HOW TO LICENSE A SONG FOR A FILM

What are your favourite movie soundtracks – and their standout songs? Soundtracks are a major part of the movie experience – not only do they help you to get inside of the characters, boost the emotional impact, create atmosphere and complement the setting, but they’re also huge promo tools. Think Barbie, with Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj and Billie Eilish. Or Saltburn, which catapulted Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ back into the charts with that iconic dance sequence. The film gets you talking about the song; hearing the song reminds you of the movie.

Plus, a movie song can instantly catapult you into a huge nostalgia-fest – ‘My Heart Will Go On’ reminds you of weeping uncontrollably as Leo finally sinks to a watery death in Titanic; Whitney Houston belting out ‘I Will Always Love You’ takes you instantly back to The Bodyguard (still the bestselling movie soundtrack of all time.)

Music for Film

Some songs are written specifically for the film they’re in, such as ‘All the Stars’ by Kendrick Lamar and SZA in Black Panther, which has amassed over 1.7 billion streams on Spotify, or the Oscar-winning ‘Shallow’, sung by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from A Star is Born – one of the most-streamed songs of all time. Others, like ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’, were licensed for use in the movie.

When it comes to music for filmmakers, the choices come down to whether you have the budget to commission an original song, or whether you want to buy a music licence for a pre-existing track.

How to License a Song for a Film

If you want to use a pre-recorded song or another pre-recorded piece of music in your film, there are two rights you need to clear – ie, you need to get two different licences to use the music.

• Synchronization Licence: This is the right to synchronize a song or a piece of music with your visual image. You need to get this from the copyright owner of the music, which is usually the publisher. You can find out who the publisher is by using ASCAP’s Clearance Express (ACE) at www.ascap.com/ace. Then contact the publisher’s Business Affairs or Licensing Department.
• Master Use Licence: This covers the right to reproduce a specific recording of a song in your film. You need to clear this with the record label who owns the specific recording you want to use (look up the liner notes of the recording to find out which label you need to contact.) You can also get contact information for record labels by calling ASCAP’s Film/TV Department.

And if you want to put together a soundtrack album, you need to negotiate those rights separately with the publisher and the record label.

How Much Does It Cost to License Songs for Movies?

The short answer is: it depends. There are various factors involved, including how the music will be used, the duration and number of times the music’s going to appear and where the film will be performed.

In all these cases, the fees are negotiable and not all publishers and record labels charge the same amount. Students working on films that are only going to be shown within an educational environment, for example, can often negotiate reduced fees. Independent filmmakers planning to show their films at film festivals can also often negotiate a reduced fee called a Festival Use Licence. These reduced rates are based on limited screenings of the film.

But if your film has been sold for theatrical release, the fees will increase based on the anticipated uplift in viewership and potential increased revenues. Negotiating in advance for possible future performances covering different types of media (theatrical, TV, cable, internet, etc) is often referred to as a Step Deal.

If you’re working with a small budget or on a short film, you might want to go for a simpler, faster option: a production music catalogue.

Music for Any Film Genre

Audio Network’s catalogue has over 250,000 original tracks – composed and created by a hugely talented roster of artists, composers and producers worldwide. We record our music in some of the world’s best-known studios and there are scores of genres to choose from.

Not only that, but we create dedicated collections of music for film, such as the Hollywood Sound, ideal for IMAX-sized big screen movies, Maximum Impact to make your trailer a viral hit, or Dramedy to bring a variety of stories to life. How about Pop to brighten your story? We also have hand-picked playlists to make choosing music even easier. From epic sci fi to tension-filled drama to comedy and our Scoring Sessions, covering everything from indie films to Hollywood hits. Need FX or drones? We have hundreds of them. Want increased flexibility with stems? Nearly all our tracks have those too.

Whether you’re looking for a song for background music or a score for a blockbuster trailer, we have the sound that suits.

Finding Your Perfect Music

First off, you need to choose which of our Search functions you want to use: Musical Styles, Mood/Emotion, Instrumentation or Production Genre. You can listen to our latest releases for inspiration – we have new albums every fortnight.

You can filter to narrow down your options further – by mood, such as anticipation or determination, romantic and reflective, or tension-filled. You can also filter by genres including everything from dance to drum ‘n’ bass, indie to hybrid orchestral.

Want to get more specific? Try our new Prompt Search feature, which harnesses the power of AI to find your ideal sounds. Simply put in a description of your content, a scene or the emotions you want your audience to feel, and you’ll get a playlist full of options within seconds.

Or you can use our Audio Search to find a song that sounds like something you’ve heard on YouTube, Spotify, TikTok or SoundCloud.

For more on adding tracks to your projects, watch our easy explainer:

So, now you know all about music licensing for film, it’s time to start discovering the best original music! Still stuck? Why not contact one of our team and send us a music brief? Or read our tips on how to use standout music, from trailers to soundtrack, or the art of being a brilliant music supervisor.