Music Licencing

RyiGarry

RyiGarry

I've been licencing a number of tracks for a short film I am making, and have received positive responses from a fair few of them. However, some have yet to to do. How long do you think I should wait before sending a follow-up email - or phoning them - to check the status of the request?

Additionally, should I distinguish between larger and smaller labels? That is, be willing to wait longer for the larger?
 
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It's roughly 29,760 uk pounds per song. Do you have it? Me thinks they know you don't.

Seek out original music. Quite a few composers/musicians post in here offering their services.

Good luck.
 
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I've worked on seven (7) indie features here in the USA. Three of them looked into licensing well known "commercial" songs. As an example - The asking price for "The Middle" by Jimmy Eats World was US$50,000 plus points. At todays conversion rate that's about £29,742.45 GBP.

You're an indie filmmaker. Why not support indie bands/artists? Yeah, I know, it's nice to have that familiar touchstone in your project, but it's outrageously expensive. On the flip side, some bands will NEVER license their material. Led Zeppelin was one of those bands, although they eventually regretted not licensing "Dazed and Confused" for the film of the same name.

I've found songs for three of the features on which I worked, plus quite a few shorts. Yes, it can take a really long time to find just the right track, but the search can be worth it - not to mention that you might find a couple of bands/artists that are fun personally even if you don't use them in your film.

And there are literally thousands of indie composers who would live to score your project, a bunch of them right here on IndieTalk.
 
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I have actually received permission to use a number of tracks, some for free, some at a very low cost (sub-£100) - they are not from highly popular artists. The songs from the larger labels, incidentally, are also lesser lesser known tracks - surely not 'touchstones' - ones I spent a good time looking for.

And thanks very much for the advice, but I'm still looking for an answer for the original question - how long to wait? I got a positive response after I followed-up after a month from a small company, but I have no idea the appropriate times for this.
 
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I've been dealing with music publishing rights for the last few months and here are the general numbers:

Indie bands who are unsigned have mostly given me rights gratis.
Bands signed to small indie labels have given me rights for about $200-$500.
Artists on major record labels have quoted me at $1,000-$2,000.

Keep in mind this is for an ultra low budget feature film and this is for basic internet usage with NO distribution lined up. Many of them have said the prices will go up if a distro deal is made. ALSO these fees are only for Publishing, as I have yet to contact labels for master sync licenses which will probably double my costs.

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION:
Some representatives got back to me after a week or two, some of them got back to me in about a month, some not at all. If you're crunched for time, follow up after a couple weeks. When they can sense they aren't going to make a lot of money off of you, they are less likely to make your request a priority, so you have to be diligent and polite.
 
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Thank you for the info on costs - not the answer to the original question, but more knowledge is always a boon - very much appreciated. :)


As to the time, moonshield, I was just interested if there were any unwritten conventions for this type of thing: if it's expected to take, say, two months and not to expect any response before then. Seems a little more fluid.
 
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The "How long will it take to respond" is another "How long is a piece of string" question; there are just too many variables. As MSM posted
Some representatives got back to me after a week or two, some of them got back to me in about a month, some not at all.
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I personally contact them after a week, then another, and if there is no response after the third try I move on.
 
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Someone on our staff has a pretty lengthy background in music publishing; a decades worth. In a situation where you're trying to obtain a sync license, that turnaround time should be quick. The negotiation process may take a week or two, (that's what would require the time, but it would also require you being part of the conversation) . However, getting answers as to whether or not they're good with the song being used should be a matter of days. Definitely no issue you contacting again pretty quickly.
 
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