make millions and sometimes billions of dollars per year, and they continue to lobby to be able to use music freely or at least pay less for it, as well as to loosen copyright laws. Many of these platforms have built their business on using music as their main commodity; yet they don’t want to pay for the music that is the central product of their business model. All of the performance rights organizations (most recently GMR) have been fighting with radio and other services to command higher rates for their members and affiliates, but they consistently get pushback from licensees that don’t want to pay. This problem doesn’t stop at the digital realm, as film and television companies also regularly try to offer low fees to use music in their productions.

When one thinks back on their life, usually there are certain songs that evoke certain memories, that were important at a specific life event, or that got one through a hard time. Couples usually designate at least one song as “their song.” Certain scenes in films and television shows would not come to life without the use of a particular song being used in that scene. Certain artists and albums serve as the soundtracks of people’s lives. Imagine if all of those memories were taken away because artists and songwriters could no longer have careers making music because they were not paid enough to make a living. Most people wouldn’t go into a store a take a piece of clothing or a table without paying for it, yet those same people think it is okay to take music for free. Most people would not think to ask if they could pay their doctor fractions of his fee because they can, yet people keep offering lower payments for using music. Music has value. Those that use or consume music need to recognize that value, or watch the quality and prevalence of music disappear from their lives.

*This article does not constitute legal advice.

Erin M. Jacobson is a music attorney whose clients include Grammy and Emmy Award winners, legacy clients and catalogues, songwriters, music publishers, record labels, and independent artists and companies. She is based in Los Angeles where she handles a wide variety of music agreements and negotiations, in addition to owning and overseeing all operations for Indie Artist Resource, the independent musician’s resource for legal and business protection.

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Client News: Adam Small Launches New Venture in Music Consulting, Management, Licensing, and More

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Categories: Clients, Music Industry, Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My client Adam Small of My Music Masterclass has now launched Adam Small Music, a company focusing on music career consulting, management, licensing, publishing, and more.

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Adam is a professional touring bassist, has a large career in music licensing, and is also a mastering engineer, studio consultant, video editor, web designer, computer tech, etc.  He is now using his more than twenty years experience in the music industry to help other artists with their careers.

I encourage you to learn more about Adam Small Music at www.adamsmallmusic.com.