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Synchronization rights

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by CEO Jon Skinner (talk | contribs) at 12:11, 4 May 2019 (Added some information about Music Supervisors in the sync negotiation fees section and what a Sync Agent does, as an option to having your rights represented.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

A music synchronization license, or "sync" for short, is a music license granted by the holder of the copyright of a particular composition, allowing the licensee to synchronize ("sync") music with some kind of visual media output (film, television shows, advertisements, video games, accompanying website music, movie trailers, etc.).[1]

The rights to a composition or the "song", which is different from the studio sound recording,[2] are most often administered by the publishing company that represents the writer/producer. The value in the copyright of a recording is divided into two components:[3]

  1. the "master" sound recording, which is the actual studio recording of the song and most often owned by the record label;
  2. the composition, which consists of the underlying lyrics and melody written by the songwriter and is typically administered by the music publisher.

Sync negotiations and fees

When an audio/visual project producer wants to use a recording in their work, they must contact both the owner of the sound recording (record label), and the owner of the composition (songwriter via publishing company). In many cases, producers with tight budgets will elect to use a cover version of a particular song in order to save money on the master side. Once the producer has made an inquiry with the copyright administrator (and additionally the record label if they choose to use a famous recording), the rights holder or administrator issues a quote, usually for a one-time fee. This can initiate negotiations, whose points of interest usually include things like how the work is being used, the length of the segment, the prominence of the cue (whether used as background music, or as the title track during the credits), and the overall popularity and importance of the song or recording. Sync licensing fees can range anywhere from free, to a few hundred dollars, to millions of dollars for popular recordings of songs[4]: in the last case, the producer must pay for both the use of the master and the composition.

A lot of Music Supervisors and media professionals (creatives) will use a Sync Licensing Agent that represents multiple rights holders (record labels and music publishers) to license music. The sync agent is an established trusted source that can built up multiple relationships with the Music Supervisors over many years. The advantage or independent artists is that all the rights information due diligence is done before the music is pitched to the Music Supervisors.

See also

References

  1. ^ Leadsinger, Inc. v. BMG Music Publishing, 512 F.3d 522 (9th Cir. 2008).
  2. ^ Newton v. Diamond, 388 F.3d 1189, 1191 (9th Cir. 2004).
  3. ^ Plummer, Robert (4 January 2017). "Syncing feeling lifts music industry". BBC News Online. BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  4. ^ "What Microsoft paid The Stones to help launch Windows 95". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
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