Paul Chodirker is an entertainment lawyer at Heenan Blaikie LLP in Toronto. He is also featured on the “law boys” radio segment which can be heard every Wednesday night on the Toronto-based radio station, 102.1 The Edge.

So You Still Wanna Do The Show Business? 

The title to this article comes from a lyric in a song called, “Show Business”, by A Tribe Called Quest. It’s one of the best songs that deals with the business of the music industry. This article deals entirely with the business side of having your music featured in a film. In the first part of this article, we dealt with the legal side of licensing music in film. Now, it’s time to negotiate the deal.

As stated in the first part of this article, the producer of a film is going to need a synchronization and master-use license if they want to use the master recording of a song in the picture. So, who issues these licenses?

• Synch licenses are issued by the entity that owns the musical composition; usually the composer, or more often, a music publishing company. However, synch licenses can also be obtained from various licensing agencies such as the Harry Fox Agency in the US, or the CMRRA (Canadian Mechanical Reproduction Rights Agency) in Canada. These agencies may have the non-exclusive right to issue the license on behalf of the publisher or owner. Many music publishers use these groups to administer the reproduction rights of the copyright holder in the underlying composition.

• Master-use licenses are issued by the entity that owns the master recording (typically a record company, or the artist…if they’re lucky).

So, how much will it cost the producer to acquire a synch and master-use license? This question is difficult to answer because the cost of licenses will be dictated by market value, the popularity of the song, and the budget of the production. A song can be purchased for use in a film for anywhere from $1 to over $50,000. It’s not uncommon for a publisher to charge a synchronization fee of $15,000. However, film producers are becoming much more savvy when it comes to licensing songs in their films. As discussed previously, many of the most popular soundtracks feature independent artists that have little or no exposure to the public-at-large. The fact is, indie music is becoming increasingly popular for use in films because they’re cost effective and provide the movie with cultural cache…it’s cooler to use a song from the new album by Band of Horses than it is to use a song by Def Leppard (with the exception of using “Pour Some Sugar On Me” in Coyote Ugly).

Far too many indie musicians and publishers care about the money they might receive from licensing their music in a film. There are several advantages to putting less emphasis on the money and simply getting your song in the picture. Some of these advantages, include: 

1. Exposure/publicity – having your song included in a film is one of the best ways to expose your music to a larger audience. This is especially important if you’re lucky enough to have your song released on a soundtrack.
2. Public Performance Royalties – Worldwide exposure of your song (if you wrote it), whether it be in theatres, or free/pay TV, will mean public performance royalties from ASCAP in the US and SOCAN in Canada.
3. Loyalty – if you negotiate a fair deal with a producer, the chances are very good that he or she will come back to you for more songs.

Quick. What was the song used for the end credits for the major blockbuster movie, “Wedding Crashers”? It was a song called “Aside” by Winnipeg’s Weakerthans. Surprising, isn’t it? The paradigm is shifting and indie artists need to get on board because no matter how obscure your band might be, there is always a place for music, popular or not, in film.

So, once you’ve agreed on a price and you’re ready to see your name in lights, what should you be weary of when signing the synch and master licenses? This topic will be included in part 3 of this article.